The 2025 RLCS season hits North American soil this week. The Raleigh Major runs June 26-29 at Lenovo Center, with sixteen teams from seven regions chasing the season's final Major trophy before Worlds qualification gets locked in. $400,000 on the line in 3v3, plus the second regional 1v1 brackets of the year.
Where the season stands
Karmine Corp run away with Birmingham. Open 4, 5, and 6 then produced a wider, less-consolidated set of qualifiers across regions, which means Raleigh's field is genuinely deep — even more so than Birmingham's. The current EU race for Worlds seeding behind KC has three or four teams within striking distance.
The favorites
Karmine Corp (EU)
Reigning Birmingham champions and Worlds-qualified already. KC come into Raleigh with no qualification pressure, which is either liberating or distracting depending on which past version of this roster shows up.
Team Falcons (MENA)
The most-overdue team in the world. Three international top-4 finishes in a row across 2024-2025. If they don't win soon, it stops being an "almost" story and starts being a "what's wrong?" story. The roster is too good for it not to click eventually.
Gentle Mates (EU)
Steadily the second-most consistent EU team behind Karmine Corp. Top-4 finish at Birmingham. Not the flashy pick, but probably the most reliable bet to make the Grand Final.
NRG (NA)
North America's #1 seed. Playing in NA. Atomic, BeastMode, and Daniel have had arguably their best collective qualifying split of the season. If NRG is ever going to break the EU stranglehold, Raleigh is the venue.
Sleepers to watch
- Dignitas — finished top-8 at Birmingham, top-tier qualifying run since. The team most likely to either make a Grand Final or get bounced in the first playoff round.
- Spacestation Gaming — quietly NA's most well-rounded roster. Underrated nationally, in our books.
- Geekay Esports — MENA's #2. Less polished than Falcons but with a higher upside ceiling, and capable of stealing a series from a top-3 seed.
The 1v1 bracket
Two players to track above all others. Mawkzy is the defending 1v1 Major champion from Birmingham — the safe pick, and probably still the favorite. Nwpo, MENA's #1, is the other story. He's been the most dominant 1v1 grinder in his region since the format was announced, and was knocked out earlier than expected in Birmingham. The expectation here is that he doesn't make that mistake twice.
On the SAM side, watch João "diaz" Henrique. Yanxnz won't be in Raleigh's bracket (you only get one regional qualifier shot before Worlds), but diaz has been quietly running through every SAM 1v1 he's entered.
What we're watching
- Does NA finally make a Grand Final at home?
- Does MENA convert?
- Does Karmine Corp run the table on the season?
- Who claims the second 1v1 Major and locks in the favorite slot at Worlds?
Raleigh starts Thursday. We'll have the recap up by July 6.