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With the Six Invitational 2024 starting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, we have had a look at all of the teams in the tournament. Let's start with Group A!
Teams
Here’s a close look at all of the teams that will feature in Group A:
G2 Esports
The current world champions head to the Six Invitational 2023 as one of the main favorites to lift the sledgehammer, behind the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen and Atlanta champions of w7m esports.
All of the eyes will be set on Karl “Alem4o” Zarth, as the Brazilian returns to his home region to play in a top-flight competition since his departure from Team oNe. The G2 Esports captain won’t be the only Brazilian member in the European powerhouse as the former FaZe Clan coach Matheus “Ramalho” Gonçalves will be behind the Six Invitational 2023 winners.
Overall, it’s been a year full of ups and downs for G2 Esports. After finishing in the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen’s Top 8, the team made multiple roster and staff changes after their performance in Saudi Arabia. Eventually, the team reached the semifinals of the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta after an inconsistent performance in Europe.
DarkZero Esports
DarkZero Esports is one of the most exciting squads heading to the Six Invitational 2024 following the arrivals of Nathan “Nafe” Sharp and the Six Invitational 2022 winner Jason “Beaulo” Doty.
In terms of results this season, the purple squad’s best result was a Top 8 finish at the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta. Now, led by the two-times Six Invitational champion Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski, the Americans expect to do well in Brazil despite the deep changes.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
After missing out on the Six Invitational 2023, Ninjas in Pyjamas are back to the best Rainbow Six Siege tournament of the season.
The Brazilians had a great year in terms of consistency, as they qualified for every international event possible: both BLAST R6 Majors and the Gamers8. Unfortunately, they couldn’t take home any of them.
Ninjas in Pyjamas’ best performance this year was a quarter-final finish at the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen, where they lost against Soniqs. In Atlanta, the team couldn’t make it past the Swiss Stage.
Since the organization’s last appearance at a Six Invitational, the team has made two roster changes as they added Gustavo “Wizard” Gomes and Raul “kondz” Romão. Furthermore, the team added the Six Mexico Major champion Arthur “TchubZ” Figueira as the squad’s coach.
Geekay Esports
Geekay Esports’ Cinderella run at the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta awarded them with a Six Invitational 2024 qualification. It wasn’t easy for the Saudi-Arabian majority roster, as they were forced to play with Jake “Leadr” Fortunato after Ahmet “SRSLy” Hasan’s visa issues.
Two months after Geekay Esports’ defeat against the eventual BLAST R6 Major Atlanta champions w7m esports, we should be able to see the MENA League roster at its fullest outside of their region for the first time.
Throughout the year, Geekay Esports have been learning from their mistakes to overtake Team Falcons in their home region. Recently, the team won the Saudi eLeagues Season 2023 Stage 2 and the MENA Community Face-Off Series 2023.
FearX
Although only two years have passed since the organization’s last Six Invitational appearance (Feb. 2022), the team looks completely different. The only players who featured in the Six Invitational 2022 who still compete for FuryX, Kim “EnvyTaylor” Seong-soo and Lee “Nova” Si-hun, are now part of the coaching staff.
Since then, the team has made multiple roster changes as they added South Korean talent with the idea of stepping up their international performances. Unfortunately for the yellow squad, the results outside of their region have been underwhelming.
Heading to the Six Invitational 2024, FearX added to their coaching staff the Six Sweden Major champion and former MIBR coach César “Dark” Adriano. Moreover, the roster signed the highly experienced Jang “RIN” Byeong-uk.
Despite the team’s performances at the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen and the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta, their results in South Korea qualified them for the Six Invitational 2024 – which saw them finishing above Team BDS and MNM Gaming in the Global Standings. This situation in the global standings created a massive social media attack from some viewers to the players, who thought the yellow roster didn’t play well enough to be in the Six Invitational 2024, while Team BDS and MNM Gaming had qualified for at least one quarter-final match. Can the South Koreans prove those fans wrong?
Storylines
Here are some of the best storylines to look forward in Group A!
Alem4o and TchubZ will clash for the first time since parting ways with Team oNe
On Feb. 11, 2022, Oxygen Esports’ victory against Team oNe put the Brazilian lineup between a rock and a hard place. Despite having won more maps than the green roster and Natus Vincere, the golden squad finished at the bottom of the standings of the Six Invitational 2022 Group D. Two years after sharing a room for the final time as Team oNe members, Karl “Alem4o” Zarth and Arthur “TchubZ” Figueira will meet again as rivals in São Paulo, Brazil.
Since then, the Six Mexico Major champions have had success on their own. While the coach brought back the ninjas to international heights, the player became the sixth Brazilian player to win a Six Invitational after doing so for G2 Esports.
It’s worth mentioning that, in Jul. 2023, Ninjas in Pyjamas and G2 Esports shared their Gamers8 2023 group. Unfortunately, both teams went different ways of the bracket and couldn’t face each other.
G2 Esports against DarkZero Esports, a Siege derby in the making
G2 Esports and DarkZero Esports will meet at the Six Invitational 2024 for the fifth time since May. 2022. After meeting twice at the Six Charlotte Major, the purple squad and the samurai met once at the Six Invitational 2023 and the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta.
With two wins for each side, their upcoming clash will make the difference in the record. However, the Europeans won the only best-of-three series between both sides, as they defeated the Americans at the Six Invitational by 2-0 in the tournament’s lower bracket. Meanwhile, the purple roster defeated the samurai twice at the Six Charlotte Major.
Dejavu for Geekay Esports
Geekay Esports will play against Ninjas in Pyjamas for a second time this season as the Brazilians were the team’s first international opposition in Atlanta. Back then, the Saudi Arabian-majority roster won the match on maximum overtime.
It will also be the team’s second time they face G2 Esports, as they also played against the European powerhouse in Atlanta. Unfortunately, the roster lost the match by 5-7.