Psyonix revealed significant changes to its Rocket League Championship Series structure, as reported by the Esports Observer last month. The newly named RLCS X will feature a new competitive format and a $4.5M USD prize pool that the league is calling a “first-step toward a brand-new vision for the RLCS.” The new season is set to start in August.
The changes come after teams that had previously played in the Rocket League Championship Series sent a letter to league owner Psyonix with a list of grievances surrounding team control and monetization. The previous structure gave esports organizations very little control over teams in the league as the players were considered the owners of the slot by Psyonix. Additionally, any prize money won by the organizations’ teams was paid directly to the players.
According to Jack Etienne, CEO and Founder of Cloud9 (who left the league in June), the costs of running a team outweighed any sort of expected return on investment.
The new system actually abolishes the old structure in which teams were guaranteed slots in the competition, which is now becoming an open system with qualifiers and a single world championship.
The new RLCS X competitive format can be viewed here.
