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Rocket League

How Will The RLCS League Expansion Affect the 2021-2022 Season?

Psyonix revealed some big changes coming to the The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) 2021-2022 season in a new announcement trailer. Along with a revamped format, the league has expanded to add three new regions. RLCS will now include the Asia-Pacific North, Asia-Pacific South, Middle East and North Africa regions.

This encompasses an assortment of countries like India, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and many more. Psyonix told press that the new regions have been scouted and possess a “competitive pool of players.” What this means for the upcoming season is that there will be a lot more moving parts and lot of new faces rising the ranks. To make the integration as smooth as possible, there will also be a new format meant to “increase the uniformity” of the league and competitions. RLCS X was admittedly their biggest format change ever, but of course a league expansion requires much needed format amendments.

The Fall, Winter and Spring Splits will return this season, with each Split consisting of three Regional Events capped with a Major. All Regional Events will begin with an Open-Qualifier, but some teams can auto-qualify for Regional Events based on their performance in previous ones. Each Split features a unique format; the Fall Split employs a Swiss format that feeds into an eight-team, single-elimination bracket, the Winter Split will have teams battle through a Group Stage with four groups which then culminates into an elimination bracket, and finally the Spring Split will employ a simple double elimination format. Points from Regional Events and Majors are used to qualify to the Rocket League World Championship; points earned in the Majors will be weighted more. Other than that, things will mostly play out the same way as last season.

The expansion of the league means expansion of competition, with seven regions vying for a spot in the Rocket League World Championship. Eight of the spots will be taken by auto-qualifications awarded to the Regions that perform the best at Majors. There’s a great chance the RLCS Main Event will look a lot different this year. RLCS returns on October 15th broadcasting on the Rocket League Twitch Channel. Signs-ups open soon!

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Rocket League

Signing Chaussette45 Could Turn Semper Esports Into a Championship Roster

Semper Esports (SMPR) announced the official signing of Chaussette45 in what many call the worst kept secret in Rocket League esports. The France native made his debut for SMPR at Gamers Without Borders 2021 (GWB), helping bring home the trophy and a $200,000 donation for UNICEF. Speculation swarmed when his former teammate, Aztral, seemed to leak the news in a Twitch stream a month ago. The official announcement came as no surprise and was met with a highly favorable response from SMPR fans. Can Chaussette45 really be the piece that pushes SMPR over the hump and leads them to an RCLS Championship?

The team is coming off of a third place finish in the regular season and third-fourth finish in the championship series. Chaussette45 is also coming off a pretty successful season of his own, helping team Oxygen clinch the top 6 and a spot in the RCLS X championships. In his SMPR debut at GWB, Chaussette45 put forth an impressive performance with his new squad. He was definitely their glue on the defensive end throughout the tournament and even put forth a crucial five saves in their game five win against Team Singularity. He was somewhat inconsistent on the offensive end, however that can be chocked up to team chemistry, as well him electing to fill in the gaps needed rather chase goals.

This type of player just might be what SMPR needs right now. Kassio and Archie are a strong two who can provide goals, masterful shot percentages, and have experience playing together. Chausette45 compliments the duo very well, and proved to be an adaptable third on the field. The offense he was able to bring to the table, though inconsistent, came at all the right times when SMPR needed it the most; like when he helped notch a 1 goal win against Payback in game 2. As time goes by, SMPR will only get better together and is already a dangerous team when RCLS Season 11 rolls around.