Rocket League has been a fan favorite with gamers since 2015. This one-of-a-kind vehicular game from Psyonix stands apart from just about every major title on the esports scene. It shares a few similarities with soccer, but there’s only a hint of a throughline tying the two genres together. For most players, it’s the option of playing as turbo-charged trucks and cars that really appeals. It’s also a fairly accessible game, with a straightforward ranking system and relatively simple controls.
However, don’t assume that any of this relegates Rocket League to the low-skilled playing community. When the game became free to play in 2018, the developers also unveiled a revamped tournaments feature.
What Are Competitive Tournaments?
Rocket League’s Competitive Tournaments are designed with more advanced players in mind. They adhere to a strict ranking system, pitting evenly-matched teams against each other. These competitive matches and tournaments aren’t just for fun. As well as competing for glory, the victors also get a chance to acquire Tournament Credits. These credits can then be used to unlock exclusive in-game features. As you can’t access these credits any other way, there’s an obvious reason to consider trying your luck in a tournament.
How Do Competitive Tournaments Work?
Competitive Tournaments have a simple enough structure. A total of 32 teams come together, fighting out in single-elimination brackets. Each team is paired up with the best possible match from the larger group. Although the bulk of any given tournament follows a single-elimination format, the semi-final and final stages adopt a best-of-three format.
As with professional esports events like the Rocket League Championship Series, unlucky teams that don’t win their single-elimination bracket matches still have a chance of progressing to later stages. Those that fail at the first hurdle can try again by competing in a Second Chance bracket. What’s more, teams and solo players that arrive late to the party can play in the same bracket for a shot at progressing to the next stage.
Who Can Play?
Pretty much any Rocket League player can participate in Competitive Tournaments. Prefer playing solo? There are tournaments tailored towards individual players. Do you prefer playing alongside friends? There’s a stacked schedule of 2v2 and 3v3 tournaments you can participate in. Unlike other online tournaments, teammates don’t need to be at the same level as each other. However, things get slightly more complicated if you’re playing as part of a
mixed-rank party. If one member of a team has a higher ranking than the other two, the team will automatically be entered into a high-level tournament. The result is that some tournaments aren’t as evenly-matched as they could be.
The Psyonix tournament schedule includes matches every day of the week across all territories. However, game modes are only available at certain times of the day, with 3v3 matches usually the last format to take place.
To get started, simply launch Rocket League on your PC or console of choice. Once you hit play, you can select the tournament option to kick things off. First time playing competitively? Check out the Rocket League tournament schedule here and watch the professionals in action to get inspired.
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