For Sengoku Gaming Extasy (SGE), this season’s APAC LAN Finals are going to be an absolutely unforgettable experience. Held outside of Sydney, Australia for the first time, the Rainbow Six Asia-Pacific (APAC) circus will travel to Tokyo, Japan instead -- home for Sengoku Gaming.
The team in its current form is fairly young -- at least as far as their APAC competition goes -- having this roster come together only after the 2018 Six Invitational. Then, Papilia had been loaned to eiNs until the Major, and he returned to SGE with Aroer1na and SuzuC in tow.
This changed roster had an immediate impact. Together with ReyCyil and YoshiNNGO the trio finished as the second seeds in Japan to qualify for their first APAC LAN event as a team. However, the Season 7 APAC Finals would be one to forget for the Japanese, as they were dismantled 10-0 by an unparalleled Fnatic.
After swapping out ReyCyil (who would eventually move to NORA-Rengo after the Six Major Paris) for WAYOUMAN, the squad attempted to make it to the Paris Major after they had made it to the APAC Qualifiers LAN. However, losses to Element Mystic (now mantisFPS) and Aerowolf meant that they would be left waiting for their next shot at an international LAN event for a while longer.
This season, things are looking up for them. Though they lost Papilia after the Paris Major to NORA-Rengo, they seem to have replaced him with an equally capable player in gatorada. Managing to finish in 2nd place in the regular Pro League season, they surprised the favourites of NORA-Rengo to secure the first seed for the Tokyo LAN event. What's more, with Fnatic seeded second this season, that result has set the Japanese up for revenge for the Season 7 Quarter Finals thrashing they had suffered.
It is not too remote a possibility that, this time, SGE will prevail -- they do have two players who featured at both a global Pro League LAN Final and a Major -- but they are sure to be the underdogs for this matchup. If they do manage to win, though, they will go on to face either mantisFPS or Xavier Esports.
We had a chat with team captain, Shuto “Aroer1na” Nasukawa about his team’s performance this season, and their expectations from the Tokyo event.
(The interview responses have been translated by Operative, and lightly edited for grammar.)
Sengoku Gaming, in its current form, essentially rose out of the ashes of the eiNs roster at the Six Invitational, with Papilia’s loan to them ending, and Aroer1na and SuzuC transferring over permanently. How has your team grown in strength since then?
Your team finished just 2 points behind NORA-Rengo in the regular season, only separated by one drawn match. How would you rate your regular season as a whole?
After the Paris Major, your closest rivals NORA-Rengo chose your (now-former) player Papilia to complete their roster, leading you to promote gatorada to the main lineup. Would you say he is ready to fill Papilia’s shoes?
Your playoffs match against NORA-Rengo must have been very important to you guys, given that both ReyCyil and Papilia used to play for you. What does it mean to have beaten them 2-1 and taken the first seed?
Sengoku Gaming Extasy at the Season 7 APAC LAN
You lost to Fnatic 10-0 at the Season 7 APAC LAN; the only 10-0 at an APAC LAN so far. You face them again this LAN, but this time you have the home support as compared to them in Sydney in Season 7. How are you feeling about this matchup?
At this APAC LAN, four of your opponents will boast the experience of having attended international LAN events, three of them having added onto it recently at the Paris Major. What is your plan to close that gap in experience?
This is going to be the first APAC Finals outside of Sydney, Australia, and it is going to be at home in Japan for you. How big is the competitive Siege community in Japan, and how do you feel about being able to play an APAC LAN in front of them?
Is there anything you would like to share with your fans, and to the international audience that will read this?
The Sengoku Gaming Extasy roster is:
Shuto “Aroer1na” Nasukawa (Captain)
Takuma “SuzuC” Nakajima
Yuto “WAYOUMAN” Kusaka
Yoshifumi “YoshiNNGO” Yukimori
Hideki “gatorada” Nishida
Shu “Okamoto” Okamoto (Analyst)
Catch all the APAC LAN action from Tokyo, Japan, on the 13th and 14th of October from 9:45 AM GMT+9 onwards at twitch.tv/Rainbow6.