May 5th 2022: The guidelines have been updated yet again.
Update (February 23rd 2022): Psyonix has made adjustments in response to community feedback, in terms of restrictions around tournament length, event naming and participant age.
Players can now be at least 13 years old to take part in a community tournament,
Original article (February 8th 2022):
Rocket League publisher Psyonix has implemented tighter rules around third-party community tournaments, drawing a mixed to negative reaction from the community.
The announcement has also raised further questions from the Rocket League community, who are unsure around the wording of some of the rules.
Some of the key changes include the following:
- All players must now be at least 15 years old to take part in a community tournament
- Tournaments must be online-only for now (in-person Rocket League events/LANs are prohibited from taking place due to Covid-19)
- The prizing and appearance fee cap has been raised from $5,000 to $15,000 per event, and the annual prizing cap of $50,000 has been removed
- Tournaments can receive up to $50,000 from sponsors
- Tournaments cannot include sponsorship or marketing of cryptocurrencies, NFTs or other blockchain-related product or service
- Tournaments can’t last for more than three consecutive days and organisers can’t host more than one per week
- Organisers cannot use the terms “Championship”, “Split”, “Regional Event”, “Major” or “Season” in their tournament title or in any marketing for it
You can see Psyonix’s community tournament guidelines update page here, with further links to more detailed information.
“The prize and sponsorship cap being raised is great, but this is really limiting the amateur/grassroots scene to the point where pros like Daniel, for example, would have never got a chance with this move.”
RSC EU
Esports News UK understands that the esports Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) already had the rule that players had to be aged 15 and over to compete, but now this applies to all tournaments.
However, we also understand these rules are more for the general public, and pre-existing tournaments may be able to continue, with specific approval from Psyonix.
Reaction was strong on social media, with many people questioning the new player age limitation.
Tournament organiser RSC EU said: “The prize and sponsorship cap being raised is great, but this is really limiting the amateur/grassroots scene to the point where pros like Daniel, for example, would have never got a chance with this move.”
Some Rocket League pro players, like Daniel from the US and Scrub Killa from Scotland, started playing in tournaments before they turned 15 years old.
Yui, a founding member of Slipstream, hosting the ECC10 tournaments, added: “What I’ve heard from many so far is that it’s okay because Psyonix might approve most requests. But being at the whim of a corporate decision that is introduced overnight without prior warning feels horrible, and disrespectful of the work the community put into their events.”
Jon Winkle, MD of Epic.LAN, said simply: “Psyonix… what are you doing?”
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
