There will be 20 teams competing in the RLCS 2025 Worlds

Epic Games has announced a few changes for RLCS 2025 in the days following the conclusion of the RLCS Champs 2024. The new changes will take effect starting in January when RLCS returns for competitive play.

RLCS 2025 Returns in January

Right after the RLCS Worlds 2024 came to an end at the Dickies Arena, Psyonix unveiled details about the 2025 season. Team BDS took the victory over G2 esports in the Grand Finals that went to 6 maps. With the victory over G2 esports, BDS took the large share of the prize pool at $300,000. 

That being said, here are the changes that will form a part of the RLCS 2025 season.

RLCS 1v1

Yes, there will be an RLCS 1v1 format that will go live alongside the traditional 3v3 season. The 1v1 series will take place in all regions - EU, NA, MENA and SAM. Here are the details:

Split 1:

  • This will consist of a single Open Qualifier in EU, SAM, and APAC
  • Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 128 in EU / 64 in SAM / 32 in APAC
  • The winner of the Open Qualifier in EU and SAM will progress to a 1v1 Final at Major 1

Split 2:

  • A single Open Qualifier in NA, MENA, OCE, and SSA (the regions that weren’t included in Split 1)
  • Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 128 in NA, 64 in MENA & OCE and 32 in SSA
  • The winner of the Open Qualifier in NA and MENA will progress to a 1v1 Final at Major 2

RLCS World Championship 2025:

  • The winner of the Major 1 1v1 Final will face the winner of the Major 2 1v1 Final at the Rocket League World Championship 2025
  • Tournament scheduling will allow players to compete in both 3v3 and 1v1 formats
  • More than one player from an organization can enter and play against each other

Last Chance Open Qualifiers

There will also be an online Last Chance Open Qualifiers in 2025. The Last Chance Open Qualifier will take place between Major 2 and the RLCS World Championship. 

The Last Chance Open Qualifier will take place in the four strongest regions. The regions have not been specified yet, but will be based on the average performance of each region’s teams at the in-person RLCS Majors. 

One team from each of the four regions will qualify for the Rocket League World Championship. 

RLCS World Championship

There will be a total of 20 teams in the Rocket League World Championship 2025. The expanded nature of the RLCS Worlds means fans will get to see a new format and there will be four more teams than the present sixteen. The new format would include four teams that qualify from the Last Chance Open Qualifiers, allowing teams to qualify for Worlds even if they didn’t strike gold at the previous Majors. 

The four teams that qualify from the Last Chance Open Qualifiers will compete in person against the four lowest-seeded qualified teams from the four lowest-ranked regions. These teams are decided based on the average performance of each region’s teams at the in-person RLCS Majors. 

This is the Play-In Stage and the top four teams from this Play-In stage will advance to the RLCS World Championship.

Ranking Qualification in the Open Qualifiers

A small but welcome change for top-tier teams is the ranking qualification changes. The top eight teams from each event will advance to a later stage of the following open qualifier. 

This will ensure that top teams do not have to go through the initial stages of every event in the open qualifiers. However, there are a couple of exclusions. This will not include the Last Chance qualifier and the first Open Qualifier of each Split.