The organization with the most participation in SI (with Team Liquid), but it arrives with change and doubts for the competition.

History at Six Invitational

The organization entered Rainbow Six: Siege in 2018, hiring the Lineup that played under the name of Fontt. The team included João “HSnamuringa” Deam, Rafael “mav” Freitas, Guilherme “gohaN” Alf, Leornado “Astro” Luis, Gabriel “cameram4n” Hespanhol. The last 3 players had already played in the Six Invitational for Santos Dex, the first championship (in 2017), including being LATAM’s first official appearance in international tournaments, reaching the semifinals, and losing to Continuum, who would become the first champions of the tournament.

The Six Invitational in 2018 got off to a great start for FaZe Clan. Fontt’s lineup had good games and performances at worlds, which was no different in the Six Invitational. The team got through the group stage with extreme ease, beating eiNs (APAC) and ENCE (EU) by 2-0, with a total of rounds in the two matches of 10-1 (It’s worth remembering that ENCE was the current champion of ProLeague). In the playoffs, the team faced Evil Geniuses, which had the same base as Continuum’s lineup (the team that eliminated Santos Dex in the Six Invitational of 2017), and in a very tight game, Faze Clan ended up taking the worst and falling to the Americans by 2-1.

For the 2019 Six Invitational, gohaN was out and João “Yoona” Gabriel was in. The team did not have the expected tournament, after being runners-up in the Pro League in Rio de Janeiro. Against the Brazilians from Ninjas in Pyjamas, the team had an encouraging victory by 14-3 on aggregate, the fans had a good feeling about the team, but that was all for land. The team loses on winners to Fnatic (APAC) and then falls to Reciprocity (NA) and once again the team is eliminated in a game against the Americans.

FaZe Clan back-to-back BR6 Champions

Image: Ubisoft/Gui Caielli

For the 2020 Six Invitational, HSnamuringa was out and Ronaldo “ion” Osawa was in. The team’s result in the competition was the worst in history at the Six Invitational. The team plays the first match against DarkZero and ends up losing by 2-1, and in the game for life against Fnatic, the biggest nightmare of the FaZe Clan fan happens: Game 1-1 in maps, the decision on Clubhouse, first side the Brazilians defend and finish with a 5-1 on the scoreboard, turning to the attack and needing only 2 rounds to qualify. What did not happen. The team that suffered against Canadian and company for 2 years in a row, was now eliminated for the 2nd consecutive time for the Asians of Fnatic still in the group stage. Not a pleasant situation for FaZe Clan.

For the 2021 Six Invitational, mav & Yoona & ion were out while José “Bullet1” Victor, Jaime “Cyber” Ramos and Lucas “Soulz1” Schinke were in, as well as the return of cameram4n, who left the team after the 2020 Six Invitational but returned to the team with his three MiBR teammates. The team manages to pass the group stage in the top 4, which would put them in the winners’ bracket of the playoffs, where they manage to beat TSM (NA), but soon fall to the future champions of Ninjas in Pajamas (LATAM), and then officially eliminated after losing to Team Liquid. Even without the title or top 4 of the competition, the improvement of the organization is already clear.

Statistics for FaZe Clan’s performances at the Six Invitational including a 52% win rate across 31 games.

For the 2022 invitational, no changes in the lineup, which generated a classification in 3rd in a group of 5 teams, and in the playoffs a confrontation against the Americans of Oxygen, and a quiet victory for the Brazilians, who were thrown to the lower bracket soon after by Team Liquid. In the lower bracket, the team had a dream campaign, leaving behind Elevate (APAC), DarkZero (NA), Soniqs (NA), and MiBR (LATAM). In the final of the lowers.

1 game away from their first Six Invitational final, the team entered without a hit besides, TSM was inspired on the day, which helped the team to enter the grand final well and be champion as well. But for the first time, FaZe Clan is on the podium of the biggest Rainbow Six competition, an excellent trajectory for the team.

Present

In the first stage, the team started below expectations, getting 6th place and outside the Elite Six. With that, the Copa do Brasil tournament played, where it has Tier 2 teams and teams that were left out of the Elite Six. In that tournament, FaZe was eliminated by Ninjas in Pajamas in the semifinals.

In the second stage, the team won the place for the Elite Six, and in the last round, they won and eliminated the rival Team Liquid. In the Elite Six, the team had the perfect campaign, losing only 2 maps and guaranteeing a place in the Six Major Berlin. In the major, the team had an overwhelming start with 4 clean wins against Soniqs (NA), G2 (EU), and twice against SANDBOX (APAC), and already with the guaranteed classification it had a calmer game against Soniqs and G2, which culminated in a defeat for both teams, with an incredible 7-0 for G2. In the Playoffs, the team remembered moments from the Elite Six facing Furia and W7M, and again beating both teams and reaching the Grand Final against Rogue.

In a match to go down in Rainbow Six history, with 3 of the 5 maps being won in the last round, Rogue became Major champions, preventing FaZe Clan’s dream of becoming the first organization to be a two-time Major champion.

FaZe Clan after taking a victory.

Image: Ubisoft/Gui Caielli

In the third stage, FaZe Clan went through a tight spot in MD1 arriving in the last game against Team Liquid needing a victory or even a defeat (but in Overtime). And overtime arrives, classifying both teams for the Elite Six. Beating Pampas and Six Karma with ease, FaZe Clan guaranteed their place at the Major, but this time without winning the Elite Six title. At Six Major Jönköping, the team suffered two defeats in the first 4 games, which caused concern on the part of the fans, but the problem was soon resolved, winning both matches on the last day and qualifying for the playoffs. Right away in the confrontation against Team Liquid, FaZe Clan is again eliminated.

Still, in December, FaZe announces the departure of cameram4n from the starting lineup, and until the moment this text was written, the new player has not yet been announced by the organization, but according to the calculation of Blix.GG, the new player should be Victor “Vitaking” Augusto, former Magic Squad player.

The Six Invitational starts on February 7 in Canada and will be broadcast on official Twitch and YouTube channels.

Feature Image: Ubisoft/Gabriel Hespanhol