Here are the winners, recaps, and rankings of the RLCS 2022-23 Winter Cup for the EU, SAM, APAC, and SSA regions.
The Rocket League Championship Series for the Winter Season 2022-23 has wrapped up its second qualifier, the Winter Cup, for four regions. The qualifiers are getting more competitive the closer we are to the Winter Major that will be held this April. Let's look at the winners, a recap of the events, and rankings for the RLCS Winter Cup for Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa regions.
Karmine Corp's relentless EU domination
The French team is getting stronger by the day as they take another win under their belt. They had won the RLCS EU Winter Open two weeks ago and they ride the exhilarating momentum into the Winter Cup, smashing everyone in the way.
"The key to that is we are all together in the boot camp and we are really good friends. And it's really helping for the mentality because we are always joking around. I think if one of us feels pressured, it just goes away because everyone is in a good mood, making jokes and chilling"
Karmine Corp is not exactly invincible but they win when they need to win. Their group stage was a challenge but they ended up at the top of the group with a three-way tie. They went against German Amigos in the first playoff match, winning it with a 4:2 score. Then, Karmine Corp beat Oxygen Esports convincingly in the semifinals. The grand final was a match between Karmine Corp and the young blood Team Liquid who was ferocious throughout the RLCS Winter Cup. Team Liquid couldn't challenge Karmine Corp's aggressiveness, and ended up falling to the EU superstar with a 2:4 score.
Karmine Corp is going to the San Diego Winter Major
It is official, Karmine Corp is the first team to qualify for the RLCS Winter Major that will be held in San Diego, United States. There are five slots allocated for the EU region and we will see teams competing for the four remaining slots in the next Winter Invitational.
RLCS Winter Ranking Team RLCS Points | 1 Karmine Corp (qualify for Winter Major) 43 | 2 Oxygen Esports 27 | 3 Team Liquid 27 | 4 Team Vitality 27 | 5 German Amigos 23 | 6 Quadrant 20 | 7 Moist Esports 19 | 8 G1 16 | 9 Soniqs 16 | 10 Williams Resolve 16 |
KRÜ Esports first RLCS SAM regional win
The Argentian team has always come close, staying consistently in the top four of the SAM region. They continuously improve throughout the season and they can finally reap the rewards for their hard work.
KRÜ Esports' journey in the Winter Cup was an easy ride from the beginning. After a clean sweep in the group stage, they faced EndGame and w7m esports in the playoff. They won both matches convincingly and met with Exceed in the grand final. This was Exceed's second grand final in the season and they were hungry for victory. Unfortunately for them, KRÜ Esports didn't give them space to breathe, taking the qualifier with a clean 4:0 score.
RLCS SAM Winter Ranking
There are two slots for the SAM region in the upcoming Winter Major. Currently, KRÜ Esports is tied with Team Secret and Exceed in the first place at 32 points.
RLCS Winter Ranking Team RLCS Points | 1 Exeed 32 | 2 Team Secret 32 | 3 KRÜ Esports 32 | 4 w7m esports 24 | 5 Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 | 6 Parabellum Esports 16 | 7 EndGame 13 | 8 The Club 13 | 9 True Neutral 13 | 10 Final Form 11 |
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Elevate makes a convincing comeback for RLCS APAC Winter Cup
Last Winter Open did not go as well as Elevate had hoped. With them winning all three of the Fall qualifiers in the Fall season, their first defeat feels bitter on the tongue. However, fueled by disappointment, they went into Winter Cup with new determination and confidently took back their crown.
The moment we lost in the first regional, I think my hours went up to 120 hours the past weeks. Everyday since the first regional, I've been playing at least like eight to nine hours a day, just freeplay. I just really want to win and make it to the major.
Winter Cup was a breeze for Elevate as they first made a clean sweep in the group stage. They met against Brokoli and Decimate Gaming in the playoffs, ending quickly with a 4:0 score for both games. Elevate then met Gaimin Gladiators in the grand final. The Gladiators could not penetrate Elevate's defense, leaving Elevate to win the qualifier with only one loss in the entire Winter Cup.
RLCS APAC Winter Ranking
The Winter Cup win puts them in a tie with Gaimin Gladiators in the RLCS Winter Ranking. Since the APAC region has only one slot in the Winter Major, it's going to be intense competition between the APAC teams in the next Winter Invitational.
RLCS Winter Ranking Team RLCS Points | 1 Elevate 35 | 2 Gaimin Gladiators 35 | 3 DeToNator 31 | 4 Lycus Empire 27 | 5 Decimate Gaming 23 | 6 Lotus Gaming 19 | 7 Nimmt55 19 | 8 Brokoli 16 | 9 Rezi's Minions 14 | 10 UHUH 13 |
Limitless stays the king of RLCS SSA despite challenging competitors
This result is no surprise as this is Limitless' fifth regional win in the RLCS 2022-23 season. However, Limitless was challenged pretty hard in the SSA Winter Cup. It was a pretty smooth ride until they had to face White Rabbit Gaming in the semifinals. WRG managed to take two games against Limitless but ended up losing to the superstar team.
Limitless then went against Nixuh in the grand final. Nixuh had previously defeated Orlando Pirates in the semifinals, leading people to question whether this is the team to finally beat the undefeatable Limitless. They, like WRG, managed to take two games against Limitless but that is where the attempt ends. Limitless stay the champion of SSA. In the winner's interview, 2Die4 admitted that they were not clicking as well in this qualifier, but in the end, they still prevail.
RLCS SSA Overall Ranking
The SSA region does not receive any slot for any upcoming Major so we will be looking at the overall SSA RLCS Ranking. Two of the teams will get the invite to go to the World Championship in August. As of now, Limitless and Orlando Pirates Exdee stay on top of the ranking.
RLCS Ranking Team RLCS Points | 1 Limitless 103 | 2 Orlando Pirates Exdee 73 | 3 Nixuh 62 | 4 White Rabbit Gaming 59 | 5 ATK 55 | 6 AIPX Gaming 35 | 7 SRZ 35 | 8 Red Crown Esports 29 | 9 Digital Devils 125 | 10 Astronic Esports 22 |
Check out other articles on the RLCS 2022-23 Winter season:
- RLCS Winter Major going to DreamHack San Diego, tickets on sale
- EU, SAM, APAC, and SSA RLCS Winter Open Overview and Results
- Karmine Corp wins the RLCS EU Winter Open
- NA, MENA, and OCE RLCS Winter Open Overview and Results
- Gen.G Mobil1 Racing wins the RLCS NA Winter Open
- EU, SAM, APAC, and SSA RLCS Winter Cup Overview and Results
- How to claim Rocket League Fan Rewards
We will keep you updated with more Rocket League Championship Series content and stay tuned for more esports news.