With the BLAST R6 Major Montreal kicking off later today, here's a brief look at all the matches that will be played on the first day of action!
G2 Esports vs. CAG Osaka
G2 Esports and CAG Osaka will kick off the action in Montreal with their clash at 3 PM UTC. It's the first time since May 2021 that both teams meet in a Rainbow Six Siege match.
Both teams qualified for the BLAST R6 Major Montreal through their region's Last Chance Qualifier. Additionally, both teams have made two roster changes within the last year, even though CAG Osaka's most recent signings were made before the season started.
While there's no special storyline between both organizations, G2 Esports' player Karl "Alem4o" Zarth will be facing CAG Osaka for the first time since the tiebreaker match between Team oNe and the Japanese squad at the Six Mexico Major. Two years later, only Reon "Anitun" Sakai and Sho "BlackRay" Hasegawa remain from CAG Osaka's Six Mexico Major roster.
The match between G2 Esports and CAG Osaka will be the fans' first chance to see Alexandre "BlaZ" Thomas and Roberto "Loira" Camargo playing for the samurai at a LAN event. While the Frenchman made his international debut in Manchester, England, for Geekay Esports, the Brazilian is set to play his first international match later today. With Black Dragons being on the other side of the bracket, Loira will likely face his former teammates on November 8 — for that to happen, G2 Esports and Black Dragons must win their games.
It's also worth mentioning that G2 Esports' last performance against a Japanese side was one year ago against SCARZ at the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta. Back then, the European powerhouse ran over the Japan League champions with a 7-1 win on Nighthaven Labs.
Meanwhile, CAG Osaka's last match against a European roster was against Team BDS at the BLAST R6 Major Manchester. Despite losing against the French-majority squad, the Japanese were one round away from knocking the eventual grand finalists out after losing the third map of the series — a maximum overtime defeat on Oregon.
Ahead of today's match, G2 Esports should be the favorites to win today's series against the Cyclops. However, anything can happen in a first match, especially when this is the team's first LAN game with two new signings.
Black Dragons vs. CL4L
Black Dragons is back to an international competition for the first time in two years. The team's last international performance was at the Six Jönköping Major, where they finished among the best eight sides in the competition.
Two years later, Black Dragons is back with a completely new roster. Led by Gabriel "AsK" Santos, who was Team Liquid's IGL from September 2021 to March 2023, Black Dragons' roster includes four players who will make their international debuts in Montreal.
While most people would think there couldn't be a storyline that links Black Dragons with CL4L, an American Tier 2 roster, the truth is that there's one; and it's quite special.
Curiously enough, after partying ways with Team Liquid, AsK joined the organization-less roster Escolinha do Bubu. There, the now 22-year-old played with three of his future teammates in Black Dragons: João "Nuxxga" Weiss, João "Florio" Vitor, and Gustavo "Guto" Vieira.
For those unaware, the rosters under the name of Escolinha do Bubu (which in English means Bubu's school) are made by the former M80 coach Matheus "Budega" Figueiredo, who is currently coaching CL4L. Therefore, Budega will face off against four of his five disciples in Escolinha do Bubu's 2023 roster.
ALPHA Team vs. Team Falcons
ALPHA Team and Team Falcons will meet in what will be the first time a LATAM side plays against a roster from the MENA League.
The organization is back one year after ALPHA Team's last and only international performance in Rainbow Six Siege. Unfortunately, just like in Atlanta, the team has had to make roster changes due to visa issues: Rene "Clipe" Clark and Rodrigo "Rovi" Quiroz will replace Martín "Martin2k" Chifflet and Nazareno "Naza" Ghione, who were part of the roster that beat Team Cruelty in LATAM's grand final.
Meanwhile, Team Falcons will compete in a Rainbow Six Siege international event for the first time since the Six Invitational 2024. Back then, the green roster won one of their games as they defeated SCARZ but were knocked out of the competition after losing to Team Liquid.
Chiefs ESC vs. FearX
The Chiefs are back to a Rainbow Six Siege international tournament for the first time since the Six Charlotte Major. Meanwhile, this will be FearX's sixth consecutive Major, as they haven't missed out on any Six Major since the Six Berlin Major — something only the South Koreans and FaZe Clan can say.
Historically, this will be the Chiefs' first international match against a South Korean lineup. However, both Anastasios "Odah" Hatzis and Tex "Tex" Thompson have played against South Korean rosters at least once. Under Team Bliss, Odah's only clash against a South Korean squad was at the Six Invitational 2024, as the Australians defeated Dplus.
Meanwhile, Tex's record isn't as great. While playing for Fnatic between June 2020 and October 2021, Tex played 17 matches against South Korean rosters and only won six. If that wasn't enough, five of Tex's eleven defeats against South Korean rosters were against Cloud9 and mantisFPS — which would eventually join SANDBOX Gaming, which would later rebrand to FearX. Although Lee "Nova" Si-hun is the only member remaining from that roster, looking at the past is always interesting to know what could happen in future games.
The winner of the match between the Chiefs and FearX will play against the winner of the game between ALPHA Team and Team Falcons.