The Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) has announced its return for the Spring 2026 semester, offering $55,000 (~£40,180) in scholastic awards in a new circuit.
Starting with the open qualifiers in February, students can sign up for a chance to reach the Spring Championship later this year.
The CRL has published the full roadmap of Rocket League events taking place in 2026.
While the scene has expanded to various regions over the years, the Spring 2026 competitions are only open to college teams in North America.
Students can begin their 2026 run by signing up for the open qualifiers through the official hub, with registrations for the first qualifier closing on February 10th, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET.
Open Qualifiers and League Play
Two open qualifiers will be held on February 15th and 28th, which will offer 16 spots to League Play, which is more than previous years have included.
According to the official rulebook, the qualifiers will be comprised of a double-elimination bracket with four pools, featuring Bo3 matches up until the Upper Semi-finals and Lower Quarterfinals, which will shift to Bo5.
League Play will feature a round-robin format and will take place across five weeks, from March 8th to April 19th, 2026. Teams will strive to secure as many wins as possible to climb the League Play Leaderboards. The top four teams from League Play will be the first to qualify for the Spring Championship, while the rest will be relegated to the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
Open 3v3 Tournaments and Spring Championship
For players that don’t qualify for League Play, other scholastic awards, CRL Points, and a spot in the LCQ can be earned in the open 3v3 tournaments. Three scholastic esports competitions will be held on March 12th, 19th and 26th, 2026.
Teams compete in up to three events, with each open 3v3 tournament featuring a double elimination bracket. If a Rocket League team loses two matches, they are eliminated from the competition.
The Collegiate Rocket League LCQ will feature the bottom 12 teams from League Play and the top eight teams from the CRL Point Leaderboards competing in a double-elimination bracket. League Play teams will begin in the Upper Brackets, while the rest begin in the Lower Brackets, with all matches being Bo5.
The Rocket League esports event is scheduled to take place on April 26th, where the top two teams will reach the Spring Championship.
Elsewhere, open 2v2 tournaments will also be held, each of which is comprised of four double elimination brackets. Two competitions are scheduled to run on April 23rd and 30th, 2026, allowing students to grab a friend and represent their school.
Finally, the Spring Championship take place in May as a two-day finale, featuring the top six collegiate teams from May 2nd to 3rd, 2026. Teams play in a double elimination bracket featuring Bo7 matches, with seedings determined by tournament administrators. The last team standing will become this year’s CRL Spring Champion.
