After the announcement of the shakeup of competitive Rainbow Six, fans in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region were particularly eager to find out the identities of the four teams that would represent the region in the APAC North league.
These teams were later confirmed to be picked from the winner of the Operation Leagues in Thailand, Taiwan, and the combined Malaysia/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia (MY/SG/PH/ID) region. As it previously stood, only the fourth slot was set to be given out through an invite -- most likely to Giants Gaming -- but Ubisoft has now announced that the Season 11 Pro League results will be taken into account and Qconfirm will be invited as the third SEA team in addition to the fourth invite spot.
The move comes after the US$10,000 Operation League MY/SG/PH/ID was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 crisis and Qconfirm's heretofore exclusion from APAC North after a loss in the Thai qualifier to Xavier Esports. This exclusion was despite having been crowned the Thai champions the day prior and having had finished as the top Pro League team in Southeast Asia in every season since its top-flight debut in Season 8.
With the Operation League MY/SG/PH/ID postponed and Qconfirm out of contention, circumstances were thus just right to bring Southeast Asia's top team back into the fold with a direct invite to the APAC North league. While Ubisoft hopes that this final Operation League for this season will be able to continue, thus becoming a prize money-only league, it will no longer see its winner qualify to APAC North.
Qconfirm (formerly Xavier Esports) burst onto the scene in Season 7, but failed to qualify to the Pro League after not having played enough qualifier games. However, an undefeated season in the Challenger League was followed up by a slingshot straight to the top of the Pro League. After promotion, the team finished ahead in the SEA Pro League of the more experienced Singaporean squad of Giants Gaming (then Aerowolf) in Seasons 8, 9, 10, and 11.
However, their results on the APAC Finals stage did not see them secure the success that Giants Gaming eventually did. In Season 8, Qconfirm immediately took down Cloud9 (then mantisFPS) but fell to eventual Evil Geniuses destroyers Fnatic. In Season 9, Qconfirm once again got within a win of qualifying to the Pro League Finals after defeating Wildcard Gaming (then 0RGL3SS), but fell to NORA-Rengo.
Season 10 marked the first time the team had failed to win its quarter-finals match at the APAC Finals, as Wildcard Gaming took revenge for their loss the previous season and eventually qualified to the Pro League Finals alongside Giants Gaming.
Regardless, Qconfirm is certainly the best team domestically in Southeast Asia and Thailand, this after its victory in the Operation League Thailand Season 2 on the 9th of May. While fans and fellow professionals were lamenting their exclusion alike after a single loss in the Thai APAC North qualifier the day after, they will now be delighted to hear that the team will be getting a direct invite and will not lose its spot.
APAC North: What Is Next
As such, 10 out of the 12 teams in the APAC North league have now been confirmed. They are:
NORA-Rengo Cyclops Athlete Gaming GUTS Gaming FAV Gaming
Cloud9 Talon Esports SCARZ
Xavier Esports Qconfirm
Team Notorious
The allocation for remaining two teams is not yet confirmed, but it is almost certain that Giants Gaming will be invited given the team's pedigree and a recent tease by the captain Lunarmetal.
The distribution of the final slot is less clear-cut, however, with no official intimations made towards its allocation.
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