The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is an annual video game competition organized by Blast ApS and supported by Psyonix, the game's creator. The series includes two online qualifying rounds in multiple regions, where teams earn points to qualify for midseason tournaments called Majors and the Rocket League World Championship. Both of these tournaments are held as LAN events, meaning players compete in the same location, across the world.

History

Psyonix noticed that Rocket League matches were popular on Twitch and YouTube by early 2016. They wanted to use the game more in Esports. In March 2016, Psyonix started the first Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). The finals were in June 2016 with a prize of $55,000, and the winning team was iBUYPOWER Cosmic. The second season happened in December 2016 with a $125,000 prize, and FlipSid3 Tactics won. A third season began in March 2017, with a $300,000 prize pool. In this season, two teams from the oceanic region were invited to compete.

A second division, the Rocket League Rival Series (RLRS), was added in Season 4. Teams that finished last in RLCS and first in RLRS for each region played in a promotion tournament at the end of the season to decide if they would move up or down. In June 2018, Psyonix organized the event alone. Before this, they worked with Twitch. Season 6 started in September 2018 with a $1,000,000 prize. In Season 7, South America became a new region. Season 8 took place in December 2019. Season 9 was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and regional champions were declared the overall winners. In July 2020, Psyonix introduced a new format for Season 10, called RLCS X. This format removed league play and the RLRS, instead letting teams earn points through three regional splits, which ended in three seasonal majors.

The 2021–22 season began in October 2021. Four new regions were added: Middle East and North Africa, Asia Pacific North, Asia Pacific South, and Sub-Saharan Africa. A more reliable circuit, similar to Season X, was used, with a $6 million prize pool. The circuit had three splits, each with three regionals and one international LAN major, ending in a World Championship. Majors were won by Team BDS, G2 Esports, and Moist Esports. Team BDS won the season.

For the 2022–23 season, Asia Pacific North and South were combined into one region. Point totals were lowered, and each regional event was called the Open, Cup, and invitational. Majors were won by Gen.G, Karmine Corp, and Team Vitality, with Team Vitality winning the World Championship.

After the 2022–23 season, there was a longer offseason because one split was removed. The 13th season of RLCS started in January 2024. The 2024 season removed the Open, Cup, and Invitational system. Instead, three new open qualifying stages were added: a double-elimination bracket, a Swiss-system tournament for the top 16, and a knockout stage for the top 8. This cycle repeated three times per split, with RLCS points awarded after each stage. The top teams in each region advanced to the Major, which used the same format as the open qualifying stages. The combined standings decided who went to the World Championship, which had 16 teams instead of 24.

On January 4, 2024, Blast ApS, a tournament organizer known for events in Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six Siege, took over from Psyonix as the RLCS organizer. Blast ApS had previously run the Fortnite Champion Series since 2022.

The first major of the 2024 season was won by Gentlemates Alpine, and the second by G2 Stride. Team BDS won the season. At the end of the 2024 World Championship, it was announced that RLCS would return in January 2025 with a $5,000,000 prize pool. A 1v1 tournament was added, and the 3v3 tournament changed to include a last chance open qualifiers between Major 2 and the World Championship. The World Championship expanded to 20 teams.

The 2025 season used two Swiss groups with 16 teams each. The top 8 from each group advanced to the GSL stage. Two groups of 8 teams were formed, and the top 4 advanced to a hybrid elimination bracket. This format was used for Opens and the World Championship, but the World Championship used a GSL bracket for the Play-ins. Before the Swiss groups, a double-elimination bracket was held, with the top 32 qualifying for the Swiss groups. Majors used a 16-team Swiss stage, with the top 8 advancing to the hybrid elimination bracket.

The first major of the 2025 season was won by Karmine Corp. The 1v1 event debuted, with France’s Axel “Mawkzy” Timone winning against Brazil’s Yan “yanxnz” Xisto Nolasco 4–3. Mawkzy qualified for the World Championship in Lyon-Décines in September. The second major was won by Team Falcons, marking the Middle East’s first RLCS international title since 2021. Saudi Arabia’s Hisham “Nwpo” Alqadi won the 1v1 final against Brazil’s João “diaz” Henrique 4–1, qualifying for the 1v1 World Championship. Nwpo defeated Mawkzy in the Grand Final to become the first RLCS 1v1 World Champion. In the 2025 World Championship, NRG Esports won the 3v3 event against Team Falcons.

The 2026 season started on November 14, 2025, and ended on September 20, 2026. A new Kickoff Weekend LAN in Copenhagen took place on December 5–7, featuring the top 6 teams from Open 1 in North America and Europe. 2v2 matches were added to the RLCS.

The Kickoff Weekend LAN had the top 6 North American and European teams from Open 1. Their regions’ Open 1 continued on December 5–6, with the top 4 from each region advancing to an 8-team stepladder bracket. Karmine Corp won and qualified for the Boston Major, giving Europe an extra spot for the first and second majors and the World Championship.

The first Major of the 2026 season will be in Boston at the Agganis Arena from February 19–22, 2026. Qualification runs from November 14, 2025, to February 8

Statistics

• Team or organization no longer participates in Rocket League esports.

Turbopolsa has won the most World Championships with four. Vatira has won the most Majors with three.

• Player no longer participates in Rocket League esports.

• Coach no longer participates in Rocket League esports.

European teams have the most victories (8), followed by North America (4). Three organizations (Team BDS, Team Vitality, and NRG Esports) have won two World Championships. Only one team outside of Europe and North America has reached the final, which was Team Falcons in 2025, competing from the Middle East and North Africa. Four players have won the World Championship multiple times: Turbopolsa (4), Kaydop (3), ViolentPanda (2), and M0nkey M00n (2). Only three players have won consecutive titles: Turbopolsa, Kaydop, and ViolentPanda. Turbopolsa won three in a row, while the others won two.

European teams have the most victories (6), followed by North America (3), and Middle East and North Africa (1). Three organizations (Karmine Corp, G2 Esports, and Gentle Mates) have won two Majors. Three players have won a Major multiple times: Vatira (3), followed by Itachi (2) and Atomic (2).

After participating in the 2022 and 2023 Gamers8 tournaments, which were won by FURIA and Version1 respectively, the Gamers8 circuit changed its name to the Esports World Cup. Rocket League was one of the titles for the 2024 and 2025 events. These were won by Team BDS in 2024 and Karmine Corp in 2025. They defeated Team Falcons and Geekay Esports, respectively.