This isn't just the start of a new season—it's the start of a new Rocket League Championship Series. Players return to the pitch in a revitalized Rocket League esports ecosystem.
Only North America and Europe circuits use the RLCS X format, but Psyonix aims to work with South America and Oceania organizers to incorporate their own systems for advancing to the World Championship.
Regional Format
The RLCS is no longer bi-annual. Instead, it has three Splits that make up a season: Fall, Winter, and Spring. These Splits include three Regional Events per region and finish off with a Major, which is similar to a final.
Each Split has its own format. The Fall Split features a swiss-style bracket with 32 teams split into two groups of 16.
Participants have to make it through three days of Open Qualifiers before reaching the Major. RLRS teams seed into Day 3 of Open Qualifiers, where they'll fight against high-performing teams from the first two days. All ten RLCS teams automatically qualify for the Major. For the Fall Split, that means 22 open spots for wildcard and RLRS teams.
The Grid
The Grid is a new weekly tournament circuit where teams compete for Grid Points and prize money. Grid Points determine seeding or a spot in RLCS Majors. While The Grid involves RLCS teams, it's a separate competition. There's no official broadcast, so fans will need to follow their favorite teams and players for a glimpse of the action.
Prize Pools
Each Regional offers $100,000, so that's $600,000 per Split. For each Major, it's $250,000. The World Championship upped its prize pool to $1 million, which is the largest pool Psyonix has advertised.
- Regional: $100,000
- Major: $250,000
- World Championship: $1 million
Still don't get what RLCS X is all about? See if Lawler can explain it to you.