After Psyonix and the Rocket League Championship Series pivoted their format for the 10th competitive season, they will still have a world championship event, but with a slightly different format. The RLCS X Championships are set to run from June 15 to 20, with several notable changes compared to previous years.
Rather than a singular world championship event done in previous seasons, RLCS X will culminate in a set of regional tournaments that will crown respective champions in North America, Europe, South America, and Oceania. With these regional events comes a new format aspect: best-of sets. In a best-of set, a team will have to win multiple series to win the set. In a best-of-five set, for example, a team will need to win two best-of-five series out of a possible three.
In Oceania and South America, the two top teams from each region will meet each other in the Championship finals. The winner of the best-of-seven set for each region will be the champion of their respective region. In North America and Europe, six teams from each region will compete in a bracket, with higher-ranked teams earning a further along starting point.
The typical $1 million prize pool will be split between each region, with the NA and EU regions each fighting for $400,000, while Oceania and South America each fight for $100,000.
A return of a world championship for Rocket League esports in any form is a welcome sight to the fans and players, who completely missed out on a world championship for Season Nine. Season 10, or Season X, switched up its format to an open circuit, with seasonal majors for each region serving as the qualification method for a world championship.
The first matches for European and North American play for the RLCS X Championships begins on Tuesday, June 15.