Besides FC Barcelona there are several other European clubs doing the same thing, one of them is Paris Saint-Germain.
Esports ecosystems on the continent of Europe in the last two years have experienced quite unique developments. More and more conventional sports teams are involved in the world of esports, especially what we often see are soccer teams. Some of them have recruited teams in esports branches that are related to football itself, such as Manchester City which recruits FIFA athletes. But some are not related, for example FC Schalke 04 with their League of Legends team.
One of the European giants who did the same thing was the Spanish league champions, FC Barcelona. The grazing club Lionel Messi first entered Esports in 2018, when they recruited the Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) team. This step was very appropriate, because PES developer Konami himself was actually one of the sponsors of the FC Barcelona club.
Recently, FC Barcelona again announced the recruitment of a professional esports team, namely from the Rocket League branch. This game that combines football themes with acrobatic cars has an official championship called the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). According to information on the official website of FC Barcelona, the Rocket League teams they have just recruited will participate in prestigious tournaments, one of which is RLCS Season 7 starting in April 2019.
The Rocket League Roster at Blaugrana (designation for FC Barcelona) consists of players who were members of the Savage! Team. They are Bluey (Dan Bluett), Deevo (David Morrow), Alpha54 (Yanis Champeonis), and ByMateos (Adrian Mateos). They are known as a strong team in the Rocket League world, with a series of achievements including the RLCS Season 6 – Europe: Rocket League Rival Series.
“Being part of FC Barcelona is the highest award that any athlete can achieve, so I feel very honored to be able to lead this team,” said Robert Kendall, manager and coach of FC Barcelona’s Rocket League team. According to him, FC Barcelona’s move into the world of the Rocket League is a success for this club and for the community. Kendall will train this team with the values that have been embedded at FC Barcelona, including a close playing style of combination and teamwork.
FC Barcelona is not the only European football club that has invested in the Rocket League esports. Besides them, there are also Paris Saint-Germain FC from France and Servette FC from Switzerland who do the same. This 2019 Esports Rocket League is indeed developing. RLCS Season 7 expanded the competition area to South America, and Psyonix (the Rocket League developer) just announced the Esports Shop feature in their game. Could the Rocket League grow into a big esports, like Overwatch or Rainbow Six: Siege in the future?
