It has been a whirlwind of a season, and it's all finally coming to a close. Rio de Janeiro will see the biggest-ever number of Rainbow Six: Pro League fans congregate to watch the top eight teams from across the globe battle it out for the title of Pro League champions.
Before everything comes to a close, though, we thought it would be a good idea to preview the top five players that could conceivably become this season's SiegeGG MVP.
Fifth Place: Canadian (Evil Geniuses) - 1.18
Longtime captain of Evil Geniuses (EG), once known as Biggity Boo Bop and then Continuum, Canadian was always going to make this list. One of the best players in North America, his leadership has seen his side win the Pro League once and follow that up with the 2017 Six Invitational title.
Since those victories, though, Canadian has found much less success than he would have liked. Year 2 was a particularly trying time for him and his team as they failed to make it to the Pro League LAN Finals for the two seasons after their Invitational victory. When they finally did, in Season 6, they were sent home at the Quarter Finals by a rampaging ENCE eSports. While his team would look strong for the 2018 Six Invitational, Season 7 Finals, and Six Major Paris, they would be stopped by G2 Esports all three times. Evil Geniuses would also make it to the Grand Final of DreamHack Austin 2018, but again fail to win -- this time against Millenium.
Season 8 of the Pro League seems to be going much the same -- except this time the roster has seen a significant change. After some experimentation, Geoo was brought in to replace BC in the second-half of the season, and EG has since looked reinvigorated. Canadian and Geoo have been leading their team by example, keeping their spirits up and setting the benchmark for everyone to follow.
In Rio, they will first face Fnatic, but are then probably going to go up against their nemesis G2 Esports once again. If they are able to get fourth-time lucky, then it’s almost certain Canadian is going to lead his team to a Pro League victory, and claim the SiegeGG MVP award.
Fourth Place: Astro (FaZe Clan) - 1.22
The perennially fearsome Brazilian is back again on home soil, and he has never looked better. Leading FaZe Clan’s killcount, he has lead his team to what is possible an all-time record of 16 games unbeaten against Pro League opposition.
Astro first gained international recognition when his team, then known as Santos Dexterity, appearing in its first international match, took down Euronics Gaming and then pushed eventual champions Continuum (now Evil Geniuses) to three maps. His prowess was immediately apparent, and he continued that fine form once again up to the Pro League LAN Semi-Finals in Seasons 5 and 6 only to be stopped by eventual champions PENTA Sports and ENCE eSports respectively.
At the 2018 Six Invitational, Astro’s strength was unfortunately still not enough to overcome Evil Geniuses one year on and he was left weeping on stage. Season 7 would see a drop in form, however, as FaZe would be sent home by Millenium in the Quarter-Final. Shockingly enough, his team would also fail to get out of the group stages at the Six Major Paris, and would lead them to re-examine their strategies and roster.
This season, though, he will once again be on home turf -- a year after losing to ENCE eSports in São Paulo -- and has been in fiery-hot form again. This time he will be accompanied by yoona instead of gohaN, and will be hoping that his team can first clear the challenge posed by Mock-it Esports, then either NORA-Rengo or Rogue, and finally the other Grand Finalist from the opposite side of the bracket.
Third Place: Wokka (NORA-Rengo) - 1.27
Speaking of NORA-Rengo, star player Wokka will have much of Asia’s hopes pinned on him and his team as they look to his leadership and firepower to make the region proud. Having started his Pro League career known as Vodkq, Season 6 saw a weak showing from his team as they fell in a mind-numbing loss to Mindfreak at the inaugural APAC LAN. Undeterred, his team kept their heads up, before finding success in Season 7.
It was then that his strength was made apparent to the global Rainbow Six audience. He kicked things off in style, securing an ace against Rogue in the first attacking round for his team. Not only did that get him noticed, it also netted him the Esports Awards Play of the Month for June even against other esports. At the Six Major Paris, he was unfortunately in-and-out of hospital before and during the event, and his team could only secure a lonesome victory against the now-relegated Obey Alliance.
This season, though, he will be at full strength with his team in Rio de Janeiro despite a visa scare just days before the event. With Papilia and ReyCyil joining him in the place of Cloud and CrazyPapiyoN, he took New Life, Aerowolf, and Fnatic to the cleaners at the APAC LAN and will look to get revenge against Rogue in the Quarter-Finals. If they are successful, they will then go up against either FaZe Clan or Mock-it Esports, and could very well get to the Grand Final itself.
Second Place: Korey (Mock-it Esports) - 1.27
In a positioning absolutely no one would have expected, one of the newest additions to the Pro League is in the running for SiegeGG MVP. Having a 1.27 SiegeGG rating so far, Korey has been a revelation for his side.
The German joined Mock-it Esports after the team had just experienced an exodus of two their top-performing players in the form of Lucas “Hungry” (widely considered the best Ying player) and PARAA. The two were then replaced by Korey and Vale for the Paris Major, but to add salt to the wounds, star fragger AceeZ also left the team after the event, prompting the team to draft BakaBryan in.
With how different the team had become, few people were expecting the Germans to make it to the Season 8 Finals -- some had even predicted them to get relegated. However, Korey has been the standout performer for Mock-it and has propelled his side straight to Rio de Janeiro. Since joining from Movistar Riders, he has consistently been one of the top performers in the whole of Europe, and thus sees himself become one of the Season 8 SiegeGG MVP contenders.
Mock-it first plays FaZe Clan in an extremely tough match, and if they are able to move on, they will go up against the equally strong Rogue or NORA-Rengo. Their chances to make the Grand Final may look slim, but Korey and his team has proven that you can only count them out at your own peril.
First Place: Kantoraketti (G2 Esports) - 1.30
Kantoraketti is a name that needs little introduction. A star performer since the day he joined the Pro League in Season 4, he was ENCE eSports’ top player alongside Sha77e at the Season 6 Finals where he won the Pro League. Since moving onto G2 Esports, his exploits have only grown. After being drafted in as an emergency replacement for Sha77e on PENTA Sports (now G2 Esports) for the Season 7 Pro League Finals, he went on to destroy his opponents despite a lack of practice with PENTA, though the team lost to Team Liquid in the Grand Final.
Finally making his move to PENTA Sports permanent before the start of Season 8, Kantoraketti has been on fire. Having already achieved a 1.30 SiegeGG rating so far, it is very likely that he is going to be able to maintain or even increase that number in Rio. With G2 Esports being the strongest team going to the Finals, most expect them to be victorious and add a third Pro League title to their collection.
Kantoraketti was also the SiegeGG MVP for the Six Major Paris after G2 demolished Evil Geniuses 3-0 in the Grand Final, and will be looking to that event as inspiration to continue being a top performer for his team at LAN. He and G2 will first face home-side Immortals, who placed second in the LATAM Pro League. If they win, a tantalising rematch from the Six Invitational Grand Final, Season 7 Quarter-Finals, and Six Major Paris Grand Final awaits against Canadian’s side, Evil Geniuses.
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Catch all the tantalising action on your screens on the official Rainbow Six Twitch https://twitch.tv/rainbow6 and YouTube channels from the 17th to 18th of November, 11 AM GMT-2 onwards. Who do you think will become the SiegeGG MVP for Season 8 of the Pro League?
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