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The Rocket League 2025 RLCS Birmingham Major reached its conclusion on the weekend, with French organisation Karmine Corp claiming their first Major of the season.
They delivered a 4-0 victory over The Ultimates in the grand final at the BP Pulse Live Arena, marking the first-ever clean sweep in an RLCS Major final.
The landmark win also featured standout performances across the board, including a first MVP title for Moroccan player dralii in his debut event with the organisation, following his off-season move from BDS.
The victory marks Karmine Corp’s third Major title for French star Vatira, and the first career trophy for rising Belgian talent Atow – a signal of the team’s depth and ambition heading into the rest of the season.
The tournament saw Karmine Corp go unbeaten through the Swiss stage with wins over Twisted Minds, Furia and NRG, before dispatching NRG once again in the upper-bracket quarter-finals.
A quick 4-0 sweep of Furia in the semi-finals set the tone for an emphatic finals performance – and a $102,000 share of the $351,000 prize pool.
The RLCS Birmingham Major was first announced last October. The event was delivered alongside Solihull Council, British Esports Federation, NEC Group, West Midlands Growth Company, and the University of Warwick, with funding support from the West Midlands Combined Authority and UK Government through the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund.
English trophy specialists Thomas Lyte were recently announced as the Official Silverware Partner for RLCS in 2025, and designed the Birmingham Major trophy.
The RLCS Birmingham Major was the first of two major UK-based esports events taking place in 2025 as part of a strategic partnership between tournament organiser Blast and Live Nation, in collaboration with local and national stakeholders.
Next up for Blast, esports returns to the capital this September for the 2025 Blast Premier London Open at OVO Arena Wembley (September 5-7), where the world’s best Counter-Strike teams will battle it out in front of thousands of fans.
Tickets to the 2025 Blast Premier London Open go on sale later this week.
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.
