Rocket League is at it again, everyone! The RLCS is making a return and it will be pedal to the metal till the very end. Ready to burn some rubber? Let’s see what we know so far.
As already mentioned, this is the ninth season of the Rocket League Champion Series, or RLCS for short. Last year, NRG Esports’ Pierre “Turbopolsa” Silfver made history and became the four-time RLCS champion in Madrid, Spain. Can he make it to 5 this time?
Who
This year, though, competition at the RLCS will be more fierce than usual. As you might already know, Rocket League developer Psyonix was acquired by no other than gaming giants Epic Games. While many felt unsure about the game’s future, the acquisition appears to have brought fresh funds for the Rocket League esports scene.
This means that we’ll be seeing more competing teams, from more locations, and some general improvements to the Rocket League Champion Series.
For one, for RLCS Season 9, there will be a total of ten competing teams, including the likes of NRG, Cloud9, and Mousesports. The ten teams will do a Round Robin, meaning they will play one match against every other team in a best-of-five format.
More regions will take part as well. So far, Psyonix has confirmed both Oceania and South America are making a return.
For how much
We know for sure that the LPL Rocket League Oceanic Championship got a nice financial bump up to the prize pool – it is now $75,000, with $35,000 up for grabs at the Grand Series.
And while we haven’t seen any other prize pool announced, Psyonix will definitely aim to outdo last year’s prize money, which was:
- First Place: $200,000
- Second Place: $120,000
- Third/Fourth Place: $40,000
- Fifth/Sixth Place: $24,750
- Seventh/Eighth Place: $16,000
When
The Rocket League Champion Series starts streaming on February 1 and will continue with matches all the way up to March 22, so we’re getting eight weeks of professional play. You’ll be able to watch the action on Rocket League’s official Twitch channel or on YouTube.
Saturday streams will be reserved for NA matches, while Sundays will be for Europe. Also, you’ll be able to watch the Rival Series on Fridays starting February 7. If you’re interested in a particular showdown, you can check the full schedule here. Notice something? Yes, the second match is already showing that NRG Esports will be taking on Team Afterthought. We’ll see if the standing champions still have what it takes.
