Coming off one of its most competitive campaigns yet, the seventh season of the Drone Champions League is headed for the starting blocks with new defending champions, the return of star pilots and a fresh infusion of super-skilled draft picks. Across five races from April to October, they’ll speed toward the title in 10 newly created tracks.
In 2021, Japan’s Raiden Racing blew the series wide open when they captured their first DCL World Championship, as well as winning the first DCL Women’s Cup. Ending the five-year reign of Britain’s XBlades Racing Team, the Japanese crew showed just how level the playing field has become. The action will be fierce as they try to defend their crowns against a roster of determined teams including not only XBlades but also the USA’s Quad Force One (third overall in 2021), China Dragons, Korea’s Super Sonic X and Spain’s SDT Perpetuumcoin (formerly SDT Euroflytec).
And when it comes to the pilots, fans can look forward to seeing such stars as longcat, THUNDER_FPV and silent (Raiden); DarKex, Drobot Racer and Leo on Fire (XBlades); Theo MinJae KIM and keepy_FPV (Super Sonic X); PropsicleFPV, SFPV and Roo (Quad Force One); and Alex – a transfer from XBlades – and LaBeba (SDT Perpetuumcoin).
Also, look out for an exceptional class of DCL Draft picks. With pilots everywhere able to build their skills on DCL – The Game, the mastery of the new pros has reached a thrilling level, and they’re coming from new directions as well. In a history-making move, among the XBlades’ picks is Smash FPV, who with a PS4 background is the first-ever console pilot to be named to a DCL team roster.
Since 2016, the Drone Champions League has brought together the world’s best drone pilots, who qualify for each race in DCL – The Game and then go on to compete in international teams at some of the world’s most spectacular virtual and real-life settings. Each DCL race is broadcast live, worldwide on TV and online. In parallel with the DCL World Championship, the DCL Women’s Cup was introduced in 2021 to encourage wider participation in the sport.
The [virtual] 2022 season will kick-off on 23 April with a return to the Regierungsplatz in Liechtenstein’s capital of Vaduz, the original home of DCL. Next comes another fan favourite, the frozen snowpark at Laax, Switzerland, followed by a June showdown at the castle ruins of Reutte, Austria. The penultimate race will soar over Lake Zurich in Switzerland, and the teams will anticipate the season finale in an undisclosed location.
Throughout the campaign, DCL’s “What the Kwad” podcast will take listeners behind the scenes of the sport with episodes that are more dynamic and in-depth than ever. Leading up to the DCL opener, fans can catch an eye-opening episode dedicated to the Draft, as well as a Pre-Season Special just days before the action starts in Vaduz.
DCL – The Game is DCL’s FPV drone simulator. Designed for everyone, from newbies learning to fly to pros perfecting their skills, it’s available on Steam, Xbox and PS4. Get it here: https://dcl.aero/game/download
See the momentous first race of the season, streaming globally online on Twitch.
Check out the full team rosters here: https://dcl.aero/teams/
And keep up with DCL all season long: Follow @dronechampionsleague on social and stay on top of the news at www.dcl.aero.
Drone Champions League Calendar 2022
23 April: Vaduz, Liechtenstein
21 May: Laax, Switzerland
18 June: Reutte, Austria
10 September: Lake Zurich, Switzerland
15 October: Undisclosed Location
