RLCS 2025 Birmingham Major - Overview of Main Events

Between 27 and 30 March, Solihull hosted one of the biggest Rocket League sports events of 2025 - the RLCS 2025 Major Birmingham. Sixteen of the world's best teams competed in front of a live audience for a $351,000 combined prize pool. French team Karmine Corp defeated The Ultimates 4-0 in the final and left with a $102,000 reward.

RLCS 2025 Kicks Off Birmingham's Esports Events

Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) became the first arena of this year's competitions. The RLCS is part of the "Game On Birmingham", which includes a series of esports events and a business esports summit (WM Esports Unwrapped).

A few days before the event, the public was invited to participate in the "British Esports Cup", open to all UK residents aged 13+. The total prize pool was £5,000, with £3,000 for the first place, £1,000 for the second, and £500 for the third and fourth.

Over 80 Solihull College & University Centre students helped organise the event, welcoming players, preparing tickets, assisting the VIP rooms, and performing various runner duties. Other official partners of the RLCS 2025 were BLAST, the British Esports Federation, West Midlands Growth Company, NEC Group, and the University of Warwick. The event is also supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the UK Government.

Karmine Corp Dominated the RLCS Birmingham Major

The French organisation Karmine Corp dominated the championship. The team started strong in the Swiss Stage, defeating the Wildcard, Geekay Esports, and Team Falcons. Despite a narrow 3-2 victory against Wildcard, they advanced confidently to the quarter finals.

Karmine Corp won against NRG in the playoffs 4-2 and crushed Furia 4-0 in the semi-finals. The final put them against The Ultimates, who had overcome Vitality and NRG. Karmine Corp won the first game in overtime and secured a decisive 3-1 victory in the second. Their winning strike continued in game three, holding onto their lead to reach first place.

RLCS 2025 - A Surprising Drop in Viewership

Although the RLCS 2025 Birmingham Major remains one of the most popular non-World Championship events, this year's edition noted a significant decrease in viewership. The championship generated a total of 287,987 peak viewers, down from last year's 435,503 in Copenhagen Major.

The airtime was slightly longer, a total of 33 hours, but the Birmingham Major got fewer watch hours (4.1m) and average viewers (121,687). For comparison, 2024's edition recorded 4.9m and 159,854 in the same categories. Karmine Corp was the most popular, with 1m generated watch hours. In second place were The Ultimates with 896,200 watch hours, followed by FURIA, NGR, and Team Vitality.