YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. NRG swept through the semifinals and took down Team Falcons 4-1 in the grand final of the Rocket League Championship Series 2025 World Championship, clinching their second world title on Sunday in Lyon, France.
NRG, who also prevailed in the 2019 finals, pocketed $300,000 for the victory Sunday. Team Falcons settled for a $153,000 second prize.
Team Falcons had won the Raleigh Major earlier this season, while Karmine Corp captured both the Birmingham Major and the Esports World Cup titles. NRG outlasted them all during Sunday’s action, which began with the lower-bracket quarterfinals.
Karmine Corp swept The Ultimates 4-0 and Geekay Esports defeated Wildcard 4-1 to advance to the semifinals. NRG was a 4-0 winner over Geekay; they prevailed 1-0 on Mannfield (Night) by scoring 3:03 into overtime, then 3-1 on Forbidden Temple, 4-2 on DFH Stadium (10th Anniversary) and 2-1 on Utopia Coliseum (Dusk).
Falcons won a semifinal showdown with Karmine Corp, 4-2. Karmine Corp scored a 4-0 win on Mannfield (Night) to open the match, but Falcons moved ahead with a 3-2 overtime victory on Forbidden Temple and a 2-1 result on DFH Stadium. Karmine Corp evened the match, winning 2-1 on Utopica Coliseum (Dusk), but Falcons triumphed with consecutive 1-0 wins on AquaDome (Salty Shallows) and Neo Tokyo.
That set up the grand final clash with NRG, which earned a 3-2 win on Mannfield (Night) to get it started. Falcons answered by winning 1-0 on Forbidden Temple, but NRG pulled out a 2-1 win at DFH Stadium 13 seconds into overtime.
Falcons used their timeout after that match to regroup, but NRG kept rolling with a 2-1 victory at Utopia Coliseum (Dusk). They clinched the world title with a 3-2 win at AquaDome (Salty Shallows).
NRG was powered by Landon “BeastMode” Konerman, who took home RLCS 2025 Season MVP honors, and Daniel “Daniel” Piecenski, who was named the North American RLCS MVP at the end of the regular season.
Twenty teams competed at the World Championship for shares of a $1.2 million prize pool. Four teams out of eight advanced from a play-in last Wednesday, leaving 16 teams to participate in the two-day Group Stage. Eight clubs made the double-elimination playoffs, where all matches were best-of-seven.
RLCS 2025 World Championship prize pool:
1. NRG — $300,000
2. Team Falcons — $153,000
3-4. Karmine Corp, Geekay Esports — $99,000
5-6. The Ultimates, Wildcard — $84,000
7-8. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Spacestation Gaming — $66,000
9-12. Dignitas, FURIA, Team Secret, Team Vitality — $37,500
13-16. Virtus.pro, ROC Esports, Gen.G Mobil1 Racing, Twisted Minds — $17,250
17-18. MIBR, Shopify Rebellion — $9,000
19-20. FUT Esports, TSM — $6,000
–Field Level Media
