Psyonix made the announcement last week that the Rocket League World Championships are now canceled due to the Coronavirus spread. As a result, the company has now given more importance to regional championships by increasing total prize pools by $250,000.
The official blog post by Psyonix reads: “We evaluated next steps and are making the Regional Championships the pinnacle of Season 9. Because of this, we are adding $250,000 of additional prizing to the Regional Championships across the four regions that were set to compete at the World Championship.” Additional prizing will be split among the top four teams that would have qualified for World Championships.
For North America and Europe, the prize structure has been redistributed to the following amounts:
- First Place: $52,000 additional prizing ($70,000 now)
- Second Place: $27,000 additional prizing ($40,000 now)
- Tied for Third Place: $10,500 additional prizing each ($16,500 now)
Oceania sees less of a prize bump, but still substantial enough to make a difference for the teams participating:
- First Place: $15,000 additional prizing ($37,500 now)
- Second Place: $10,000 additional prizing ($24,000 now)
South America also sees a minor lift in prizing:
- First Place: $15,000 additional prizing ($23,000 now)
- Second Place: $10,000 additional prizing ($17,000 now)
Psyonix plans to make Season 9’s regional events the biggest ones ever, and will be announcing more details about online and in person coverage soon.