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RLCS Club Championship: how 24 London teams become a 16-team finale

Twenty invited clubs, four qualifier places and a regional league phase: the new competition extends beyond December’s London kickoff.

CS
ClutchScope editorial
Published 20 Oct 2026 · 2 min read
Fact-checked 20 Oct 2026 · Times stated with their timezone
Fictional car-football scene · AI illustration
Fictional car-football scene · AI illustration
Original qualification diagram: 20 invited clubs plus four qualifiers, 24 clubs in London and league play, 16 at the 2027 finale.
Original ClutchScope explanatory graphic. Not an event photograph.
In this article
  1. London starts the competition; it does not finish it
  2. Twenty invitations and four open places
  3. Which London days can fans attend?
  4. A new route after the World Championship

London starts the competition; it does not finish it

The first RLCS Club Championship opens with 24 teams in London on 9–13 December 2026, before regional online league play leads to a 16-team Club Finale LAN in 2027. Psyonix describes it as a separate competition from the familiar Major structure.

That longer route is the key to understanding the announcement. The December event is the kickoff, not the entire championship compressed into five days. And the advertised $2.5 million is the total Club Championship prize pool, not a confirmed London-only pool or a winner’s cheque.

Twenty invitations and four open places

Psyonix says it will directly invite 20 clubs. An Open Online Qualifier starting in November decides the other four places. The announcement says registration and eligibility details will follow before the qualifier opens.

An invitation route is not an announced team list. Nor does the four-slot allocation establish a regional split: players should use the organiser’s eventual qualifier rules to check eligibility rather than assume where those places are assigned.

After London, the 24 teams enter regional online league play to qualify for the 16-team finale. The announcement does not specify the regional slot allocation or the exact finale date. Those details matter before drawing a bracket or planning a trip to the 2027 event.

Which London days can fans attend?

The kickoff runs 9–13 December at Copper Box Arena, but the live audience dates are 11–13 December. Keep those windows separate when arranging travel. The calendar entry records both.

London uses GMT (UTC+0) in December, so an eventual local start hour will match UTC. The announcement does not give individual match hours. It also says ticket information will follow; consult the official channels for current ticket releases and availability before booking around a specific session.

A new route after the World Championship

This competition follows the completed 2026 World Championship, where Falcons won the 3v3 title. That result is useful season context, not proof of a Club Championship invitation or a prediction for London.

For viewers, the practical distinction is simple: follow the Club Championship’s own qualification path. Do not carry Major points, assumptions about automatic places, or the World Championship bracket into a competition that Psyonix explicitly describes as separate. Our Rocket League hub brings the coverage together.