Banner Image: Ubisoft / João F. @itsmeERROR
The last few weeks have been pretty hectic for DarkZero fans with the recent news of Ryce's departure. The same is true for the M80 team and its failure in BLAST R6 Majors. Also, the world of R6 was shaken by news regarding the series of unpaid salaries for the MNM Gaming roster. More details about these news are below.
M80 Kyno On the Eve of the 2024 Six Invitational
What was initially only a rumor has become a reality: M80 is going to the roster before the trip to Brazil. It all started a week after the epic BLAST R6 Major Atlanta final. At that time, M80 official representatives changed the roster and put Leonardo "Kyno" Figueiredo on the bench.
If you are a devoted fan of R6 esports and Kyno, you definitely know about his amazing performance. He does his best in every game. Knowing this, fans do not miss the opportunity to use it in their own favor. This fueled their activity in exploring trusted services such as Esports Betting Bro, where they could find reputable bookmakers and place, for example, a prop bet.
Until now, there are no clear plans for the organization of the 2023 Six Invitational. At the same time, M80 promises to reveal all the details soon. As it is known, after the signing of the contract between M80 and XSET Rainbow Six Siege, the Brazilian team actively participated in many tournaments.
Among them, there were Six Invitational 2023, BLAST R6 Major Atlanta, BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen, as well as Gamers8 2023. The North American League team was very close to winning its first international title thanks to the excellent teamwork. This would allow them to reach the Gamers8 grand final.
Could the fans expect such a team’s performance in July? Obviously not. Coming out against Team BDS, they lost 0-3. Their failures did not end there. Next, they faced a series of unsuccessful performances in almost all BLAST R6 Majors seasons. As a result, they got only 1 victory out of 7 possible.
MNM Gaming’s Unpaid Salaries
Recently, MNM Gaming’s former Rainbow Six Siege roster officially announced their departure from the British-Chinese organization. The main reason was a serious debt of up to £200,000 in unpaid salaries. Among the people who did not get their salaries were not only players themselves but also staff and even former team members.
It should be mentioned that MNM Gaming started its journey in the R6 disciples only 5 years ago, in 2018. But thanks to powerful teamwork and players’ devotion, they quickly reached the top of Europe in 2019. Soon after that, Natus Vincere acquired the MNM roster that was lucky enough to win the Pro League S10 Finals.
What is particularly surprising (from the perspective of recent news) is that despite this decision, MNM still kept investing in the second tier. Unfortunately, after the last BLAST R6 Major Atlanta, all members of the current team's roster decided to stop the contract with MNM. As they said, the first problems appeared in July 2023, but the final salary they got was in September.
Also, during the interview with the players, it became known that the oldest unpaid salary may be around Autumn 2020. What is clear at the time of writing is that at least 5 players and 2 staff members were affected by this situation. In turn, the management of MNM Gaming said that the team regularly communicated with private investors and brands.
Such justification is quite questionable, as it is contrary to the contract. According to official data, the team has not paid prize money for the following events: BLAST R6 Copenhagen Major, Jönköping Major, EUL Final 2022, and Blast EUL Stage 1.
Ryce Departure from DarkZero
Recently, DarkZero fans were unpleasantly surprised by the news from official DarkZero representatives posted on X (Twitter). They announced Ryce's departure and said that the team could not thank him enough for all the hard work he did and the contribution he brought. Those who are following this team know that Ryce joined DarkZero quite recently, in September.
It means he managed to play only 2 months and 3 weeks in the purple roster. At the time he joined the team, it was only his trial. But after his tremendous performance, the team’s management decided to sign a contract for North America League Stage 2. After his debut, Ryce performed with an impressive rating while he used mostly Dokkaebi and Valkyrie.
With his help, the team reached third place, opening the way to BLAST R6 Major Atlanta qualification. During the championship, DarkZero showed a perfect start and won over the Knights. But then fortune did not smile at them, and they lost to G2 Esports and got maximum overtime against FURY.
A further performance was the same unsuccessful - they barely reached Phase 2 and then lost to LOS during Phase 3. Despite such a result, Ryce made much effort to present DarkZero as well as possible during home Major.