ELEMENT THREE: Everything you need to know

Banner Image: Ubisoft / Adela S. @adelasznajder

Following the conclusion of the BLAST R6 Major Manchester, the mid-season transfer window has already opened as teams will now have three months to get ready for the second split of the season.

With Siege's top-flights breaking up until late August and early September, it's now time for the off-season tournaments to shine. Each region will have its off-season tournament, with Brazil's Liga START and North America's ELEMENT THREE being the most popular ones out there right now.

Here's a look at North America's ELEMENT THREE, which is introducing some unique tweaks to create new opportunities, play-styles, and operator lineups:

What's ELEMENT THREE?

As we just stated, ELEMENT THREE is based in North America. It's the continuation of ELEMENT ONE and ELEMENT TWO, which were won by Karn & Co and Envy, respectively.

This North American off-season competition is produced by Peter "Fermay" Nightingales and has seen prize pools of US$25,000 in their previous two editions.

While fans have rated ELEMENT very highly following the tournament's first two editions, changes will be made in ELEMENT THREE.

What's changing with ELEMENT THREE?

As confirmed in North America's official X account (formerly known as Twitter), ELEMENT THREE will be open to Tier 1 teams. This was unthinkable a few weeks ago, with ELEMENT ONE and ELEMENT TWO having banned Tier 1 rosters as only Tier 2 and former Tier 1 players were able to compete. The message was clear: ELEMENT was the time to shine for those players whose dream was playing in North America's top flight and, eventually, international competitions.

So far, ELEMENT has played an important part in the growth of North America's talent, with some of the best examples being Jason "Ryce" Ngo, Adam "Atom" Guiterrez, and the recently crowned BLAST R6 Major Manchester champion, Ayden "dfuzr" Gabari. In ELEMENT THREE, aspiring players will clash with former and current Siege professionals.

Still, ELEMENT's most exciting change will be in the server as a tweak has been made in the way rounds will be played. Instead of dividing the match into two halves (six attacks and six defenses) the games will be divided into four quarters (three attacks, three defenses, three attacks, three defenses).

Here's what the official announcement included:

For E3 we are excited to pioneer a new way of playing Rainbow 6 with a small change of swapping sides every 3 rounds instead of 6. With this change we hope to see more diversity in game-play & operator vetoes by allowing both teams to play at least 3 rounds each of attack & defense!

Additionally, other changes will be made to the qualifying stages and the prize pool. All of these tweaks will be explained in the upcoming lines.

Prize Pool

ELEMENT THREE's prize pool will be the biggest one of the three editions as it has been extended from US$25,000 to US$30,000.

However, the prize pool will be divided into two categories, Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 rosters will only be able to claim the prize pool from the tournament, while Tier 2 rosters will be able to claim the prize pool from the tournament and the Tier 2 booster.

Here's how the prize pool will be divided in ELEMENT THREE:

• Winner: US$7,000
• Runner-up: US$4,000
• 3rd to 4th: US$2,500
• 5th to 6th: US$1,500
• 7th to 8th: $500

Additionally, Tier 2 players will be able to be chosen for the Tier 2 Bonus:

• 1st: US$6,000
• 2nd: US$3,000
• 3rd: US$1,000

For instance, if a Tier 1 team wins the grand final against a Tier 2 roster, the Tier 1 team would obtain US$7,000 while the Tier 2 roster would be awarded US$4,000 (runner-up prize) and US6,000 (first Tier 2 team).

Format

ELEMENT THREE's format is divided into four stages. Here's some information regarding each one of them:

Stage 1

The initial stage is the open qualifiers, where all Tier 2 teams will be able to sign up. The best two teams from each open qualifier will qualify for the second stage.

Stage 2

The previously mentioned four rosters will qualify for the second stage, also known as the Swiss Stage, and will be joined by 12 invited teams. We expect the list to be completed by Mexican teams and former ELEMENT TWO rosters. There, the best eight teams will qualify for the third stage.

For those unaware, a Swiss Stage is what BLAST uses during the BLAST R6 Major Phase 2. The teams that win three matches survive while the teams with three defeats are knocked out.

Stage 3

The best eight teams from Stage 2 will be joined by four teams from the North America League 2024. The 12 teams competing in this stage will be divided into two groups of six teams, called A Conference and B Conference.

Stage 4

The top seed from each group will qualify for the playoff semi-finals, while the second and third seeds will move to the playoff quarter-finals.

We will update this piece as soon as more information is unveiled regarding ELEMENT THREE and the rest of off-season tournaments. Meanwhile, make sure to check Siege.GG for more information about Rainbow Six Siege!