The last Major of the year is coming up in London. Rocket League visits the Copper Box Arena in the English capital for the third time. Europe is once again the favorite in front of a home crowd. Here’s everything else you need to know
The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) returns to its birthplace on June 20-23. Where the legendary call of commentator Callum ‘Shogun’ Keir still echoes after more than six years. “This is Rocket League” – the beginning of the rise of the RLCS.
16 teams from around the world
The RLCS is divided into seven global regions. Each sends at least one team to London. Four teams each come from Europe and North America. Two each from the Middle East and North Africa, South America and Oceania. One team from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and one from the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) make up the starting field. The winner receives 75,000 US dollars and the total prize money for the Major is 255,000 US dollars.
De facto, however, the small regions of SSA and APAC are not represented by local teams. We have already reported that ‘VKSailen’ and his Spanish team Móbula are competing for Sub-Saharan Africa. The situation is similar for the APAC region. Team Gaimin Gladiators consists of two Irishmen and a Dutchman. The community’s position on this: In truth, six EU teams are at the Major.
The modus operandi
Unlike in the past, the RLCS is not changing the mode. The Major begins with a Swiss round. This will be reduced from 16 to eight teams. This is followed by a knockout phase
In the “Swiss Stage” the rule is: Whoever loses three series is out – whoever wins three is through. Each series between two teams is played in a best-of-five format.
The knockout phase consists of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, with no third-place match in the best-of-seven format. The games for the rest of the tournament tree are determined by the positioning in the Swiss. Every series, every single round is therefore of the utmost importance
Watch out – the favorites are coming
Who is the favorite is widely discussed among analysts and the community. Remarkable: All four qualified teams from Europe are favorites: Team BDS, Vitality, Oxygen Esports and, of course, the reigning Major champion Gentle Mates are given a great chance of winning. Everyone is aware of EU’s strength.
North America’s kings of G2 Esports are also hotly tipped, but are under a lot of pressure.
But Team Falcons from the Middle East and North Africa region and FURIA from South America also have a good chance. The Falcons in particular have a score to settle in London. At the last tournament in the Copper Box Arena, they lost in a dramatic final against Moist Esports.
Captain Mohammed ‘trk511’ Alotaibi has the chance to make amends in 2024. For its part, FURIA also showed that it can hold its own against the world’s best with a 3-0 win in the Swiss Stage at the last Major in Copenhagen. A secret favorite that should not be underestimated
Where you can follow the Major
As is customary in eSports, you can follow the Major on Twitch on the official Rocket League channel. On June 20 and 21, the matches will start at 3:00 pm, on June 22 at 6:00 pm and on “Championship Sunday”, June 23, at 7:00 pm. The broadcast will be in English, there will be no official German-language production.
Those of you who make last-minute decisions can travel to London for the “Crowd Days” on June 22 and 23. Day tickets cost 40€, weekend tickets 67€.
