Image via Ubisoft
BDS, one of Europe’s strongest teams, is slowly losing its “favorite” status for events.
It’s not because BDS hasn’t been great, nominally. The team placed in the semifinals of the Mexico Major, the quarterfinals of the Sweden Major, with solid results any way around. However, despite all the fanfare and chatter about how they’re Europe’s best, they’ve never even been to a final of a Major or Invitational.
Arnaud “BiOs” Billaudel, the team’s coach, has been the team’s most recent addition. He said to SiegeGG: “This team is a train, my main role is to steer this team. I’m not the engine, just the one who steer[s] the train.”
The common consensus isn’t that BDS are frauds — far from it. When looking at raw results, in the age of LATAM supremacy, they’ve carved out a solid chunk of the space the top echelon of Rainbow Six Siege occupies. They have some of the best, most mechanically talented players in the world: Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu is one of the most feared entry players in the world, Loïc “BriD” Chongthep one of the most respected supports.
The lynchpin that holds the team together is Bryan “Elemzje” Tebassi.
“It’s true that Elemzje is important in our team,” said BiOs in an interview conducted over direct message due to language barriers. “He gives a lot of confidence to his teammates. If he is in a good day, he can lead the team at his best, he can be in the head of the opponent team and counter them at each round.”
As Elemzje goes, so goes BDS, according to BiOs. They have plans in place for when he’s not having his best day, but when he’s at his best is when the team really clicks.
With such a star-studded lineup, you could be forgiven for having higher expectations for BDS. They have every element that leads a modern Rainbow Six Siege team to success: structure within adaptability, tempered aggression, the ever-elusive “clutch factor.” However, they haven’t delivered international results that line up with their individual caliber or regional success.
“Not at all,” said BiOs when asked if there’s any internal concerns about the team’s lack of international hardware. “First thing, guys are proud of their victories for the Six August 2020 Major and the European League 2021. They’ve just thought they need a coach to improve and maybe win more Majors. So, no struggles, the mind of everyone is clear about that. No one thinks there is a jinx for example. We are confident, we play, we win a lot, sometimes we lose, we learn, and here we go again.”
BDS can’t be considered “the” favorite, and — depending on your definition of how many “favorites” there can be— they can’t be considered in that group either. They fall in this group of teams that can be reasonably expected to make it out of groups and to the quarterfinals, but at this point, they cannot be expected to win, or make finals.
Depending on who you ask, that’s fine with BDS. They have regional accolades, they’re comfortable in the knowledge that they’re reasonably within striking distance of an international title. BiOs has muted “expectations” for the team that lines up with what most coaches tell their teams.
“Success will come automatically if we’ve worked enough well,” he said.
BDS will look to finally break into the final round at the Six Invitational 2022, which will begin on Feb. 8.