» Category: Announcement

What’s Up With the RCS?

Earlier this year we announced our 5th RCS season, but due to COVID-19 concerns, each event has since been canceled. During the initial months of uncertainty, we launched a temporary substitute, the ROCS. With a more clear outlook on 2020, it is clear that the return of offline majors will not be happening anytime soon. As such, following the recent success of our online circuit, and with our Definitive Edition on the horizon, we feel that it is time to bring back the beloved Rivals Championship Series along with our heavily requested seasonal shop.

We’re going Infamous for Season 5!

Format and Schedule

While the ROCS saw unweighted bi-weekly events culminating into its final event, RCS Season 5 will consist of one major online event per month over the course of four months, each carrying their own competitive weight. Each event will consist of high caliber incentives, sure to draw in players everywhere.

We understand that some will miss the frequency of events and the lower stress environments provided by the ROCS qualifiers, so we have something in store for those looking for more chances to play with lower stakes. Each month leading up to our January finals will play host to weightless weekly events every Friday in our Official Discord. These events will begin in September, so be sure to keep an eye out for more information!

Here is our official schedule:

More information introducing events to Europe and Australia is TBA.

Monthly Themes

Season 5 continues to evolve as we introduce elemental themed months with a plethora of prizes for competitors and spectators alike! Starting in September, each month leading up to our January finals will have a special theme that will affect how the community interacts with the series including special bundles from our newly updated shop, a chance to acquire brand new and previously retired champion DLC skins, and even unique prize opportunities for competitors participating in each major and our less competitive weekly events hosted through our Official Discord.

When each month’s major event comes around, we highly encourage players to record every character used on their tournament runs. The highest placing competitor to exclusively use rivals matching the month’s elemental theme will receive an item from the Season 5 RCS shop. If a player happens to WIN the monthly major using only Rivals matching the month’s elemental theme, they will be awarded a special controller from us by our friends at Controller Chaos.

The season opens with Fire, so start practicing your Zetterburn!

North American Season 5 Reward Structure

As mentioned above, there will be special rewards for the highest placing player(s) using only rivals matching each month’s elemental theme, but that’s not all. Each month will have a prize pool of up to $500 and our finals will have an uncapped prize pool, all funded by our shop. On the DLC front, we are bringing out a Brand New Name Color and Trim, which will be awarded to every player in the top 64, by points, after the Water Major in December.

Finally, this season we are happy to introduce Champion Skins for the remainder of the cast (including our guests!) in addition to chances to earn every single one of our previous Champion Skins as well! Check out the details below.

September – The Month of Flame

• All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Fire Major will receive a brand new Champion Clairen Premium Skin.
• All participants in the Fire Major will receive a Champion Zetterburn Premium Skin.
• Weekly Discord tournaments will provide all first time participants with a Champion Forsburn Premium Skin.

October – The Month of Air

• All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Air Major will receive a brand new Champion Elliana Premium Skin.
• All participants in the Air Major will receive a Champion Wrastor Premium Skin.
• Weekly Discord tournaments will provide all first time participants with a Champion Absa Premium Skin.

November – The Month of Earth

• All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Earth Major will receive the extremely rare Champion Maypul Premium Skin.
• All participants in the Earth Major will receive a Champion Kragg Premium Skin.
• Weekly Discord tournaments will provide all first time participants with a Champion Sylvanos Premium Skin.

December – The Month of Water

• All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Water Major will receive a Champion Ranno Premium Skin.
• All participants in the Water Major will receive a Champion Etalus Premium Skin.
• Weekly Discord tournaments will provide all first time participants with a Champion Orcane Premium Skin.

January – Finals

For the RCS Finals we plan on spreading the wealth of our collective prize pool. Prize money will be distributed to players beyond just our champion! The exact payout structure will depend on numerous factors, but we pride ourselves on spreading compendium money to a reasonable extent at each of our RCS Finals, and that won’t change here!

To reward players for consistently placing well throughout the season, we are bringing back a familiar prize introduced during the ROCS. The top 32 players, by points, of the four elemental Majors with be automatically advanced into the second phase of bracket!

• All participants in the Finals will receive a Champion Ori Premium Skin.
• All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Finals will receive a Champion Shovel Knight Premium Skin.

Links!

We are aware that this post has a lot of information to digest, so please refer to all relevant links in this one convenient spot!

• RCS Season 5 League Page
• RCS Shop
• September’s Fire Major
• October’s Air Major
• November’s Earth Major
• December’s Water Major

Registration is now OPEN for all events!

April 2020 marked the beginning of our first ever dedicated online championship series. While extraordinary circumstances brought our major focus to the online world, competition quickly began to heat up with the North American, European, and Australian regions lifting up a select few titans to top each event.

Each region hosted six of their own bi-weekly qualifiers, with competitors earning points toward distinguished prizes and advancements in their respective final events. Players also earned exclusive Premium Skins just for attending, along with others for Top 8 placements. Following our halfway marker for ROCS qualifiers, our friends at Hit Box were kind enough to sponsor the circuit, providing prizes for competitors and spectators alike.

Over the course of 3 months, old kings were met with a new wave of players challenging and, at times, even usurping their thrones. The ROCS was shown to be a contentious and consistent proving ground for the best players in the world to continue high level competition on a massive scale.

Uncertainty on the horizon regarding local majors fueled a blossoming online community to rise up together with the ROCS while players began hosting and entering their own events to satiate the Summer hunger that Rivals is known for.

When all was said and done, over 3,000 cumulative attendees tested their might through the ROCS qualifiers and eventual finals.

A few notable attendance stats over the past few months illustrate a promising future for a potential second circuit:

• North America boasted a record breaking 477 attendees in their final event on July 11th.
• Europe and Australia broke previous attendance records multiple times, including at their final events on July 12th and July 15th.

VODS and Replays

If you missed any of the action and would like to catch up, North America and Europe featured streams of each of their seven events with replays that can be found on our YouTube channel.

Final Standings

While many players demonstrated exemplary play, ultimately only one from each region could claim the grand prize. Penguin, Fireicey, and Jet each topped the charts in points and claimed first place in their respective final events. Each of these three players won themselves a Smash Box from our sponsors at Hit Box, and a nice cash prize from the Rivals team to go with it.

Here are the final placements from each region. You can learn more about our events on our league page:

NORTH AMERICA

EUROPE

AUSTRALIA

While the league points themselves are a representation of the best players from each region, only those with 100 points or more stood above the rest and collected a special DLC as a badge of honor for online matchmaking.

Previously, unique name colors have been reserved for Early Access players, Beta Testers, and Developers; so it seems fitting that this elite prize has only been awarded to the Top 6 players of each region. The DLC will feature a special color for their online name, an intimidating red trim to replace their ranking badge, and a special badge to show off in online lobbies and online matchmaking games.

If you meet these players online, be ready for a fight.