We loved watching the V10 R-League in its inaugural season last year.
The R-League was easily the most entertaining esports series out there in 2020 and we can't wait for Season 2 to bring even more action.
With some of the fastest esports drivers competing in an incredible car, there's no wonder it's thrilling to watch!
Some format changes have been implemented ahead of Season 2 and we believe it'll spice up the action even more.
Home field advantage
Season 2 of the V10 R-League not only brings a new format, but also new teams. McLaren Shadow and RG8 Esports have joined the series to bring the total teams up to ten.
The season will be a round-robin format again, meaning each team faces each other once during the season.
What has changed is that there are now "home" and "away" races. This is done using the "ban pick" format (like you may have seen in CS:GO and Overwatch).
Ban pick works like this; there will be a pool of five circuits to pick from. Then, the home and away teams nominate as follows:
- Away team bans a circuit.
- Home team picks a circuit (to be used as the home track)
- Home team bans a track.
- Away team picks a circuit (to be used as the away track)
Which team is home, and which is away will be pre-determined like a football fixture.
The circuit pool is slightly changed from last year. Spa, Monza, and Yas Marina remain in the series, with the amazing Silverstone and Mugello also available for teams to pick.
Each Matchday consists of both a Home Relay Race and Team Race and the same for an Away Race.
That means the opening Head-to-Head bouts from the first season won't be returning.
Spicing things up
There's definitely more of an emphasis on the team as a whole this year, as the individual Head-to-Head races are out. Season 2 also keeps what made Season 1 so great, as each race will be incredibly important.
The choice of circuits is also an extra element of strategy that will be almost as important as those made in the races.
It will also increase the variety of venues we'll see each week, as each matchday was dedicated to one specific circuit last year.
Matchdays taking place on two different tracks should also help increase competition. The hypotheticals such as "If we raced against you at Spa, you wouldn't have won" won't be valid anymore.
Each team will have an equal opportunity to choose a circuit they want to race on. The only element of one team having an advantage over an other is that some teams will be "Home" four times through the season, while others three.
How to watch Season 2
The new season of the V10 R-League will begin in April and be shown in more countries than ever before!
After the success of Season 1, ESPN will be expanding its coverage of the V10 R-League for Season 2, taking the racing action to fans in Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Oceania for the first time.
BT Sport will continue air Season 2 in the UK, while StarzPlay will carry the series in the Middle East and North Africa.
Season 1 highlights
To get an idea of the action that you should expect to see in the V10 R-League's second season, their official YouTube channel provided these highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eZDAfPm98s