Banner image: Ubisoft / @ericananmalay
Today, two more teams will be eliminated from the Six Invitational. We will also know which two teams will join KOI, Wolves Esports, Oxygen Esports, and w7m esports in the last stretch of the playoffs, which will take place in the Place Bell.
Oxygen Esports vs. Wolves Esports
After finally overcoming their BO3 problems, Wolves Esports have reached the semi-finals of the Six Invitational 2023. Today, their opponents will be Oxygen Esports.
Since the start of the playoffs, Yanis "Mowwwgli" Dahmani and Bastien "BiBooAF" Dulac have been vital for the French-majority roster. Heading into the playoffs, the Frenchmen had SiegeGG Ratings of 1.04 and 0.90, respectively. Now, their overall Ratings stand at 1.23 and 1.21.
Moreover, Mowwwgli's overall entry balance in playoff maps stands at 18-4 (+14). Put simply, Wolves look extremely dangerous heading into their next match against Oxygen.
On the other hand, Oxygen Esports, come into the match after beating Heroic and MNM Gaming by 2-0 scores. While the latter result is impressive, they struggled somewhat as they were pushed to maximum overtime twice.
Vital to their effort will be Ethan "Nuers" James, who has been the best player on the team since the start of the competition, as he currently stands as the best player in the competition with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.26.
Oxygen have certainly found their footing since their exploratory first half in Stage 3 and are currently the best of North America.
KOI vs. w7m esports
KOI are the only European side whose opponents don't play in the North American League. After the sudden eliminations of Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, and LOS oNe, w7m esports are the only remaining side from Brazil.
Both KOI and w7m esports have already met earlier, as the two rosters started their Six Invitational runs from Group A. The Six Berlin Major champions won the game after defeating the bulls on Skyscraper and Border by 7-5 and 8-6 scores, respectively. William "Spoit" Löfstedt was the best player in the fame with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.31.
However, the Brazilian team's momentum has drastically shifted since then. Following two 2-1 victories against Team BDS and M80, the bulls head into the game against KOI backed by an outstanding entry record of 50-22 (+28) since the start of the playoffs. Without a doubt, the battle for entry kills between both teams will be fascinating to follow.
G2 Esports vs. M80
Following G2 Esports' Day 2 wins against FaZe Clan and DarkZero Esports, the Europeans will face M80 in the third round of the lower bracket.
M80 were pushed to the lower bracket by w7m esports after losing to the Brazilians 2-1. After that loss, the North American League roster won against Spacestation Gaming to move into the top eight of the competition.
Fabian "Fabian" Hällsten's record against teams based in North America is currently in the spotlight. The Swede has never lost a match against American rosters, as the coach's record currently stands at 14 victories.
Meanwhile, M80 are yet to lose a match against a European roster at the Six Invitational 2023. In the group stage, the Brazilian-majority roster defeated Heroic and Team Secret by scores of 2-1 and 2-0, respectively.
Astralis vs. Team BDS
Finally, Astralis and Team BDS will meet in what's going to be a replay of the last match of the Six Invitational 2023 Group C. Then, the Frenchmen defeated the American lineup by 2-1.
All of Team BDS's games have gone to map three, so this will likely be no exception. With 21 maps already played at the Six Invitational 2023, Stéphane "Shaiiko" Lebleu could break the record today for the highest number of kills at a Six Invitational, which currently is held by André "NESKWGA" Oliveira, who got 289 kills at the Six Invitational 2021.
As of now, Shaiiko has 240 kills to his name, and only a super performance by the Frenchman would be enough to see him break the record today.
On the flip side, Astralis' situation isn't too different. The North American League roster only has ended one game before map three, which was against CYCLOPS athlete gaming.
They were looking shaky in the group stage after a disappointing Stage 3, but they rallied to knock out tournament favourites Soniqs and then LOS oNe in an incredible fashion that has shifted expectations. With sufficient rest, this team could thus manage to strike against BDS, especially with rookie signing Chris "Spiff" Park well in form.