Before heading to Fort Worth, Texas, in September, the world’s elite will meet in Saudi Arabia. A final trial run for 550,000 US dollars
Both Major winners of the year have been decided, only the RLCS World Championship is missing. The Esports World Cup (EWC) is a welcome dress rehearsal for the Rocket League pros in an otherwise barren waiting period. 16 invited teams, twelve of which are also taking part in the RLCS World Championship, will meet in the Saudi capital Riyadh. A World Championship Elite in the desert: twice as much prize money as a regular RLCS Major, half the RLCS World Championship prize money. But how does the EWC work and who are the favorites?
The 16 teams are divided into four groups of four teams each. From Thursday, the two best teams in each group will qualify for the play-offs. The group stage will be played in a double elimination bracket, with the games being played in a best-of-five format. In the play-offs, the winner of the tournament is determined in a knockout system. Here, the length of the series is adjusted to a best-of-seven.
The group phase will take place from Thursday, 2 p.m. to Saturday, 5 p.m. Two matches from each group will be broadcast on Thursday and Friday. The final group match of each group will take place on Saturday from 1.00 pm. The matches will start with Group A and end with Group D.
The play-offs begin on Saturday afternoon with the quarter-finals. On Sunday, the semi-finals and the final will be shown from 12.30 pm. The matches will be broadcast on Twitch, YouTube and DAZN. Unlike last year at Gamers8, there will be no German commentary this year. The prize money amounts to a total of 550,000 US dollars, of which 200,000 US dollars will go to the winning team
Can G2 come up trumps again?
The winner of the last RLCS Major was supposed to be the favorite going into the race. But G2 Esports will have to do without London Major MVP Landon ‘BeastMode’ Konerman. There is no official statement as to why ‘BeastMode’ will not be competing at the EWC. Konerman only said in a Twitch stream that his family could not accompany him to Riyadh and that he did not want to make the two 20-hour travel days alone. It is not known whether there are other reasons in the background. Nevertheless, the statement is surprising for a 19-year-old professional. The 17-year-old Moroccan Nassim ‘nass’ Bali, currently under contract with M80, will compete for him.
For ‘nass’, it is the first offline event of his young career in which he has to deliver a direct performance. During the last RLCS season, ‘nass’ was a consistent top eight player in North America for M80. He has the quality to make a big impact, but whether it will work in this new team remains to be seen.
Similar to the London Major, the favorites will be limited to the same teams. The Europeans around Vitality, BDS and Copenhagen Major winner Gentle Mates, the South Americans from FURIA and Team Falcons from Saudi Arabia. The latter were dramatically defeated by G2 in the final in London. The team will be looking to finally achieve an international triumph in front of a home crowd
