"When we’re playing aggressive, it’s difficult to shut us down": Rejuvenated Rogue refining basics, adding wrinkles before SI

_{Image via Ubisoft/Joao F.}

While not surprising to Rogue’s players, Rogue’s semifinals run at the Sweden Major was the second most unexpected outcome of the tournament, right behind DWG KIA’s semifinals run. 

In the process, the German-majority team took out Mexico Major champions Team oNe in a somewhat surprising 2-0 sweep, utilizing raw aggression and gunskill to keep the young Brazilian squad on their back foot. 

Rogue lives and dies by aggression.

“As you saw in Sweden, when we’re playing aggressive, it’s difficult to shut us down,” said Leon “LeonGids” Giddens in an interview with SiegeGG. “It goes hand in hand with having good gunskill, and you have to have teamplay with that as well.”

The Sweden Major was Rogue’s coming out party in many ways. 

They fought their way out a truncated group featuring eventual champions FaZe Clan, Chiefs, and a hobbled Oxygen. They weren’t expected by many to make it that far, much less upset Team oNe in the quarterfinals.

They also weren’t expected to make the Six Invitational. In order to qualify by SI points, they needed to make it to exactly the semifinal round of the Major. With Oxygen in their group and a number of other things needing to happen to knock TSM FTX out of the spot, most analysts wrote “TSM FTX” in pen for the sixteenth SI Points slot. 

“I think the fact that it was the first LAN event in a long time for us as a team really motivated people,” said LeonGids when asked about the Sweden Major. “…It motivates me a lot, for sure. 

As is becoming par for the course over the past several months, Rogue are defying expectations. 

Now, they’re qualified for the Six Invitational 2022, and are currently working on refining some of their general strategies and tactics — like many of the teams that are qualified for Siege’s biggest event. Rogue is also working on their burgeoning chemistry, part of which LeonGids credits towards their weekly sessions with Bernadette “Bernie” Ramaker. 

In terms of raw mechanical skill, Rogue has the players to be able to make waves, but it’s been the addition of Kevin “Prano” Pranowitz that has been the catalyst for the team’s success. Prano has been one of Europe’s top-performing support players by the numbers, and his prowess helped Rogue right their ship after a last-place finish in EUL’s Stage 2. 

So, what’s the ceiling for Rogue at SI 2022? According to LeonGids, there is none. 

“As long as we can stick to the basics and do what we know best, we can take it as far as we want to,” he said. 

Rogue’s “feast or famine” style plays exactly into where the overarching Rainbow Six Siege meta is heading. Aggression, within reason, is the name of the game. Instead of waiting for your opponent to make mistakes, force them to make mistakes. LeonGids said that he thinks the European teams will surprise at SI, and describes some of what’s been done in recent scrimmages as “creative.” 

Teams are understandably reticent to talk about specific changes they’re making to their styles ahead of SI, for good reason. With few competitions of note between the conclusion of the Sweden Major and SI, those that didn’t have to disclose strategies on streamed games could hold a bit of an advantage over those who did. 

In Rogue’s case, what you see is what you get. They’re going to throw some wrinkles in here and there, but as long as they’re playing their game, they’re confident they can beat anyone in the field. 

Rogue will take to the SI server starting Feb. 8. Groups for the event have not been disclosed by an official Ubisoft source as of the time of writing.