Update:
In a reversal of its previous decision, Allied Esports has now announced that community streams will be allowed for the European Six Invitational open qualifiers this coming weekend and next weekend.
This follows a large community backlash from casters, players, and fans towards Allied for not allowing the streams initially. This change means the biggest games will now be streamed as they have been in prior years.
Original:
This coming weekend’s European Six Invitational open qualifier will not have a primary stream and also has disallowed community streamers in stark contrast to prior years' coverage.
The qualifier, which is being run by Allied Esports, will see over 100 of Europe’s most ambitious teams compete in an open bracket this coming Saturday and Sunday. The winner of this tournament as well as the following weekend’s second qualifier will meet Team Vitality and cowana gaming in the closed qualifiers in January.
In prior years these open qualifiers in EU and NA have led to a number of very popular community casts which saw multiple casters and non-competing pros all team up to give their rundown on the ongoing games in a much more fun and informal setting. This seemingly won’t be happening this year with the games taking place off stream.
This also means fans will miss out on the majority of what is one of only two chances for national teams to compete against professional teams in significant matches across the entire year.
The open qualifier will see the likes of Mkers, MnM, and Winstrike likely to face pro teams such as G2, V.p, Secret, and Heroic, matchups of importance which you can otherwise only see during the yearly relegation matches.
With a lot of the European scene understandably upset with this decision, it is still possible that Allied Esports could reverse course before one of the two open qualifiers. Furthermore, it is almost certain that January’s closed qualifier will be streamed and cast from the main Rainbow6 channels.
Check back for more details on both the SI qualifier results and any updates to this story.
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