Although all of the eyes are put in today's BLAST R6 Major Montreal grand final, BLAST has surprised the fans with a taste of what's to come in the future of Rainbow Six Siege's competitive scene.
Today's announcement included information regarding the R6 Share program update, how top-flight leagues will work, how teams will be able to qualify for the Six Invitational 2026, and more.
Keep on reading to know more about Rainbow Six Siege's competitive scene's future!
Calendar
The BLAST R6 2025 season will officially begin in May 2025 with a kick-off tournament called Reload, which will be played in Brazil. The 20 teams that are part of next season's R6 Share program will be invited to compete in the tournament.
Before the start of the campaign, the Challenger Series will be played during the off-season, which will go from March to April. This will be the way for teams that didn't join the R6 Share program to qualify for their respective regional divisions.
The kick-off tournament previously mentioned, Reload, will take the place of the May Major. The first stage will be played between June and July, while the second stage will take place between August and October. The action will be briefly stopped in August "for third-party competitions."
Following the November Major, the Six Invitational 2026 regional qualifiers will follow as they will be played between December and January. The Six Invitational 2026 will be played on February.
Regional league structure
Following BLAST's arrival to the Rainbow Six Siege competitive scene, the number of top-flight divisions was expanded as nine leagues were created. Two years after the change, BLAST is merging the divisions to create four regional top-flights, including:
- NAL: North America and Central America
- EML: Europe, Turkey, and MENA
- SAL: Brazil and South Latin America
- APL: APAC North (Japan and Korea), Asia (South-East and South Asia), and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and Polynesia)
In the case of the EML, the NAL, and the SAL, each league will include ten teams. The format used in those leagues will be simple to follow, with the best six teams moving to the playoffs. While no Major will be played in the first split, the best four teams by the conclusion of the second stage will qualify for the November Major.
However, to decide who competes in the Regional Finals, group stages from split one and split two will be combined. The best six teams from each competition will qualify for their respective Regional Finals.
Meanwhile, the APL will include three sub-divisions, including APAC North, Asia, and Oceania. In Stage 2, the best teams from each sub-division will be invited to a LAN Major Qualifier as the four-best rosters will qualify for the November Major. Additionally, the best six rosters after combining both Stage 1 and Stage 2 group stages, will qualify for the APL Regional Finals.
R6 Share
Eighteen of the twenty teams included in next season's R6 Share program have been unveiled. The list currently includes the following organizations:
- FURIA Esports
- Team Falcons
- Team BDS
- Fluxo
- Wildcard
- CAG Osaka
- PSG Talon
- Team Secret
- Elevate
- SCARZ
- FaZe Clan
- G2 Esports
- Spacestation Gaming
- FearX
- Fnatic
- Team Liquid
- DarkZero Esports
- M80
The two teams that will complete the list will be announced during the Six Invitational 2025, which will take place in Boston, Massachusetts.
The lack of some historical Rainbow Six Siege teams like Soniqs, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and w7m esports has caught the fans off guard. Here's what Jay Saunders, Associate Director, had to say in Rainbow Six Esports' official video:
Through a detailed application process we considered the best group of partnered teams to represent the future of Siege Esports. Applications were focused on showcasing the revenue potential, organization stability, and the community impact that these teams bring to their operations and their ecosystem. While we had some tough decisions, we are happy to include long-serving members as well as some up-and-coming teams to our scene.
The video also revealed that next year's R6 Share program will include brand-new esports drone skins and operator card portrait, as well as the return of esports charms.
To support those teams that weren't invited to join the R6 Share program, Ubisoft is launching the Affiliate Program. Affiliated rosters will join the program immediately after qualifying for their respective leagues. While NAL, EML, and SAL will include five affiliated teams each, the APL will include eight.
Teams that are part of the Affiliated Program will also benefit from R6 Share, as they will get their cut from the R6 Share Partner Team Bundles and Ubisoft's R6 Esports Bundles. The share obtained by each team will be equal.
Six Invitational 2026 qualification system
The system used to qualify for the Six Invitational is also changing. Teams will have different ways to qualify for the Six Invitational 2026, including:
- Winning the November Major
- Winning the Regional Finals
- Winning the regional Six Invitational 2026 qualifier
- Finishing among the best eleven teams on the Global Standings
In total, 20 teams will qualify for the Six Invitational 2026. This is completely different to this year's format, as the only ways to qualify for the Six Invitational 2025 were through finishing among the best 16 teams on the Global Standings or winning a Six Invitational 2025 regional qualifier.
More details will be unveiled at the Six Invitational 2025, so keep on checking SiegeGG for more updates!