Image via Ubisoft
With the Six Invitational looming, it’s important to discuss how we got here and what the key events were that got us to this point. Here are the six moments that defined the 2021 Rainbow Six Siege Global Circuit —and therefore defined how we got to the Six Invitational.
Rogue’s Sweden semifinals run
Rogue effectively burned through defending Major champions team oNe in a 2-0 bulldozing.
Team oNe came into the event as one of the favorites. Meanwhile, Rogue squeaked in on their performance in Stage 3, less than two months after a disastrous last place in Stage 2. Rogue were not expected to win.
But they did, and the ripple effect was massive. It sent TSM FTX to the Closed Qualifier, and eked Rogue into the biggest event in Siege by SI Points. It effectively knocked Astralis out of the Closed Qualifier and into the Open portion of the bracket. Astralis lost in the open bracket, twice, to PUG team “FPL Queens”.
The shift brought cowana Gaming into the EU Closed Qualifier. cowana was one map away from winning the SI spot but open bracket team MNM Gaming won anyways. A simple flip-flop of teams meant so much to how the team churned
Team oNe defeating CAG 7-2 in the group stage of the Mexico Major, going on to cement Brazilian dominance
Team oNe, at one point, was effectively down and out. If they didn’t win their group stage match against CAG by a precise 7-2 scoreline they would have been no more — they were missing the playoffs.
The tensions were at an all-time high for a group stage. ONe raced out to a 3-0 lead, only for CAG to rattle off two rounds of their own. The rest is history. Team oNe did not drop a single round after that, punched their ticket to the playoff stage with a win on the tiebreaker map, and then won the whole damn Major.
ONe’s victory in the grand finals over Team Empire also cemented that we are, in fact, living in the Brazilian era.
Team Liquid benching S3xyCake and Muringa
For three years, Team Liquid was the Brazilian team of note in the region, marked by their stalwart, never-changing roster. They were the first Brazilian team to win a Pro League Final, and before NiP were the region’s strongest international team.
The pivot to Gabriel “AsK” Santos and Pablo “resetz” Oliveira was a smart one, but in many ways sad for fans. The original Team Liquid roster was already shaken up by the inclusion of Luccas “Paluh” Molina, but this move was clearly the change that heralded a new era of Team Liquid. While many can attest that the move was good for the future of the roster (especially now), it was still stunning to many when the news was broken.
XSET and beastcoast’s infamous Consulate duel
“WHY ARE YOU SPRINTING, B1O?!” exclaimed the departed Michael “KiXSTAr” Stockley, expressing what seems to be a blend of fury, incredulousness, and exasperation at what was unfolding before him.
By far and away the two worst teams in NAL play during the 2021 season were XSET and beastcoast. On June 30, 2021, they battled in NAL Stage 2. Beastcoast would end the stage winless. XSET ended Stage 1 with a single win. Not only were they struggling in the standings, during the match there were simply playing some of the worst fundamental Siege ever witnessed on a professional broadcast.
It was memorable, a perfect moment in time for all the wrong reasons. It spawned memes galore, a Twitter spat between the XSET COO, Marco Mereu, and NAL broadcast analyst Jacob "CaliberJacob" Anderson, and became the most-discussed regional result in the world.
What that says about the format of the regional leagues is another story. The XSET-beastcoast matchup was unfortunate, for many reasons.
Pengu retires
It’s truly not an arguable point: Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen is one of, if not the, greatest Rainbow Six Siege players of all time. He is one of the most decorated players of all time and holds accolades and records that aren’t going to be touched for some time.
When he stepped away from competitive play, Europe lost its figurehead, its face of the region. He’s still around on broadcast as a member of talent and on Twitch, but Pengu playing official matches is an undeniable draw.
He’s still the biggest former player name in Rainbow Six Siege, close to a year after his retirement. Pengu is currently in NA as a streamer for DarkZero, but who truly knows what the future holds – in Siege, “retirement” appears to be a word with no meaning.
KiXSTAr dies in car crash aged 24
The grim news was handed directly to the Rainbow Six Siege community on Oct. 13 by Parker “INTERRO” Mackay. KiXSTAr was in a car crash, dying at the scene.
There’s no way to oversell how important KiX was to the community. He was, effectively, the face of the esport. A player, content creator, streamer, caster, he was deeply involved and connected with everyone and everything. KiX’s presence is deeply, sorely missed by everyone he touched and everyone who cares at any level about the esport.
In lieu of flowers, KiX's family has asked that donations be made to local food banks.