Psyonix – the operator of Rocket League Esports – went public a few days ago with news that will especially please local players at universities. The Collegiate Rocket League (CRL), which so far is played only in North America, plans to expand to Europe. In addition, there will be a CRL World Championship for the first time starting in 2022.
The facts about the Collegiate Rocket League
The CRL has been around since 2017 and is the official Rocket League for American college eSports. It is played in America, as is usual in the major US sports leagues, in a Western Conference and an Eastern Conference. Participation is quite lucrative for students. Psyonix gives out more than an allowance in the Collegiate Rocket League. In the spring season, $75,000 was always distributed as prize money. The totals are expected to increase significantly in the coming years.
The best teams of the two conference seasons have always played in the CRL National Championship in the past years. According to official information from Psyonix, however, the finals will no longer take place in this form from 2022. Meanwhile, the first CRL World Championship is planned for June.
This is how the European qualification for the CRL World Championship could look like
Rocket League tournaments in European universities already exist today, by the way. However, the competitions are not organized by Psyonix, but by third-party providers. At this point, we are thinking primarily of the European University Rocketeers’ Championship (EURC), the Amazon University Esports Masters, as well as country-specific leagues such as NSE in the UK and Uniliga in Germany. It is still unclear if the leagues will be discontinued in favor of the CRL European Rocket League or if there will be a cooperation. Cory Lanier, Esports Manager of Product for Rocket League Esports, has stated that he is looking for a collaboration with the previous cooperation organizers, but the mode and direction are not really clear yet.
In any case, Psyonix plans to divide the European continent into different regional leagues, in which the university teams will then play their preliminary round matches. The winners of the relay will qualify for the World Championships. The eSports operator wants to publish the exact facts about the CRL World Championships and the distribution of the starting places in the coming weeks.
Collegiate Rocket League Esports: A model for success
The expansion to Europe is of course no coincidence. The CRL is a success model whose expansion is worthwhile for Psyonix. Cory Lanier made the following comments in the official statement:
“Looking back, CRL has exceeded our expectations as a league in its nearly five-year history. With the expansion of community university leagues in Europe, a live world championship and more to follow this summer, we are excited to see where CRL continues to go. With all that said, we would like to thank the wonderful college community that has supported CRL over the past five years. Without you, we would not be at this moment and look forward to what the future holds for CRL.”
It’s also worth mentioning that the League operator wants to improve the internal modules for players. Students should be able to share their experiences with each other. Psyonix talks about an “educational opportunity,” meaning a training option for new players and teams.
