Rocket League esports

Rocket League esports is a global phenomenon with thousands of high class players competing for real cash prizes. Betting on Rocket League esports is also possible, with many esports betting sites having odds for professional tournaments. Rocket League betting includes head-to-head wagers, futures betting on things like outright tournament winner and even things like who will score the most goals. Or guide to Rocket League esports will run you through all aspects of this popular PC, Playstation, XBox and Nintendo Switch title, including Rocket League betting, Upcoming Rocket League events and the history of this Psyonix vehicle-based soccer game.

Rocket League esports continues to gain momentum in 2024

Rocket League is a vehicle-based soccer video game and up-and-coming Esport phenomenon. First released in 2015 by indie developer Psyonix, nobody could have envisioned how popular the concept of rocket-powered cars playing soccer and mini-games would become, let alone turn into a serious Esport – but here we are.

On the 1st of May 2019, Epic Games purchased Pysonix and now have the rights to Rocket League. The actual amount that they purchased Pysonix for is undisclosed to the public but many people have estimated they paid at least US$250-300 million. Epic Games and Pysonix did the deal because Epic Games promised to further the game’s horizons by making the game free-to-play for all players, increasing the player base massively.

With six million in sales and 90 million players that have logged in and played in 2022, the Electronic Sports League and Psyonix have hosted numerous tournaments around the world for competitive Rocket League and it’s only getting bigger this year. We have all the details on the best sites to bet on Rocket League, as well as format, prize-pools, tournament schedule and how to watch Rocket League.

Betting on Rocket League esports

Several International Esports betting sites offer betting markets on major Rocket League Esports tournaments.

Rocket League’s competitive scene is has grown massively in popularity and as a result most online sportsbooks take bets for the majority of its events year-round.

We have seen a handful of Rocket League betting sites take moneyline/match and map over/under line winner wagers in the past on the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), the main league funded and organized by the game’s creator, Psyonix in partnership with Epic Games.

The RLCS has gone through a recent shake-up with one season per year with two splits, which will see teams participate in three qualifiers before the split ends with a Major tournament. This will give all teams the opportunity to gain World Championship points with the top point getters making the annual RLCS World Championship.

After starting at a small US$75,000 prize pool in Season 1, Rocket League prize money, in Season 13 is over US$4,000,000.

Below we talk about some of the top Rocket League betting sites for September, 2024:

Rocket League esports betting sites in your region

#1	Fast Payouts BetOnline 50% matched deposit up to USD $5,000	Visit BetOnline BetOnline Review
#2	Live Betting Odds Bovada Claim a 50% deposit bonus up to the value of USD $250	Visit Bovada Bovada Review

An introduction to Rocket League

Rocket League is summarised by the creators as “soccer, but with rocket-powered cars,” and there really is no better way to describe it.

Players take control of a rocket-powered vehicle and are placed on a variety of different soccer fields, and the aim of the game is to hit a massive ball towards the opposing team’s goal area to score goals and win the game.

Other than simply driving and bumping the ball in the right direction with the right speed and timing, you can use speed boosts provided on marked spaces on the pitch for added momentum, propel yourself to hit the ball mid-air or temporarily take out opposing players.

Your car can also jump, perform quick dodges and spin in a given direction for positioning advantage or to nudge the ball a certain direction.

The default match length for Rocket League is around five minutes, with an overtime mode if the game is tied at the end. All matches can be played 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4, either offline or online, and there is an incredibly large online community playing both Casual and Ranked games.

Current Rocket League esports leagues

Rocket League has been adopted as an esport by several of the largest and professional esports organizations in the world and only continues to grow in significance in 2024.

The main circuit for professional-level Rocket League is the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), created and run by series developer Psyonix. The RLCS runs one season per year and will begin its sixth series in March. This is the game’s only Premier-tier tournament, and features the largest prize-pools for competitive Rocket League to-date.

Outside of the RLCS, pro Rocket League teams can participate in Majors and Minors run by Electronic Sports League (ESL). These Rocket League competitions are also played live but as part of multi-game tournaments rather than being solely for Rocket League. They have smaller prize-pools, but they carry just as much prestige.

Finally, several traditional television networks have picked up Rocket League for a handful of one-off tournaments, broadcast live in multiple countries. In 2017, ESPN, NBC and TBS (through its ELEAGUE esports banner) all ran Rocket League tournaments with $100,000+ prize-pools and modest success, but we don’t see this much happening anymore now that online streaming platforms Twitch and Youtube have taken over.

Rocket League: 2023-24 esports schedule

The 2023-24 Rocket League Esports season will begin with three open qualifiers before the first Major of the year. In 2024, the season structure has changed, with the RLCS deciding to have three qualifiers for each of the two Majors, and end with the RLCS World Championship. We’ve included a schedule of every upcoming Rocket League tournament with dates and prize-pools announced so far for easy reference. Bookmark this Rocket League schedule to find out when new tournaments are announced.

Rocket League esports history

Rocket League received its first esports push in March 2016, when Psyonix launched the RLCS upon seeing the massive popularity of the game on live-streaming sites like Twitch. The RLCS’s first two years offered a US$55,000 and $125,000 prize-pool, respectively. Psyonix invested $300,000 for the third series after viewership numbers rose dramatically.

Rocket League soon joined the ESL and Major League Gaming in late 2016, becoming a staple feature of their main multi-game tournament series. The game’s mainstream appeal also allowed it to gain a one-off tournament at the Summer X Games 2017, which was streamed live on ESPN 3, marking its first time on cable television as an esport.

Eventually, American cable network NBC picked up Rocket League in partnership with Faceit to run its own $100,000 one-off tournament, which was broadcast to eight different countries in July 2017 to modest success. Rival network TBS ran a $150,000 Rocket League ELEAGUE Cup series a few months later, greatly increasing its visibility to the casual audience.

Now in the 2012-22 season, the RLCS runs its own events that are now run by Psyonix and Epic Games and shown on Twitch and Youtube after the massive success of online streaming after the global pandemic. The RLCS World Championship for 2021-22 will have a US$2,000,000 prize pool with their Regional Events and Majors also having much bigger prize pools at around US$300,000.

How did Rocket League become an esport?

What makes the core gameplay of Rocket League so appealing to mainstream audiences and gamers is its simplicity.

Players can jump in and play a match (or 20) at any pace they desire, with several tools and tactics at their disposal should they wish to play at a higher level.

Meanwhile, casual Rocket League esports viewers can also tune in without having to learn complex rules. The basic premise of cars hitting a soccer ball into the other team’s goal area is a fairly quick thing to pick up, understand, and start rooting for a team.

If you show a potential future esports fan with a still screenshot image of the average Dota 2 or League of Legends competitive match, it’s a guarantee they would have no idea what they are looking at. Rocket League doesn’t have that problem because hitting a ball into a goal is a lot more simple, and that’s why it’s one of the most popular esports games in 2024.

Where can I watch Rocket League esports?

The majority of Rocket League tournaments are online-based, meaning there is no live audience or special venue for teams to fly to for the regular season.

However, the action is still streamed as normal on sites like Twitch and YouTube, and hardcore fans can tune into the esports action all the same.

Psyonix has a broadcasting exclusivity deal with Twitch for their Rocket League Championship Series, so the best place to watch the main league is the official Rocket League Twitch.tv channel.

You can find betting markets on RLCS later in the year at the many top-rated esports betting sites listed in the table above. Read more information about watching Rocket League online.