Rainbow Six Siege Halfway Point and Future Implications
By: Sebastian Rooney
The North American League (NAL) of Rainbow 6 Siege is almost over as there are only 3 playdays left is Stage 3 with all Major spots up for grabs and more importantly Siege Invitational (SI) points.
As it stands before playday 7, no team has qualified for the November Major and Beastcoast is the only one team who has been mathematically eliminated. Since only the top 4 teams qualify for the major, some teams are going to need a miracle to happen.
How it Currently Stands
The top 4 are as follows:
- Soniqs
- TSM
- XSET
- Mirage
With the teams on the outside looking in being:
- DarkZero
- Spacestation
- Parabellum
- Astrallis
- Oxygen
- Beastcoast
Hit or Miss Rookie Performance
After Stages 1 & 2 not ending how they would like, TSM and Mirage brought in two rookies and both teams saw immediate results. For TSM, Snake was brought in to play entry and with a +8 in entry (first kills) and a 74% KOST (kill, objective, survive and trade), he has been able to open rounds early for TSM and help secure early round wins. Mirage is in the same boat as TSM where their rookies, Mohesse and Dexter, are the real deal. Between the two of them they are leading Mirage in almost every statistical category.
But rookies can’t solve everyone’s problems. Parabellum and Beastcoast also brought in 2 rookies each but have not had the same success. Parabellum brought in Doq and Azain. They were brought into this lineup to provide more firepower, something that was lacking in the first two stages. But it seems that Doq and Azain have not fully adjusted to tier 1 play and are still trying to get the footing in their early careers. The same goes for Beastcoast. They brought in Xeno and Ferda to add more firepower but it has been lacking so far. But in their defense, Ferda missed the first four games due to visa issues. But now that situation has been resolved and he looks to try and bring Beastcoast to a more respectable position.
Seasonal Slump For Top Teams
Astralis and Oxygen, two teams who finished in the top 4 in both Stage 1 & 2, find themselves in a slump. Going into Stage 3 Oxygen lost long time player Laxing and replaced him with Sweater, formerly on Beastcoast, and the results have not been there. Their goal right now is to build up their chemistry and get right before SI comes. Astralis on the other hand made no roster changes but have been on the wrong side of several close games. With not many games left in the stage, Astralis needs to find their stride if they want to secure a spot at the major.
Major Lock Ins Begin Now
Going into playday 7, Soniqs should feel confident in securing a major spot as they play a lackluster Oxygen team who won their first game last playday against Beastcoast in the mid off. XSET and Astralis could have major implications as these teams, while being separated in the standings by 4 spots, their points are also at 4. So a win for Astralis would propel them right into contention going into the last 2 playdays.
While teams are still fighting for major spots, the Siege Invitational is right around the corner and as it stands no one is qualified just yet. Some NA teams can punch their ticket to SI this week if things play out right for them. Be sure to tune into R6’s twitch at twitch.tv/rainbow6 to catch the action on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11 am pst!