From Jul. 22 to Jul. 29, the eight Japan League 2023 teams competed in a double-elimination bracket for a chance to advance to the Japan Invitational 2023 Finals, where they would join MNM Gaming.
Here's what happened in the Japan Invitational 2023 Qualifier Phase and who will compete against the marshmallows in the competition's Finals.
What's the Japan Invitational?
The Japan Invitational 2023 is a competition where some of the best teams in Japan have the chance to play against an international side.
In last year's edition, the tournament organizers invited Team BDS, who had just won the Gamers8. After taking over the Japan Invitational 2022 flawlessly, the Frenchmen lifted the Six Jönköping Major less than a month later.
It's also worth mentioning that the Japan Invitational 2022 also saw the appearance of DWG KIA. However, back then, with APAC North still being a reality, seeing the South Korean roster playing in Japan wasn't as surprising as seeing Team BDS.
For this year's edition, the organizers decided to invite MNM Gaming. The European roster is one of the best in the old continent and competed in the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen. Since the organization's promotion to the top flight, the squad has also represented the marshmallow banner at the Six Berlin Major, the Six Jönköping Major, and two editions of the Six Invitational — 2022 and 2023.
But who's joining MNM Gaming in the Final bracket? Here's what happened in the Qualifier Phase!
Japan Invitational 2023 Qualifier Phase
The Upper Bracket began on Jul. 22 as SCARZ and CAG played against Fnatic and Crest Gaming Lst, respectively.
Unfortunately for the orange brand, the current Japan champions took the win by 7-1 on Kafe Dostoyevsky. Meanwhile, in a more closed series, CAG defeated Crest Gaming Lst by 7-4.
Later on, the Cyclops would win their first game against SCARZ since SCARZ's return to Rainbow Six Siege on Mar. 2022. Before Jul. 22, CAG's last victory against SCARZ dated back to Sep. 2020, when the organization was still represented by a South Korean roster.
Sho "BlackRay" Hasegawa was the team's best player in the series against SCARZ as he got 27 kills. His best performance of the series was on Chalet, where he led the Japanese roster with 16 kills. With this result CAG became the first team to join MNM Gaming in the Japan Invitational 2023 Finals.
The next day, all eyes were set on Jang "RIN" Byeong-uk's debut for Varrel. Unfortunately for the former DWG KIA player, his debut in Japan was watered down by IGZIST as they won by 8-6.
On the other side of the bracket, FAV Gaming joined IGZIST in the bracket's final after a 7-5 victory against the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen-bound NORTHEPTION.
Both with 12 kills, Naoki "Yura" Takamoto and the team's debutant Souichirou "Acerola" Kumazawa were pivotal in FAV Gaming's brilliant start to the series. Meanwhile, Reira "Reira" Nishino was IGZIST's best player on Kafe with 14 kills.
Despite FAV Gaming's start in the series, the Japanese roster's efforts were watered down on Skyscraper. After reaching series point (4-6), a 1v3 clutch by Reira was the turning point. The former REJECT player Toya "solty" Kojima was essential as he gave crucial information while using Solis, which gave the upper hand to IGZIST.
Following the win in the second map of the series, IGZIST took the third spot at the Japan Invitational 2023 Finals following a 7-5 victory on Clubhouse. Again, Reira, with 12 frags, was the best player in IGZIST.
Finally, the last spot at the Japan Invitational 2023 came from the Loser Bracket, where six of the eight teams in the initial bracket had been given a second chance.
The two BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen-bounds of Varrel and NORTHEPTION met as RIN's new lineup won the match by 7-5. However, the Japan League 2022 champions of SCARZ stopped them with a 7-4 victory on Clubhouse.
Meanwhile, Fnatic started their Lower Bracket round with two victories against Crest Gaming Lst and FAV Gaming. Etienne "Mag" Rousseau and Fnatic were one match away from playing against a European side, something we don't see since the team's 0-2 loss against Team BDS at the Six Invitational 2020.
Unfortunately for Fnatic, SCARZ defeated the orange brand by 7-2, 7-4 in the Loser Bracket Finals, meaning the Japanese roster will play against MNM Gaming in the Japan Invitational 2023 Finals. CAG and IGZIST will play in the other semi-final match.
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