If you are just starting to get into the RLCS eSports scene then, this will serve as a guide to help you understand the RLCS better! The RLCS( Rocket League Championship Series) is composed of League Play, Regional Championships, and the World Championships.
1. RLCS League Play
League Play is composed of the top 8 teams in Europe and North America. League Play lasts for 5 weeks, broadcast on twitch at twitch.tv/RocketLeague on Fridays through Sundays. Each team has a bye week and play each team once. Teams play each other in a BO5 series some teams play once or twice each week. At the conclusion of league play, the top 2 teams in NA and EU automatically qualify for the Worlds Championship and advance to the semi-finals in the Regionals Championships. Teams that finish 3rd-6th in the standings qualify for the regional championships to find the last two teams that qualify for Worlds.
2. What is the Rocket League Rival Series (RLRS)?
The RLRS is a new league that was implemented during RLCS Season 4. RLRS follow the same format as the RLCS, where teams play for 5 weeks and face each other once. The RLRS is made up of 8 teams for NA and EU. At the conclusion of the RLRS season, the top 2 teams in NA and EU qualify for the promotional tournaments for a shot at making it to the RLCS. The teams that finished 3rd-4th retain their spot within the RLRS for next season. The teams that finished 5th-8th place are kicked from the RLRS and have to re-qualify during the RLRS qualifiers for next season.
3. Regional Championships
After the conclusion of League Play, the next step is regional championships for NA and EU. Regional Championships are played to crown an NA and EU champion, placements for the World's Championship. The opening matches are the 4th place team vs 5th place team and 3rd placed team vs the 6th placed team. Winners of the matches qualify for Worlds Championships. The team that wins their respective regional get the first seed at the RLCS Worlds, meaning that they automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
4. Promotional Tournaments
Promotional Tournament is held after the regional championships. The top 2 team in RLRS face off against the bottom 2 teams of the RLCS in a double bracket tournament. The winners of winners final and loser finals get a spot in the next season of RLCS and the loser gets a spot in the RLRS for next season.
5. Worlds Championships
The World's Championships are played in a LAN either in the U.S or in Europe. The World Championships are a double bracket tournament with the Upper Bracket and Lower Bracket. Meaning that if a team loses any time in the Upper Bracket they'll have another chance as they'll be knocked down to the Lower Bracket. Once a team loses during the Lower Bracket they are eliminated. All games in the Upper Bracket, from the round of ten through the semi-finals, are all Best of five games. For the Lower Bracket, all games from Lower Round 1 through Round 4 are best of five. The Winners Finals, Lower Finals, and Grand Finals are Best of seven games. During the first day, the opening round, and quarter-finals are played. Losers of the opening round are knocked down to the Lower bracket round 1 and losers of the quarter-finals are knocked to the Losers round 2. During the second day, the Upper Semi-Finals, Losers Round 2 are played. On the third and final day, the Upper-Finals, Lower Round 3, Lower Round 4, Lower Finals and Grand Finals are played. During the Grand Finals, the team that made it to the final through the Upper Bracket gets a bracket reset meaning that if they lose the BO7 then the bracket will be reset and they'll have another chance at the grand finals will be played again.
That concludes this article information about the RLCS and what happens. I have tried to break it down to the best of my abilities and explain it to newcomers and those who are interested.
