Sweden Major day one key takeaways: Perfect FaZe, poor NA

^{(Banner image: Ubisoft/Joao Ferreira)}

The first day of the Sweden Major held many blowouts, some interesting results, and one of North America’s worst days in recent history. Here are the key takeaways from the first day of action on “Rainbow Six”’s biggest stage. 

Winners: FaZe Clan 

FaZe Clan are the only team to pull off a perfect day in “Rainbow Six Siege” Major history. They did not drop a round over two games for a total round record of 14-0. It still does not feel like a real result, and surely isn’t replicable over the course of the tournament, but is definitely a good start for one of the Major favorites.

Gabriel “LaXInG” Mirelez was the only player to notch a positive kill to death ratio against FaZe on the day. Three of the ten players they played against did not notch a single kill. Two others posted a single kill. If you played against FaZe Clan on Monday, you were statistically just as likely to drop a single kill or no kills as you were to just post a more regular negative stat line, like 4-7 or 5-7. 

Winners: DWG KIA

Group D is the “group of death” because DWG KIA is in it, apparently. Once again, the Korean side surpassed most analyst’s expectations in the first game of the day with a victory over Team Empire. There were some that predicted DWG would win, but what most didn’t predict is how they won: a surprising 7-3 victory. The Mexico Major wasn’t a fluke. This roster is for real. 

Losers: North America, as a region

It’s not a secret: North American teams are underperforming, by considerable margins, for a number of reasons. 

Oxygen Esports are formally excused from this narrative: They’re shorthanded, as Davide “FoxA” Bucci tested positive for COVID-19 before the event and was unable to attend. Evan “Yoggah” Nelson and Leo “Kyno” Figueiredo are playing from their hotel rooms. Their situation is unenviable.

Spacestation are somewhat excused as well. An overtime loss against a good FURIA team isn’t necessarily a horrible result, and they defeated Team Empire in NA’s only win of the day. Alec Fultz and Nathanial “Rampy” Duvall each pulled off clutches that will appear on their career highlight reels. 

However … it’s impossible to ignore the rest of the region, or the miserable 1-7 overall record on the day. To ignore this would be to deny observable reality. DarkZero struggled, Soniqs struggled, they’re both -10 in total round count over the course of just two games. 

The phrase “it’s a long tournament” only applies to the first game of the tournament where there are only six games in the group stage. Currently, 33 percent of the group stage is done. Opportunities are dwindling, and if DarkZero and Soniqs don’t figure something out, fast, they’ll find themselves mathematically eliminated by Tuesday. 

Stats of the day

José “Bullet1” Victor only dies twice

FaZe Clan’s dominating performance was punctuated by Bullet1’s stellar individual performance. He did not die against Oxygen, and posted 12 kills. He tallied seven against Chiefs, with only two deaths to his name. Bullet1 also leads the tournament in SiegeGG Rating with a 1.83, only one other player posted above a 1.80: his teammate, Jaime “Cyber” Ramos.

Prano notching 3 plants per map

Rogue had a pair of comeback victories on the day, and currently control their own groups stage destiny. Kevin “Prano” Pranowitz’s plants statistic tells a piece of their story. Clearly, Rogue was able to get the defuser down, which normally is an indicator you’re doing something right. While Rogue don’t seem to feel like they had a great day, wins are wins, and when you’re in a Major you take wins where you can get them. 

Day two matches to watch

Spacestation Gaming vs. DWG Kia

DWG are hot, and Spacestation seem to be playing a lot of close games lately. Can the North Americans lock down the skilled Korean side, or will the APAC team post a potentially playoff-qualifying victory?

BDS Esport vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

NiP look like they’re back to SI form. BDS appear strong as well. You won’t want to miss the first time these titans will clash in the group stage. 

SANDBOX Gaming vs. Team Vitality

Based on current results, this rematch could cement the winner as the second place in the group. Each team needs to finish strong, but this match’s result will be a good indicator of how day three in group B will finish.