Wolverhampton Wanderers has become the first English Premier League club to enter the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). The announcement sees Wolves add to its growing portfolio of esports teams that includes FIFA 21, FIFA Online 4, PUBG, Identity V, and Pop Kart Racing. The involvement of Wolves in RLCS further showcases the growing trend of traditional sports organizations expanding into competitive gaming.
Rocket League was first released in 2015. It is developed by San Diego based video game company Psyonix that sees rocket-powered cars playing football. Psyonix hosts esports competitions at the collegiate level, as well as the professional level, headlined by the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS).
Wolves’ new team features the likes of Rix Ronday, Luis Puente Peña, and Ole Van Doorn from Libertas, Edelweiss Esports, and Barrage Esports, respectively. The players were selected through a scouting process that took place in the last six months. It has been revealed that the club’s first official tournament will be in the upcoming RLCS X Winter Split, which kicks off on November 12 and boasts a prize pool of $100,000.
Russell Jones, Wolves GM for Marketing and Commercial Growth, said, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of a Wolves esports Rocket League team. Millions of people around the world are playing Rocket League and, given its similarities to football, it felt like the perfect next step into esports. Gaming and esports remain a crucial part of our brand growth strategy, and signing such talented and ambitious players to represent our Rocket League esports team is another step forward in our journey to build stories outside of football and widen the appeal of the Wolves brand across the world.”
Rix Ronday, Team Captain of Wolves Esports Rocket League team, said, “It is a real honor to captain the first-ever Wolves Esports Rocket League team. I’m confident that we have recruited two of Rocket League’s most exciting talents in Ole and Luis, and we are working hard behind the scenes to prepare for the RLCSX Winter Split kick-off.”
The football club is likely to clash with the likes of FC Barcelona and David Beckham’s Guild Esports.