Rocket League: How a car-football videogame scored a spot as one of the biggest eSports titles in just six years
When you’re made aware of jobs that offer six-figure salaries, you’d typically assume that these pay grades are reserved for people similar to the likes of surgeons, property developers and seasoned lawyers, right? Wrong. Boasting ridiculously large prize pools and a plentiful array of world-renowned sponsors, the eSports scene is home to some of the world’s highest earners. But what makes playing videogames for a living so financially rewarding?
World Champions 'NRG eSports' as they take home their share of $1million
Among the most well-funded of these digital distractions from reality, Rocket League is just one of the booming games available to compete in. Combining elements of football with radio-controlled cars to form a platform of competition like no other, players must do whatever is necessary to hit the ball into the goal with their car. Despite being deemed by existing players as one of the most difficult videogames to master, it is often one of the reasons why gamers just can’t get enough of this virtual adaptation of car-football.
Gameplay image of Rocket League
And it’s not just the players that reap the rewards of such a profitable industry either – every sports team needs a coach, and Ethan ‘Ethzn’ Laughland is one of Rocket League’s youngest and most prolific coaches to rise to the challenge, as the excitement builds for the next world championship in Los Angeles. Ethan is currently coaching three players under ‘00Nation’ – a renowned eSports organisation, endorsed by the Bank of Norway.
Ethan ‘Ethzn’ Laughland’s Audio Interview with Ollie
Ethan has been involved with coaching for around two years now – with the fortune of landing on two professional teams very quickly. Ethan reflected that people knew him from his commentating background in the game and said that “people saw me as a young and bubbly person, which players liked - as most of the coaches are older.” This is an attribute that he says, “helps to understand these young players’ personalities.”
Ethan (Far Right) in his photoshoot for 00Nation as part of the RLCS World Championship 2021-2022
Coaches are vital to a team’s development and performance – and they are often overlooked for not playing a spotlight role within the professional scene. Ethan validates this by saying that “the public don’t realise what coaches do within all eSports.” They play a huge part in identifying gaps and opportunities to be capitalised upon not only within gameplay, but throughout the psychological aspect of competition. Team morale is very fragile in younger teams especially – just one loss can lead to a huge lack of motivation.
Take a look at Ethan’s Professional Interview for the 00Nation Media Team
The most successful coaches utilise their off-season time by conducting replay analysis, organising friendly matches against other top-level teams, and teaching others how to improve their overall gameplay. Ethan says that “investing hours into replay analysis has allowed me to develop my own different strategies” in his approach to coaching.
Ethan’s organisation has hosted several bootcamps in their home country of Norway – an all-expenses paid trip that allows players and coaches to spend time in a purpose-built facility for gaming. He believes that bootcamps are a “tool for successful team development”, especially as not all players get the chance to attend them. And this has certainly been proven by the 00Nation squad – they have achieved a top 6 result and two top 8 results in a relatively short amount of time. And although his $1600 per month salary is a drop in the ocean compared to the most successful eSports athletes, it’s still a figure he would “never think about arguing with.”
A typical eSports Training Facility
On the flipside of coaching, the players tend to receive the larger portion of the winnings – which is quite understandable – and this is no exception within the UK Rocket League scene. Fortunately, we are certainly not short of national tournaments for players to take part in, with the most popular league for aspiring competitors being the National Student eSports seasonal championships. This is where students from universities around the country represent their institutes as they battle for gaming gear, prize money and a chance to perform live on stage to an audience of thousands.
Josh ‘Mercy’ Norman is a player on the roster of ‘Portsmouth Paladins’ – currently the number one team in the university Rocket League scene.
Josh ‘Mercy’ Norman’s Audio Interview with Ollie
Josh has reaped the rewards of his impressive performances over his competitive career, such as taking home a HyperX headset and a powerful gaming laptop. He also said that “my most memorable highlight was winning a year’s supply of Monster energy drinks, which turn up to my house when I feel like it” – a prize earned by being commended for his skillful gameplay.
Josh says that he got into student eSports simply because it was something that “seemed both interesting and different” – but he didn’t expect to walk away with so many prizes. And “playing for a team under (his) university’s name sounded really cool.”
Josh 'Mercy' Norman, putting on a show of skill
Portsmouth’s star player has been competing at the top level of Rocket League for a number of years, refining his craft in a game that he says is “very overwhelming” to learn initially, since from his point of view “there are just so many mechanics and playstyles to understand.”
Competing in the student league has provided a “perfect balance” for Josh, who takes part in the sport alongside his university studies and professional career. He explains that “being part of a society like this is a great and welcoming scene to be a part of”, recommending the idea of representing the university as an “opportunity not to be missed.”
Josh’s team, Portsmouth Paladins are #1 in the UK for National Student Esports for Rocket league
In an effort to maintain the best performance throughout every fixture, Josh has established over time that “consistency is the best attribute to have as a player”, and that team morale is “one of the most important values to protect when competing”. As a former player of the student leagues myself, racking up the hours is probably the most effective way of developing consistency within your gameplay.
With some of the top eSports athletes racking up millions in earnings, almost every multiplayer game has its professionals and prodigies looking to steal the fame. And as one of the few industries to have benefitted from the arrival of the Coronavirus, eSports is welcoming new players at an unprecedented rate.
For instance, over the course of just four years, Swedish professional Rocket League player Pierre ‘Turbopolsa’ Silfver remains the richest player Rocket League has ever seen. After taking home the ‘World Champion’ title four times, he’s banked over $450,000 – earning him a seamless place on ‘Forbes’ 30 under 30’ list of the 30 richest people in this category who are 30 years old or younger.
4-time World Champion Pierre ‘Turbopolsa’ Silver
With so much money up for grabs, it’s clear to see why so many young and talented gamers are trying to prove themselves throughout different areas of the eSports industry. Just this year alone, the Rocket League World Championship offered the top 8 teams from around the world a share of $6 million – a prize pool that has increased every year since the championship began in 2016.
But this is only a figure attainable for the elites, sadly. Rocket League has maintained over 90 million players since 2021 after its buyout by ‘Fortnite’ creator, Epic Games – so working your way to the top is a tough grind. Most small tournaments offer a prize pool of a few hundred pounds at most, which just isn’t worth the years of graft for most people – including me. I chose to retire from the competitive scene in 2019, diverting my attention to my studies.
Other notable games that set aside millions in prize money include Counterstrike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Fortnite. But these all have far more players than Rocket League – why not take your chances?
Having said this, witnessing the progression of coaches and players alike is by far one of the most satisfying parts about competitive gaming. The tight-knit global community of eSports is what earns the sport its place as one of the most valuable platforms to connect with like-minded people, who achieve great success from the comfort of their own homes.
In 2019, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the seventh Rocket League World Championship, held in Newark, New Jersey, USA. Watching the action unfold right before my eyes was one of the most nail-biting events I’ve ever been a part of, among an audience of passionate fans of the game who were there for nothing but a great time.
A photo taken from my seat at the RLCS Season 7 World Championship in Newark, New Jersey, USA
To make my day even better, I was able to seize a photo opportunity with former world champion Justin ‘jstn’ Morales, who finished second place at the event I attended – bagging himself a respectable $80,000.
Me pictured with former World Champion Justin ‘Jstn’ Morales
As spectators of the sport, the years ahead are set to be some of the most exciting opportunities for new talent to set new records and rearrange the proving ground before us, so we must never turn a blind eye in this iconic period of gaming history.
