Image via Ubisoft
Oxygen’s showing at the most recent Major in Sweden left a lot to be desired. The team completely and totally flopped in the group stage, and then were blown out by opponents who really didn’t have any business being in the server with them to begin with.
Oxygen has a pretty good excuse, however: Davide “FoxA” Bucci, the team’s IGL and one of North America’s star players, was home with COVID.
Losing any player in an esport as dependent on teamwork as Rainbow Six Siege normally spells doom. Losing a player of FoxA’s caliber as well as your IGL is an effective death sentence. Without a coordinator, a coordination-heavy team will suffer tremendously.
Speaking in terms of the raw wins and losses, Oxygen hasn’t performed well in an international capacity since SI 2021 where they nabbed a fifth-place finish, and were then the second-to-last non-Brazilian team left in the tournament. They also had a stellar Stage 1 in NAL regional play following the additions of Evan “Yoggah” Nelson and Leo “Kyno” Figueiredo to the roster, when they were difficult to figure out. After SI and Stage 1, Oxygen crashed back down to earth.
“We were having trouble trying to find an identity for the team…a lot of the tricks we were able to get away with in Stage 1 and Invite we weren’t able to get away with in Stage 2,” FoxA said in an interview with SiegeGG.
Oxygen’s playstyle has always been risky. They’ve been pilloried as brainless, overaggressive, baiters who rely on aim and not on strategy. But that isn’t entirely so. FoxA says the team is aggressive, sure, but it comes from a playstyle. Where other teams rely on stratbooks and preparation, Oxygen leans heavily into their cohesion and unpredictability, which lends itself to success in this current meta.
You can’t prepare for something you can’t predict, and being difficult to predict is Oxygen’s forte — more than any other team coming out of the North American region.
“The way that we prepare is a lot better for a LAN environment,” said FoxA.
He’s right, to some extent: there’s precious little time to counter-strat and prepare during the playoffs of a Major, much less the group stage. The less you depend on the playbook, the less others can take from your previous matches.
“Regardless of footage being on us or not, you’re gonna play a different OXG every day,” FoxA added.
Oxygen’s adaptability was on full display after Stage 2. After a NAL-leading first stage finish, Oxygen floundered during Stage 2 and missed the Mexico Major as a result. They retooled their roles, sending FoxA to hard support, Yoggah to more of a flex, and Kyno to entry. Frankie “VertcL” Cordero’s role shifted as well.
“I think we found this comfortable spot where we’re able to still have the success from Stage One but still also deepen our arsenal, our strategy, and the way we play,” said FoxA.
And the moves paid off: Oxygen finished second in the NAL during Stage 3. Then came Sweden.
Sweden’s not a referendum on Oxygen’s actual prestige. They were hobbled, and deserve a caveat, the same as every hobbled team deserves a caveat. Other than the regional competition, we haven’t seen a full-strength Oxygen since the last iteration of the Six Invitational.
Despite not having a reasonable chance at international success since May, Oxygen is coming into SI extremely confident. FoxA said that he’s confident that had the full Oxygen roster been at Sweden, they would’ve at least made it to the finals.
Said FoxA: “Me and my team stand on the fact that we are one of the only international chances for NA to win a tournament right now.”
Time will tell whether FoxA’s takes are prophetic. The Six Invitational begins on Feb. 8 and will run until Feb. 20.