The Rocket League stop at the 2025 Esports World Cup wrapped up in Riyadh this weekend, and the headline is one we've gotten used to typing: Karmine Corp won it, this time defeating MENA's Geekay Esports in the Grand Final.
It's the second 2025 trophy for the Vatira-led Karmine Corp roster, after their Birmingham Major win in March. With the Esports World Cup banked, KC head into Worlds preparation firmly back as the season's most decorated team, even after their Raleigh exit earlier this summer.
What we learned
EWC events aren't directly part of the RLCS RLCS-points circuit, but they historically tell us a lot about who's peaking. A few things stood out from the weekend:
- Karmine Corp's Raleigh exit was a fluke, not a slide. The roster looked sharp, focused, and back to dictating series tempo against top-tier opposition.
- Geekay are real. MENA's #2 team made a Grand Final at one of the year's biggest non-RLCS events. They're going to be a top-3 region threat at Worlds in five weeks.
- NA continued to underperform. No North American team made the upper bracket at EWC. This is now a pattern across all four 2025 international events.
- Team BDS are not what they were. The defending World Champions had their second consecutive disappointing international event. Concerning, with Worlds just over a month away.
Worlds implications
The bigger picture: Worlds at Lyon is 38 days away as we write this, and the current "form" hierarchy is:
- Karmine Corp (back to peak)
- Team Falcons (Raleigh champions)
- Gentle Mates (most consistent EU team)
- Geekay (just made an EWC final)
- Dignitas (Raleigh runner-up)
Notably absent from that top 5: Team BDS, G2 Stride, and every NA team. Some of that is going to correct itself in the next month of scrim grinding. Some of it won't.
Full Worlds preview drops in two weeks. Settle in.