Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) is expanding with competition starting in Europe as well as a world championship, Psyonix announced on Thursday.
CRL has been around since 2017 but was only ever available to North American students. College students in Europe and other regions had very little official competition, much to the chagrin of the community. However, in 2022, that finally changes with the expansion overseas.
Additionally, instead of the usual National Finals previously between the East and West coast, Psyonix will now host a world championship between East, West and Europe in June of 2022.
Collegiate Rocket League is going INTERNATIONAL 🌍
Check out what to expect from for the #CRL Spring Season and beyond 👇
📰: https://t.co/2EdUfqaBw7 pic.twitter.com/Rs64EZq9VM
— Rocket League Esports (@RLEsports) January 13, 2022
CRL goes international
CRL operates in the spring and fall, and that won’t change in 2022. North America will mostly still be the same in that the western and eastern colleges will compete for title of Fall and Spring Champions. The best teams of each conference will be invited to the world championship.
As for Europe, not much is known yet. Psyonix promised more details in the following weeks, but they did mention a multitude of leagues, rather than a singular European league.
For now, the CRL will employ a Round-Robin League Play system with a total of $100,000 in scholastic awards between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. However, looking ahead, Psyonix has bigger plans for CRL.
“As we continue to grow the collegiate scene, we’ll be looking to expand CRL into a circuit-based system,” Psyonix wrote in the blog announcement. “We have a long way to go before that kicks off, but we’re hoping to take the learnings from the 2022 CRL Spring Season and apply them to building a circuit system for students to compete in for years to come.“
Despite the CRL being a lower tier than the RLCS, it remains an ever-popular event in North America. Unlike many other esports, Rocket League players become eligible for professional play at 15 years old, meaning they are often already competing for the RLCS before the chance to participate in the CRL comes up.
