In 2017 one of the biggest gaming expositions in the world, PAX, invited 2 teams, Mindfreak and Corvidae, to participate in a show match. In 2018 this has become a full tournament with 4 teams, a single elimination format and a prizepool of $25,000. The tournament will take place within the PAX event at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre, and any of the attendees going to PAX AUS will be able to watch the tournament.
Who is Competing?
Following the show match from last year Darksided and Fnatic have been invited back to participate in the tournament. However this time we will see the addition of Athletico Esports and the Japanese team Nora-Rengo.
Fnatic
Roster: Magnet, Lusty, RizRaz, NeophyteR and Acez
Following the end of Season 8 and the APAC LAN, Fnatic managed to land second seed both in the ANZ region and at APAC LAN. They will be looking for redemption against either Athletico or Nora-Rengo, however both of these teams are on the other side of the bracket meaning Fnatic must beat Darksided to get to them.
ViewSonic Dark Sided
Roster: Fletch, JackDaddy, Cutie, vir7ue and speca
Dark Sided will be the team with the most to prove at this tournament as they haven't gone to a LAN event since the Season 7 APAC LAN in April where they lost to Nora-Rengo. This season they finished in 3rd this season in ANZ, behind their tournament opponents Athletico and Fnatic, losing to both in the process. They lost to Fnatic 1-6 on Coastline and drew on Oregon while against Athletico they also lost on Coastline 4-6 but then beat them on Villa 6-4. Dark Sided will be using this opportunity to gain more experience in a LAN environment.
Nora-Rengo
Roster: Wokka, Merieux, JJ, Papilia and ReyCyil
Nora-Rengo is currently the top team in the APAC region after qualifying for the Season 8 LAN finals, beating Fnatic and not dropping a single map during the entire play off. It's no doubt that for a majority of viewers that Nora-Rengo will be favourites to win the tournament. However along with Fnatic, both teams must keep in mind not to overplay their hand as they will want to save their strats for Rio at the end of November, as winning one game at Rio will guarantee a payout larger than winning this tournament, as well as being a more accomplished feat.
Athletico Esports
Roster: syliX, Todd, EmoRin, Derpeh, Ethan
Athletico has seen a recent improvement in their performance, they made it to the Paris qualifier APAC LAN in July, where they were defeated by Aerowolf and Sengoku gaming, they then made the Season 8 APAC LAN where they were once again beaten by Aerowolf but this time gaining a map for themselves. The team has had a good season in ANZ, their only non-wins coming from a draw and loss against Fnatic and a loss against Darksided on Villa after beating the team on Coastline.
When are the Games?
All matches will take place on the 27th of October, the games will be starting at 10:00am AEDT (01:00am CEST/07:00pm EDT).
Where Can You watch the Games?
The games will be broadcast in English on the Rainbow6ANZ Twitch and YouTube channel and in Japanese on the Japanese Rainbow Six Esports Channel.
The English language production talent for the tournament