The coronavirus has caused leagues and teams to be creative in an attempt to provide content to fans. We wrote about a few of our favorite examples of creativity. Not to be outdone, however, USL recently announced the USL eCup: Rocket League – a 32-team tournament geared at providing content for fans while raising funds for charities chosen by each competing team. Group play began on April 1st and following two weeks of knockout rounds, the tournament featuring the widely popular esports game will conclude on April 25th.
Like many leagues around the world, USL has looked to build an esports presence. With the season suspended, there’s no better time than now to use a game like Rocket League to provide an outlet for humor and entertainment, especially when platforms like Twitch are hitting high-volume numbers in total hours watched (3.1B) and total hours streamed (121.4M) in Q1 2020. The cross platform game stands to cross benefit both, as new fans are introduced to both league and game.
What is Rocket League?
If you’re not familiar with Rocket League, think of it as a physics experiment that combines vehicles, rocket boosters, and soccer. Here’s what it looks like at its peak performance. A constant stream of chaos and beauty all combined into one game. USL couldn’t be implementing this at a better time considering that the game recently posted nearly 500k concurrent players across all platforms, an all-time best.
Where Can Fans Watch?
Fans can watch the eCup on both ESPN3 and streaming on Twitch.tv where they can actively donate to whichever team and charity they choose to support. Additionally, USL Championship and club Twitter handles have been actively posting clips and highlights to keep fans involved.
From end to end ↔️🚀@Tophcity is on the board with his first Rocket League goal!#USLeCup | #NCvLOU pic.twitter.com/nX8w3P3LqN
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) April 6, 2020
All in all, USL, like many other leagues, recognized the need to fill this period with content for fans. While we may not be able to support our favorite teams in the stadiums, at least we can donate money to support the fight against this virus while our favorite USL players fly through the air in a rocket boosted vehicle.