Salford Lions Rocket League esports team secure place at CRL World Championship in Dallas

The Salford Lions Rocket League roster secured their place at the CRL World Championship on Sunday.

The team’s qualification was celebrated on the University’s esports society’s Twitter page:

INTERNATIONAL TAKEOVER STARTS NOW – WE ARE GOING TO DALLAS!!!

— University of Salford Esports Society (@SalfordEsports) April 24, 2022

After failing to qualify through the EURC 2022 playoff bracket due to being swept by Nijmegen, the team was tasked with qualifying through the gauntlet of the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).

The team battled through, ironically beating HAN University of Applied Sciences’ Nijmegen, the team that sent them down to the LCQ – in a game seven to qualify.

After losing in a game seven to Hamburg in the Upper semi-finals, they beat Dusseldorf by four games to one in the lower quarter-finals.

They continued their powerful form into their final two matches, winning two consecutive game sevens – against Warwick and Nijmegen to secure one of the six places in Dallas.

Salford Lions player Giovanni ‘Keude’ Hamilton expressed his excitement shortly after qualifying on his Twitter, saying:

“IM SO TIRED I LOVE MY TEAMMATES”

O_o IM SO TIRED I LOVE MY TEAMMATES DALLAS MY HANDS ARE SHAKING I LOVE EVERYONE pic.twitter.com/0aRjMWRBI4

— 𝙆𝙚𝙪𝙙𝙚. (@KeudeRL) April 24, 2022

This world championship is the first of its kind in the Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) and is a part of the European expansion that was announced on January the 13th of this year.

More in-depth information about the expansion can be found by clicking this link.

The tournament will take place in June of this year, with ten North American universities and six European Universities being represented.

All six European spots have already been filled by the following teams:

– Salford Lions (Salford University).
– Keele Krakens (Keele University).
– Portsmouth Paladins (University of Portsmouth).
– Hamburg Haie Ahoi Bois (Hamburg University).
– KIT SC Lawnmowers (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).

Six of the ten North American places have been filled so far, with their last chance qualifier yet to take place. The already qualified teams are as follows:

– Northwood Blue (Northwood University).
– Columbia College (Columbia University).
– Stockton (Stockton University).
– University of Nevada Las Vegas.
– UT Arlington.
– St. Clair Saints Gold. (St Clair College Windsor Campus).

The Salford Lions will be hoping their good luck continues into the tournament, with their goal to become the best university Rocket League team in the world.