The Rocket League Championship Series is the foremost esports league dedicated to the video game Rocket League.
Based on the concept of playing football (soccer) with super-charged cars instead of human athletes, Rocket League is a hugely popular franchise which is played across multiple games consoles and platforms. Since 2016, the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) has been hosting the game’s most accomplished and prominent players, across a combination of online events and in-person LAN tournaments.
The RLCS’s first season ran for just a few months, and only included players from North America and Europe. Since then, the competition has grown rapidly, and now, only a few years later, seasons last almost a year, and include players from around the world.
💯 Rocket League Championship Series Format & Scoring
The Rocket League Championship Series is overseen by the game’s creators, Psyonix, and pits teams of largely professional esports players against each other in “seasons”. As of the RLCS’ 10th season, which was played in 2020, the structure underwent some changes, pivoting from a league-centric format, to one with more emphasis on periodic “splits”. These 2 splits include a series of regional online competitions, during which teams try to qualify for that split’s “Major”, high-profile events which include live audiences and LAN matches. Only 16 teams qualify for each Major, by virtue of their split points. Whilst split points are crucial if teams are to qualify for the Majors, Major wins actually carry the most points; success in the Majors is crucial if a team wishes to have a stand-out season.
After both Majors have taken place, the RLCS World Championship takes place. The World Championship includes 20 teams: the 16 teams with the highest number of cumulative points, and 4 “wildcard” teams, who qualify via the Last Chance Open Qualifiers tournament. The World Championship is a hybrid elimination tournament, with the RLCS world champions decided by a head-to-head grand final tie.
Whilst RLCS’ early seasons rarely distributed prize pots of more than USD $300,000, the 2025 season will award $5 million in winnings!
