Following the conclusion of the first two days of action in the BLAST R6 Major Montreal, the remaining twelve teams in the competition will play today to keep themselves alive in the tournament.
While the winners of the upper bracket matches will qualify for the Montreal Finals, the defeated sides in the lower bracket will be knocked out of the tournament.
Here's everything you need to know about today's matches:
Chiefs ESC vs. Team Falcons
The Chiefs and Team Falcons will face for the second time in the BLAST R6 Major Montreal as both rosters clashed in the play-ins, with the MENA roster taking a comfortable 2-0 win which included a flawless victory on Border.
Team Falcons surprised everyone in the first day of Phase 2 action after victories against DarkZero Esports and Team Secret, two rosters that made it to Manchester’s semifinal and quarterfinal, respectively. After losing against FaZe Clan on Day 2, the Falcons will have a second shot at Montreal’s Finals against the Chiefs later today.
Meanwhile, the Australians have outperformed many fans’ expectations after not only making it through the play-ins but also taking two wins in Montreal’s Phase 2 – against SCARZ and Elevate.
No matter the result of the match, a team will be making history for its region. While a Team Falcons win would make them the second MENA roster to reach the final stage of a BLAST R6 Major, the Chiefs are one victory away from becoming the first Australian side to reach the quarterfinals of a Six Major – improving Team Bliss’ performance in Manchester in what’s the Chiefs’ first international event together.
It’s also worth mentioning that, in the case of a Team Falcons win, the green roster would secure a Six Invitational 2025 qualification.
Team BDS vs. Virtus.pro
Team BDS and Virtus.pro will clash today in a match that’s extremely important for the Russians. If the Bears win against the French-majority roster, they would be extremely close to securing a Six Invitational 2025 qualification.
Virtus.pro has two wins in Montreal after taking down Soniqs and Spacestation Gaming. Meanwhile, Team BDS’ initial defeat against w7m esports has been reversed with wins against Dplus and Black Dragons.
However, Virtus.pro’s record in BLAST R6 Majors after winning two matches is poor, to say the least: five defeats and zero wins. In Copenhagen, the Russians’ 2-0 record ended up in tragedy as they were knocked out of the tournament following three consecutive defeats. Six months later, in Atlanta, the team missed out on the quarterfinals after back-to-back defeats against w7m esports and, curiously enough, Team BDS.
Team Liquid vs. Team Secret
Team Liquid and Team Secret will clash in the final upper bracket match of the day. The Blue Cavalry kicked off their run in Montreal with victories against G2 Esports and the Chiefs, and eventually lost their first match in the tournament against w7m esports.
Meanwhile, Team Secret’s performance so far has been slightly underwhelming after claiming two maximum overtime victories against the Asian sides Elevate and SCARZ. The team’s first and so far only defeat came against Team Falcons.
Black Dragons vs. SCARZ
It's do-or-die for Black Dragons and SCARZ as the loser of the match will be sent home from Montreal, Canada.
The Brazilians have had a great tournament so far. After surviving to the play-ins, Black Dragons' initial Phase 2 victory against Dplus was followed by a 3-7 defeat against w7m esports. Yesterday, the Brazilians lost to Team BDS.
On the other hand, SCARZ started the tournament on the wrong foot as they lost against the Chiefs (5-7) but got back on track after a 7-4 victory against G2 Esports. Yesterday, the Japanese were close to defeating Team Secret as they were one kill away from taking down the European roster. Fortunately, results somewhere else meant SCARZ had qualified for the Six Invitational 2025.
Elevate vs. Soniqs
Elevate and Soniqs will clash internationally for the first time since Soniqs defeated Elevate at the Six Invitational 2022. A lot has changed for both teams since then, though.
Elevate's initial two performances in Montreal were brilliant as the team's 7-8 defeat against Team Secret was followed by a victory against DarkZero Esports. Unfortunately, the roster was pushed to the Lower Bracket after a 3-7 defeat against the Chiefs.
Meanwhile, Soniqs' back-to-back overtime defeats against Virtus.pro and Spacestation Gaming were followed by an outstanding performance against G2 Esports, who they beat on Clubhouse (7-0) and Kafe (7-2).
DarkZero Esports vs. Spacestation Gaming
A team from the North America League will be knocked out later today as DarkZero Esports and Spacestation Gaming will clash in one of the final two matches of the night.
Looking at the previous clashes between both organizations, DarkZero Esports seem to be the favorites ahead of tonight's match: the astronauts' last BO3 win against the purple roster was in November 2020. Meanwhile, since then, DarkZero Esports has won three BO3 matches against Spacestation.
Since the start of the year, both teams have faced thrice as DarkZero Esports won two, including a 2-1 victory at the Six Invitational 2024, and Spacestation Gaming won one.