Major esports event coming to the West Midlands in 2025 thanks to WMCA funding

A major esports event taking place in Solihull from 27 to 30 March 2025 at bp pulse LIVE thanks to the West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) Major Events Fund.

The 2025 Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Season will host its first arena event of the year in Solihull, with thousands of fans expected to attend.

Esports (or electronic sports) is a term used to describe competitive video gaming.

It’s different from standard video gaming in that esports is competitive (player-vs-player) and usually has an engaging spectator element to it, like traditional sports. Rocket League is a sport-based video game (also known as football with rocket-powered cars that fly!).

The event – RLCS Major 1 Birmingham – will have national and international significance, welcoming some of the world’s best Rocket League players to Solihull and the wider region.

Sixteen teams from around the world will compete for the first trophy of the RLCS 2025 Season in front of a live audience on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March.

General admission tickets will go on sale via Live Nation and AXS from Wednesday 30 October at 10am.

A few weeks before the main event, members of the public will be invited to take part in an action-packed tournament, the ‘British Esports Cup’ featuring Rocket League. The British Cup tournament, led by the British Esports Federation, will be open to all UK residents aged 13+ and offer a prize pool of £5,000.

A business esports summit (WM Esports Unwrapped) is also planned for the event weekend, which will be a chance for key business and industry leaders to network and identify future growth opportunities.

In 2023, the UK was placed fifth in the world for esports revenue generation. Esports is growing at a rate of 13.8% a year. The video game market is worth an estimated $282 billion and there are approximately 3 billion active gamers worldwide.

Cllr Ian Courts, leader of Solihull Council and a member of the WMCA's Board, said: “Esports may be a new concept for many of us, but it’s fast becoming an industry of huge economic significance. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the RLCS Major 1 Birmingham to our borough, in partnership with the British Esports Federation and BLAST.

“It is expected to attract thousands of fans from across the world to the arena, with millions more watching the global broadcast online. The economic benefit to the hospitality and visitor economy in the region is unrivalled with the majority of fans expected to attend the event from out of the area.

“The event will put our borough on the world stage and promote Solihull, the West Midlands and the NEC Campus as a national and international hub for gaming and esports championships.”

Chester King, President of British Esports said: “Hosting the RLCS Major 1 in Birmingham is a landmark moment for UK esports, and we’re thrilled to see another world-class event hosted in Great Britain.

“British Esports is proud to support the UK esports scene with our own Rocket League tournament running alongside the Major, providing a platform for aspiring players across the UK to showcase their talent.

"This collaboration underlines the strength of the UK’s esports ecosystem and British Esports’ ongoing commitment to creating opportunities for grassroots players to engage with professional esports athletes.”

The WMCA and the UK Government is supporting the organisers of the event with funding from the Major Events Fund, which is backed by the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund. This is being used to boost trade and tourism sectors and bring vital footfall to local businesses in the region.

Solihull Council is working in partnership with BLAST, British Esports Federation, NEC Group, West Midlands Growth Company and the University of Warwick.