While Rocket League's formula already seems like it was tailor-made for the esports scene, the frantic RC-car soccer game didn't get an official tournament (outside of ranked play and some matches by MLG) to let the best in the world compete. All of this is about to change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BeelCXxL9s
Psyonix has now officially announced that there will be an official championship coming to a PC or console near you. This tournament, titled the 'Rocket League Championship Series', will open up signups for teams of 3 on the 25th of March, and will be available to teams on the PlayStation 4 and PC platforms.
The championship will last for a total of 3 months and will kick off with 2 qualifiers (lasting 1 month each). Teams winning these qualifiers will get a hefty $10,000 prize as well as a chance to compete in the international finals where the winners will be taking home the winning title in addition to $55,000 in prize money. If that's not a sum worth playing some good ol' car-powered soccer for then I don't know what is. More info can be found on the official Championship Series website.
Developer Psyonix have teamed up with streaming site Twitch for this event, with Twitch taking care of broadcasting all playoffs on the official Rocket League Twitch channel as well as help Psyonix set up the infrastructure for future playoffs and provide the platform to build a community around the championship.
More on this as it develops. All signs point towards this being a very cool event.
Quick Take
It was only a matter of time. Rocket League's formula and execution seem more than ripe for esports, and Psyonix seems intent on making sure that its official debut to the esports scene is one to be remembered. Even I, someone who doesn't really care for soccer or cars, has been competing in the game's ranked mode over the first season and I'm looking forward to seeing the best teams face off against each other. Kind of makes me wonder why this announcement didn't come soon after it became clear that Rocket League was a success.
