With the end of the Six Invitational, the moment has come to evaluate the teams in the competition, both the unexpected upsets and also the positive performances.
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Talented teams and players don’t always perform as expected, and that’s what we’ll talk about in this text. That doesn’t make any team or player bad, on the contrary, let’s talk about the drop in expectations.
APAC
APAC has the worst regional performance in rates of maps won and games won since 2017. The problem is: in 2017 the format was different, 6 teams played in the tournament and only 1 was from the APAC region, where they played only 1 game; and with that, the win rate is so low.
But, even if we take into account only championships with more than one team from the region, this was the worst tournament in history for the APAC region, with no APAC representative in the playoffs. For more check out our report on the APAC region’s negative record-breaking performance.
Soniqs
Soniqs made a last-minute lineup change, the arrival of Ben ‘CTZN’ McMillan, a G2 superstar. On top of that, the team arrived from the top 4 of the Six Major Jönköping. So, the average R6 fan expected something very big from them.
They entered the tournament with a clean victory against Team Liquid and Wolves, which raised the team’s morale. But after the day off they ended up losing what was a direct confrontation against MNM, worth 1st place in their group.
In the playoffs, Soniqs met their own region for the first time in the competition, and being a domestic duel, the teams knew each other very well. But Soniqs team wasn’t able to deliver as expected and were eliminated without winning a single game in the Playoffs. A performance well below expectations.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid at the Six Invitational 2023Image: Ubisoft/capturedbycyga
Six Major Jönköping runners-up and Brazilian champions, Liquid arrived with high morale, but that wasn’t quite what we saw. The team started with a clean loss to Soniqs and MNM.
They started to look for recovery against Dire Wolves, trying to guarantee the 3rd place in the group and survival in the competition, but in the last round, they lost to Wolves and consequently reached the playoffs in the lower bracket, where they couldn’t lose another game.
And to make matters worse, they had to face Team BDS in the lower bracket ‘ the team that beat Liquid in the Six Major Final. And here, yet again, the French team managed the upper hand against the Brazilians.
Team BDS
The Six Major Jönköping champions weren’t as successful this time around. BDS didn’t manage a clean result, in every game they went 2-1, managing to finish the group stage in 2nd place, despite not being so dominant in their matches. The team was last among the 2nd placed, and with that, forced to face W7M right away. Despite being a great game, the victory was for the Brazilians.
In the loser’s bracket, BDS tried to get the stage, but ended up losing to Astralis in the decisive game. With that, they ended up in the Top 8 of the competition. It’s not a bad statement, but considering the team’s past performances, this was well below expectations.
FaZe Clan
FaZe came from two good performances at the Six Major but ended up delivering a less than expected performance at the Six Invitational. Vice champions of the Major in Berlin and top 8 in Jönköping, Faze Clan had a very difficult task in the tournament. Passing in 4th place in the group, with a clean victory against DarkZero and a 2-1 victory against Secret.
In the playoffs, and already in the losers’ phase, they faced G2 in the first duel, and were eliminated from the competition. Much lower than expected for the organization.
Great Surprises
MNM
Despite placing 9th-12th, the team was a pleasant surprise at the Six Invitational. With an impeccable group stage against Liquid, Soniqs, Wolves, and Dire Wolves, MNM managed the best group stage performance in this new 5-team format, with 4 clean wins.
But in the playoffs, the performance wasn’t the same, losing to Oxygen and Team BDS, and thus ending their journey in the competition. Despite the early elimination in the playoffs, the team showed good work and that they can fight for better results next season.
LOS oNe
LOS oNe celebrates after winning a game at the Six Invitational 2023Image: Ubisoft/ericananmalay
Like MNM, Los oNe had a great group stage, and in the end, two of their opponent teams ended up top 4 in the invitational (Astralis and Oxygen).
In the playoffs the situation was the same, with their only the defeats against Wolves and Astralis. The team achieved some great moments in the competition, even though they were unable to continue.
W7M
Despite already having high expectations, W7M still managed to surprise. The team ranked 3rd in the group stage after their loss in the last round to KOI. But being in the winners’ bracket was enough for the team, who managed to take down BDS, M80, KOI, and Oxygen until reaching the Grand Final.
Although during the entire season, the team always went the distance, this was their first Grand Final. Unfortunately for W7M’s fans, the title was not theirs to take, but they put on a great performance in the competition none the less.
Oxygen
Oxygen had their best campaign of the season in Charlotte, where they conquered the top 4 of the competition. And now in the Six Invitational they appeared again at the top of the world. Passing 3rd in the group stage, they were chosen right away by Heroic, who managed to pass with a clean 2-0 and make the race in the winners’ bracket. Passing MNM and Wolves but falling to W7M in the Winners’ Final.
In the Lower Final, the team ended up losing to G2, thus guaranteeing its 3rd place in the world. Highlight for Ethan ‘Nuers’ James, who had a great championship.
Astralis
The team was runner-up in the Six Major Charlotte, but then the performance dropped, stopping in the Berlin group stage and failing to qualify for Jönköping.
The team’s group stage was not good, placing 4th in the group with just one win, against Cyclops. However, in the playoffs, Astralis made the magic happen, making great games and eliminating great teams, including LOS oNe ‘the team that beat them in the group stage’ plus Soniqs, BDS, and KOI. Thus, guaranteeing the top 4 in the world. The dream of something even bigger was ended by G2, but the campaign will go down in history.
Wolves
risze thrilled to qualify for the Six Invitational main stageImage: Ubisoft/ericananmalay
Wolves always put on a good performance in regional championships, but in international competitions they hadn’t made it past the top 8. This time going 3rd, they were chosen right away by G2, and achieved an important victory. Soon after they won against LOS oNe and with that, they secured the top 6 in the world. A win which touched Wolves’ player Valentin ‘Risze’ Liradelfo, who has always been fighting for this opportunity.
After that, the team ended up losing to Oxygen and G2, leaving the competition in the top 6, but still with a historic performance for the team.
G2
The world champions couldn’t be missing, arriving with little expectation. In the season, G2’s best placements were top 8 of the Six Major, in Charlotte and Berlin. In addition to the change in the lineup from Ben ‘CTZN’ McMillan to Benjamin ‘Benjamaster’ Dereli, the team performed well in the group stage, passing in 2nd place, but hadn’t yet shown anything that would make them believe in the title. Even more so with the immediate loss to Wolves in the playoffs, which took the team down to the lower bracket.
G2 needed to run the longest campaign in the history of the Invitational to win the title. After all, there would be 8 playoff games in total (including the loss to Wolves) and they couldn’t lose another game. The campaign started by beating Faze Clan, then DarkZero, M80, and Wolves in the rematch. Before taking on Astralis, and Oxygen, and in a race where the team only lost 2 maps!
With the new Invitational calendar, the Lower Final was a day before the winners, which gave the team another break to face W7M, and the team won by 3 maps to 1, thus becoming the first organization to become two-time champions of the Six Invitational.
One of the most unpredictable tournaments in Rainbow Six: Siege history, it will live forever in the hearts of the game’s fans.
Feature Image: Ubisoft/ericananmalay
