RLCS World Championship 2026 heads to Fort Worth with 20 Rocket League teams chasing the season’s biggest title.
The Rocket League Championship Series 2026 season finale is just around the corner, as the world’s best teams prepare for the world championship.
RLCS World Championship 2026 is here, set to kick off on Tuesday, September 15, in Fort Worth, United States.
The tournament returns to the Texan city for the third time in RLCS World Championship history, once again promising an exciting week of top-tier Rocket League action, as the world’s elite rosters battle for the prestigious trophy.
Like years before, the RLCS World Championship will feature 20 teams from all major regions of the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Middle East & North Africa, Asia-Pacific, Oceania, and South Saharan Africa, who will face off on the big stage for all the marbles.
The six-day event will include three stages: the play-ins, group stage, and the playoffs.
Eight teams will begin their campaign in the play-ins, where they will battle through a double-elimination group for four tickets leading into the group stage.
There, the 16 remaining squads will be divided into four single round-robin groups of four and play a series of best-of-five games to determine which 12 squads will enter the playoffs.
Playoffs will feature a hybrid format, with the four group winners placed directly into the upper bracket quarterfinals.
The remaining eight teams will battle through the lower bracket, with all matches, including the grand final on Sunday, September 20, played as best-of-seven.
RLCS World Championship is an event no Rocket League fan should miss, and a tournament that esports punters will want to mark on their calendar, promising heaps of betting opportunities to explore.
At Esportbet, you can find our free RLCS World Championship 2026 tournament betting preview, with expert picks and odds courtesy of the top-rated Rocket League bookmakers.
RLCS World Championship 2026 outright odds
- Ninjas in Pyjamas – +291
- Spacestation Gaming – +440
- Team Falcons – +451
- Karmine Corp – +491
- Team Vitality – +656
- Gentle Mates – +930
- Twisted Minds – +1219
- Shopify Rebellion – +1326
- NRG – +1415
- Wildcard – +1713
- MIBR – +2122
- FUT Esports – +2232
- Man City Esports – +2646
- FURIA Esports – +2900
- Virtus.pro – +2900
- Mate y Tapa – +2900
- R8 Esports – +2900
- TSM – +2900
- Bigdoes – +2900
- Five Fears – +2900
RLCS World Championship 2026 teams to watch
Team Falcons
Team Falcons dominated the Esports World Cup last month, which should serve as a solid form guide for what could happen at the RLCS World Championship.
Falcons’ performance in Paris makes them the team to beat in Fort Worth, as they seem to have reached their peak form.
Yet even before the EWC, Falcons had been showing signs of greatness.
Besides managing a semifinal run at the RLCS Boston Major, Falcons have also won four straight events before the world championship, including Saudi eLeague Major 1, MENA 2v2 Open, Prime eLeague S4, and the EWC.
Form is there, and so is quality, which is all you need to make a run for the trophy.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Ninjas in Pyjamas enter the RLCS World Championship 2026 in excellent form, having shown strong performances in recent months.
Since exiting the RLCS Boston Major in seventh-eighth, they have placed second in EU Open 4, top-four in EU Open 5 and 6, and most notably, secured a bronze medal at the Esports World Cup, beating Karmine Corp in the third-place decider.
Cristian “crr” Raigal had an outstanding performance at the EWC, where he lived up to the hype and showed much of the same form he had during his Complexity Gaming days.
Despite showing strong form ahead of the world championship, Ninjas in Pyjamas still have a lot to prove before they can be considered serious contenders to hoist the trophy.
Karmine Corp
Karmine Corp are a well-known name in conversations about potential big Rocket League event winners.
They have already won the Paris Major, secured two EU Open silver medals, and, more recently, placed fourth at the Esports World Cup.
While results are there, Karmine Corp are also known to be very volatile and inconsistent.
This was very noticeable at the EWC, where KC nearly lost against R8 Esports, and got smoked by Team Falcons and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
With results like that behind them, KC travel to Fort Worth with a huge question mark above them, despite having shown before that their ceiling is very high.
Team Vitality
Team Vitality are one of Europe’s biggest and most successful teams who are never to be counted out.
They had a fantastic performance at the RLCS Paris Major and did not disappoint with their run to the grand final of the Boston Major in February.
As shown before, Vitality can deliver at the biggest stage, but they are very momentum-driven.
Vitality, when they are flowing, are hard to stop, granted that does not happen as consistently as they would like.
More recently, Vitality did not find their footing at the EWC with a fifth-eighth place finish, after falling apart in key moments.
The potential is there, but consistency is not Vitality’s strong suit.
Gentle Mates
Gentle Mates are arguably one of the top-four teams at RLCS World Championship 2026.
With their title run at RLCS Boston Major, Gentle Mates have already proven they can perform at the top level; however, success has been hard to come by for them over the last few months, with a fifth-sixth place finish at the Paris Major and fifth-eighth at the Esports World Cup.
At EWC, Gentle Mates did not look too sharp, having beaten only Five Fears and MIBR.
However, they did push Falcons to five maps, proving M8 can punch up.
Twisted Minds
Twisted Minds are one of the more consistent and reliable teams attending the RLCS World Championship.
They did not impress at the Boston Major; however, they have shown improvement since, with two MENA Open gold medals, a runner-up finish at the Paris Major, and a top-eight finish at the Esports World Cup.
Twisted Minds have another advantage most other teams do not.
They know Team Falcons very well and have given them a run for their money many times this season.
With the right approach and a solid bracket, Twisted Minds can make it very far at the RLCS World Championship.
Spacestation Gaming
Spacestation Gaming are North America’s main hope and a team who can shake up the balance of power at the RLCS World Championship.
SSG looked solid in the Paris Major, where they reached the second round of the playoffs and have since added a silver medal at the Esports World Cup.
Their performance at the EWC should inspire confidence as Spacestation Gaming handled Karmine Corp, Shopify Rebellion, and even Ninjas in Pyjamas, who have been ramping up.
One good tournament run does not prove a lot, but SSG have shown enough to deserve respect ahead of the season-ending event.
RLCS World Championship 2026 predictions
Outright bet – Team Falcons to win
Team Falcons are very difficult to doubt after having emerged as the most in-form Rocket League team in the world.
Besides winning the Esports World Cup last month, Falcons have also won Saudi eLeague Major 1 and Prime eLeague.
Besides showing superb form, Falcons are also one of the most stacked rosters in the scene, and there are not many teams in the world that can stop them.
With Karmine Corp and Vitality’s inconsistencies, Falcons have a straightforward path to the top.
Team Falcons to win
Outsider bet – Twisted Minds to reach final
Twisted Minds have been flying under the radar for a long time, but they are not to be overlooked as potential dark horses to go all the way.
As one of the most consistent teams in the world, Twisted Minds have already left a positive impression in past big events, including the Paris Major and the Esports World Cup.
In the latter, they ran into their regional rivals, Falcons, and lost, yet still put up a very respectable showing, proving they still know how to handle the current world No.1.
As the only team who have consistently challenged Team Falcons, Twisted Minds have an advantage most other squads do not.
And that can not only take them far at the RLCS World Championship 2026, but it will very likely see them end up on a podium.
Twisted Minds to reach the final
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
