Paris Major in Rocket League starts

Rocket League Esports said on May 19 that the RLCS Paris Major was about to begin, sending viewers to official channels for the full match schedule as the second major international event of the 2026 season opened in France. The tournament runs from May 20 through May 24 at Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, according to Rocket League’s official event page. Sixteen teams are competing for a $354,000 prize pool and qualification points toward the Rocket League World Championship, the publisher said. The opening two days are being played behind closed doors before the arena opens to fans on May 22. ### What exactly started in Paris? The RLCS Paris Major is Rocket League’s second Major of the 2026 season, following the Boston Major earlier this year, according to Rocket League’s official event page and event guide. Rocket League said the Paris stop would bring together the top 16 teams of the split for five days of competition in France. (rocketleague.com) May 20 is the first day of play, with group-stage matches scheduled before the event moves into a hybrid elimination playoff bracket later in the week, Rocket League said. BLAST’s event page lists matchups beginning Wednesday morning local time, including NRG against Five Fears, Manchester City against MIBR, Vitality against Wildcard, and Karmine Corp against FUT Esports. (rocketleague.com) ### Which teams are in the field? Sixteen teams are listed for the Paris Major across four groups on tournament pages published by Rocket League, BLAST and Liquipedia. The field includes Vitality, Karmine Corp, Gentle Mates, NRG, Spacestation Gaming, FURIA, Twisted Minds, Shopify Rebellion, Ninjas in Pyjamas, TSM, MIBR, Manchester City Esports, Wildcard, FUT Esports, R8 Esports and Five Fears. (blast.tv) Paris La Défense Arena is the venue named by Rocket League and the arena operator for the event in Nanterre, west of central Paris. The arena site says the public portion of the competition runs from May 22 to May 24, while Rocket League’s on-site guide says the first two days are closed to spectators. (blast.tv) ### How is the tournament being played? Rocket League’s official guide says the first two days are group-stage play, after which the top 12 teams move on to a hybrid elimination playoff bracket. The same guide says arena audiences will be admitted for the final three days of live competition. (rocketleague.com) Liquipedia lists the Paris Major as an offline S-Tier event organized by Epic Games and BLAST, with competition running in 3v3 format. The site says the tournament prize pool is $354,000. ### Where can viewers watch it? Rocket League said the Paris Major would be livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch and TikTok. (rocketleague.com) The social post flagged live coverage but did not include the full slate of teams or match windows in the post itself, instead directing viewers to official schedule pages. (liquipedia.net) BLAST’s live schedule page and Rocket League’s event hub carry the match order and results as the event progresses. Third-party tracking sites including Liquipedia are also updating team listings, brackets and results, but the official Rocket League and BLAST pages are the primary sources for match times and broadcast information. (rocketleague.com) ### What happens after opening day? Friday, May 22 is the first day fans can attend in person at Paris La Défense Arena, according to Rocket League’s event guide and the arena listing. BLAST’s schedule page shows playoff matches beginning that day and continuing through Saturday, with the grand final scheduled for Sunday, May 24. (blast.tv) Sunday, May 24 is also the date Rocket League has set for the championship match at the end of the Paris Major. The official event page says the tournament awards World Championship qualification points in addition to prize money, making the standings in Paris part of the path to the season-ending RLCS championship. (rocketleague.com) (blast.tv)