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Column: The APAC era isn't here yet - but it might be just around the corner

It's so close, but not yet.

Image via Ubisoft

It happens every time, and it is happening again. 

Every single time there’s an international Rainbow Six Siege competition, fan excitement is at a fever pitch on the first day. There are bold proclamations that get made after a minuscule amount of competition. 

This time, it’s: is the LATAM era over? Are all NA teams frauds? Is APAC the new ruler of Rainbow Six Siege? Is EU doomed? Is [insert any team that lost today here] actually a fraud?

Playing this game on the first day of the competition is as accurate as your average archer, blindfolded. You’re effectively penciling in team names in a Mad Libs entry. 

Could all of these narratives become true? Sure! Anything can happen over the course of a two-week-long tournament. However, they definitely aren’t true beyond all shadow of a doubt now, in the present. 

In terms of length, only 20 percent of the group stage of the tournament has been played. 20 percent of the teams involved in the tournament haven’t touched the server. There are teams that have played two maps. There’s a long way to go. 

All that said – damn, the APAC teams looked extremely good

Elevate whipped DarkZero in a match no one expected them to win 2-1, much less in the 2-0 it was. NiP was upset by the Korean SANDBOX roster. DWG KIA, who was one bullet away from a grand finals appearance at the recent Sweden Major, blew Team oNe out of the water. 

This SI was meant to be the coronation of a new Brazilian team, meant to bookend a completely dominant year. SI 2021, the Mexico Major, and the Sweden Major were won by Brazilian teams. You have to wind the clock back to Feb. 2020 to find an international event that a Brazilian team didn’t win. 

The Korean teams are looking strong, and APAC’s other representative playing today, Elevate, knocked off a solid DarkZero squad 2-0. 

The region is much improved, but the jewel in the crown is by far and away the Korean teams. Any still doubting the strength of APAC in general and Korea in specific should silence themselves – we might be witnessing the new sheriff in town finally take the reins. 

 

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