Six Sweden Major Day 1 Preview: Games, teams, and players to watch

Tomorrow, 16 teams will play across 16 games, creating a full day of global "Siege" action. Whether you don’t have enough time to catch every game or simply want to know what to expect before the games begin, here’s a handy rundown on day one’s must-watch games.

Day 1 Schedule

Tomorrow’s full schedule can be seen in your own time zone on the SiegeGG Schedule page with the schedule below, listed in Sweden’s local CEST (UTC+1):

Stream A

• 10:00 AM -- SANDBOX Gaming vs  Team oNe eSports
• 11:30 AM -- FaZe Clan vs  Oxygen Esports
• 1:00 PM -- Team BDS vs  Susquehanna Soniqs
• 2:30 PM -- Spacestation Gaming vs  FURIA Esports
• 4:00 PM -- SANDBOX Gaming vs  Team Vitality
• 5:30 PM -- FaZe Clan vs  Chiefs Esports Club
• NEW SEASON REVEAL
• 7:30 PM -- Team BDS vs  Invictus Gaming
• 9:00 PM -- Spacestation Gaming vs  Team Empire

Stream B

• 10:00 AM -- Team Vitality vs  DarkZero Esports
• 11:30 AM -- Chiefs Esports Club vs  Rogue
• 1:00 PM -- Invictus Gaming vs  Ninjas in Pyjamas
• 2:30 PM -- Team Empire vs  DWG KIA
• 4:00 PM -- Team oNe eSports vs  DarkZero Esports
• 5:30 PM -- Oxygen Esports vs  Rogue
• NEW SEASON REVEAL
• 7:30 PM -- Susquehanna Soniqs vs  Ninjas in Pyjamas
• 9:00 PM -- FURIA Esports vs  DWG KIA

Must Watch Games of the Day

Many of these games include really interesting matchups, making it almost impossible to predict which ones of these will be the barnburners in advance.

Nevertheless, these are the games with the best storylines and with the most to play for:

11:30AM - Chiefs Esports Club vs Rogue

Chiefs have never played globally before and Rogue haven’t done so since SI20. Combined, there are six debutants to this level of play, which includes the very first Kiwis to compete outside of the Asia Pacific region. It’s going to be great to see what they each have to offer.

With Oxygen playing with Anthony "HOP3Z" Nizzardo in the place of the COVID-19 positive Davide "FoxA" Bucci, and two of his teammates playing alone in their hotel rooms, this also really opens up Group A.

While Chiefs and Rogue were always regarded as the underdogs behind FaZe and Oxygen, both of their paths to the Six Major playoffs have now become a lot easier, making this Chiefs vs Rogue matchup key to gaining that early advantage.

4:00PM - Team oNe eSports vs DarkZero Esports

Troy "Canadian" Jaroslawski is back on the global stage. In his debut major events for his last two teams -- Continuum (later known as Evil Geniuses) and Spacestation Gaming -- he won the whole tournament, so really, there's no pressure.

While DZ’s first game of day one comes against Vitality as the opening stream B game, their follow-up is really the one to watch as they face the reigning Six Major titleholders who knocked them out in a 7-3, 7-3 scoreline during Mexico’s quarter-finals.

DZ had a rough NAL run during Stage 3. However, a win against oNe would really show the world that they are a serious threat. For oNe, meanwhile, it’s hard to find a team more confident in its own abilities, and sending a message to one of NA’s most popular teams on the opening day is definitely a way to prove that belief is justified.

9:00PM - Spacestation Gaming vs Team Empire

Finally, fans should tune in for SSG vs Empire, another rematch of the Six Mexico Major quarter-finals in which Empire won 7-4, 8-7. Since then, Spacestation have added Alexander "Skys" Magor and look as strong as ever. 

As North America’s top-seeded team, a lot of the region’s hopes and dreams will rest on SSG’s shoulders. An early win in this game will be an excellent signal to their fans that they can go all the way after NA ended the Mexico Major as the worst-performing overall region, even behind APAC.

For Empire, meanwhile, sitting in the group of death with three region-leading fraggers -- Hotancold, Fntzy, and yass -- may make them nervous. A solid first game against the best NA has to offer is surely what they need to calm their nerves ahead of what will likely be a very deep run.

People to Watch

While it’s somewhat unfair to put too much pressure on them, a lot of attention during day one will be on the two stand-ins of Ellis "GiG" Hindle and Anthony "HOP3Z" Nizzardo. Both of these two only have tier-three level experience as a player and will possibly be in way over their heads. 

While prior exceptional performances from Jayden "Dizzle" Saunders during Season 8 comes to mind when talking about coach stand-ins, in reality, they will both likely take up a support role and aim to purely help their teammates rather than rack up the stats themselves.

In a very different way, attention will also be drawn to the two newest members of the English language talent crew, Tobias "BikiniBodhi" André and Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen. After he was announced to be joining the analyst desk, a number of fans were apprehensive about Bikini’s lack of experience in such a role, meaning his debut tomorrow should draw a lot of attention giving him a chance to prove himself to the world.

Finally, Pengu will be stepping into shoes that are impossible to fill as Parker "Interro" Mackay’s co-caster following the tragic passing of Michael "KiXSTAr" Stockley last month. This debut will likely be an emotional one for many as it’ll also be Interro’s first time casting since the accident. For both these reasons, this will also be a must-watch moment for R6S fans.

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SiegeGG will be covering these games via stats, news, and highlights tomorrow so be sure to check back for full coverage.