Karmine Corp back-to-back RLCS Winter Cup champion

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check out other articles on the RLCS 2022-23 Winter season:

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