For three years it had been a question of when, not if. On Sunday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, Team Falcons answered it.
Falcons defeated Dignitas 4-1 in the Grand Final to win the 2025 RLCS Raleigh Major — the Middle East and North Africa region's first-ever RLCS international title. To date, no region outside of Europe or North America had won an RLCS international event. That streak ended in North Carolina.
The Grand Final
Dignitas's run through the lower bracket made them the most surprising team of the weekend — they took out Karmine Corp in five games and then ended Team Vitality's run after that. By the Grand Final, they were the story.
Team Falcons were the answer. Dropping only one game, Falcons closed out the series with the kind of structured, defense-first Rocket League that has been their signature for the better part of two years. The relief on the players' faces after match point told its own story.
The Middle East has been one international Grand Final away from this trophy since 2024. Patience, structure, and exactly the right roster combination finally got it done.
What it means
- MENA is officially a contender region. Not just at the team level — at the regional level. Falcons winning opens the door for Geekay and others to chase similar runs.
- Karmine Corp's perfect-season storyline ends. KC went out in the bracket to Dignitas. They'll still be a top-2 Worlds seed, but the cleanness of their 2025 narrative is dented.
- Dignitas just inserted themselves into the Worlds conversation. A 2nd-place finish at the second Major changes everything about how they're seeded in September.
- NA's drought continues. No NA team made the Grand Final again. The home-soil narrative didn't materialize. NRG bowed out in the top-4 bracket.
The 1v1 Major
Hisham "Nwpo" Alqadi made up for his Birmingham exit in convincing fashion, defeating Brazil's João "diaz" Henrique 4-1 in the Grand Final to win the second 1v1 Major of the season. He joins France's Mawkzy as the second qualified player for the inaugural 1v1 World Championship in Lyon this September.
The Mawkzy vs Nwpo 1v1 Worlds matchup is going to be one of the most anticipated head-to-head storylines of the year.
Top 8
- Team Falcons — MENA
- Dignitas — EU
- Team Vitality — EU
- Karmine Corp — EU
- Gentle Mates — EU
- NRG — NA
- The Ultimates — EU
- Spacestation Gaming — NA
Heading into Worlds
With both Majors in the books, the Worlds picture is starting to sharpen. The top three of EU points are now Karmine Corp, Gentle Mates, and Team Vitality. Falcons lead MENA. NRG lead NA. SAM and APAC seeding still has movement to go in the Last Chance Qualifier.
Worlds preview coming in August. Until then: enjoy the offseason, MENA fans. You earned it.