So, you've decided to start watching "Rainbow Six Siege" esports, but don't have an idea of where to start? Here's how to watch the games, follow the scene, find a favorite team, and dive right in!
Your "Rainbow Six Siege" region
There are four major regions in "Rainbow Six Siege" esports: LATAM (Latin America), NA (North America), EU (Europe), and APAC (Asia-Pacific Countries).
Most viewers watch multiple regions, or all of the regions, but at the beginning, focusing on the region you live in will be better for your viewing experience. If you live in Canada, watch NA. If you live in France, watch EU. If you live in Singapore, watch APAC.
How do I watch "Rainbow Six Siege"?
Watching "Rainbow Six Siege" is very simple, especially if you speak English. If you speak English, all you need to do is navigate your browser to www.twitch.tv/rainbow6 or www.youtube.com/c/RainbowSixEsports.
Okay, I'm watching the match, but how do I know what's going on?
"Rainbow Six Siege" is extremely hard for new viewers to follow. The most straightforward, but sometimes misleading way to tell which team is ahead at any given time is the round counter. This will tell you which team has won the most rounds. The first to seven rounds wins. If both teams get to six rounds, the first team to eight rounds wins in overtime.
However, teams play attacking and defending halves, and depending on the map, a team can be behind in the round count, but in a good spot. Only winning two or three of your six attacking rounds, depending on the map, can be a very good thing. If you'd like more information about which maps are skewed towards the attackers or defenders, navigate to the SiegeGG Competitions page, find the relevant competition you're viewing, and then scroll to the bottom.
A way to watch the action during the round, for beginniners, is to keep a close eye on the killfeed on the top-right of the screen. At the top of the screen there will be two numbers, one orange and one blue, that denote the number of lives for each team. The side of the screen the number is on will correspond with the name of the team the side is on.
If you're looking for a deeper conversation, check how many drones the attackers have alive. Every attacker spawns with two drones, and the drones are how attackers gain information on the setup and location of the defenders. On every attacker's card, there will be two circles at the beginning of the round. If the circle is filled in, the drone is out on the field. If it's a muted gray, the drone is in the attacker's posession, and can be deployed, but is not currently on the field. An "X" denotes that the drone has been shot. A lot of those "X" markers, especially early in the round, is very good for the defenders and very bad for the attackers.
How do I find a favorite team?
There are tons of great "Rainbow Six Siege" teams to invest your emotion and time into! First, you should check what teams are from your home country, or what teams have players for your country. For example, if you're from Canada, check out DarkZero or Oxygen, who have Troy "Canadian" Jaroslawkski and Davide "FoxA" Bucci, respectively. Canadian and FoxA are two of the most accomplished "Siege" players of all time.
If you're looking to follow a winner, check out one of the Brazilian teams. Currently, LATAM is the strongest region in "Siege", and the Brazilian teams are currently the best. NiP are the reigning SI champions, and Team oNe won the Mexico Major.