What is Rocket League?

Rocket League is a sports action multiplayer game best described as soccer with cars. Released in the summer of 2015, Rocket League was a slow burn success due to its low cost, fun physics, and going free to play on PlayStation for a month. The game would go one to win numerous awards, sell over 11 million copies, and create a thriving esports competitive scene.

The beauty of RL as both a casual game and esport is the pure simplicity of its default game mode: soccar. The game is played out by two teams of three on a pitch featuring two opposing goals. Whoever scores more goals by the end of regulation (five minutes) is the winner, and if the game goes into overtime the winner is chosen by a sudden death goal.

Rocket League eSports

Rocket League has been an official esport since Psyonix led the Rocket League Championship Series in March 2016. The scene has seen tournament operator heavyweights such as ESL, MLG, ELEAGUE, and DreamHack run six figure prize pool events, and now we have seen Psyonix run their top flight RLCS in locations around the world with millions of dollars in prize pool at stake.

Currently there are four major regions in Rocket League: North America, Europe, Oceania and South America. North America and Europe are the top two regions to focus on while Oceania and South America have only shown flashes of top tier play.

The RLCS is a twice a year competition that features the four regions in an end of year 16 team Worlds event that crowns a World Champion. To date only teams from Europe and North America have claimed Rocket League’s top prize, and North America has mostly recently claimed the top honors.

How You Can Bet on Rocket League

Rocket League’s straightforwardness can be its downfall when it comes to betting. Teams such as NRG have taken literal years to turn their potential to win into actual results at big events. Others such as Cloud9 and the Pittsburgh Knights have rode the upset wave all the way to big victories.

The best way to bet on Rocket League is to look at a team’s current form. Historical placements generally fall off after one year as Rocket League pros peak much earlier compared to other esports or traditional sports in general. The average peak of a RL pro is about two years of top level competition and pros beyond 20 years of age are rare. While some of the greats may compete at a high level past 20, ironically the safer bets are younger teams that put together a good resume before a big tournament.

For example, the team now known as the Pittsburgh Knights were known as The Peeps and were three really young NA players that while good online had yet to prove their skill at a big tournament. At DreamHack Montreal 2019 The Peeps made an insane run defeating a much more distinguished G2 Esports in the grand finals to win their very first event.

Currently we have seen each region put forward one really good team that has separated themselves from the rest of the pack, two to three elite teams, and then a rest of the pack that can win but only in the best of circumstances. Looking at a team’s recent wins and losses (especially previous head to heads) will give you a lot of information on whether a team will win or lose.

Rocket League is not pure chalk, and that is why it is one of the most exciting esports to watch! From Cloud9’s miracle run to upset Team Dignitas in Season 6 Finals to FlipSide Tactics surprise win at Season 2, Rocket League Esports delivers on everything you would want in an esport. The flashy plays, the cool personalities, and the great storylines make for one of the best esports communities of all time.