Banner Image: Ubisoft/Joao Ferreira
A number of 11 players will make their international debuts next week in Montreal, Canada, as the Six Invitational 2023 is set to kick off on Feb. 7.
FaZe Clan
Less than a month after being announced as Gabriel "cameram4n" Hespanhol's replacement, Victor "VITAKING" Augusto is set to make his international debut with FaZe Clan at the Six Invitational 2023.
VITAKING was part of the Escolinha do bubu roster that ruled the Brazilian tier-two scene with an iron fist for most of the season. After a second-place finish in the Copa do Brasil Stage 3 and winning the region's Challenger League, better known as Série B, the player was chosen as FaZe Clan's new fifth player.
LOS oNe
Team oNe's partnership with LOS Grandes had a brilliant start in Rainbow Six Siege, as the roster's debut was awarded a Six Invitational 2023 slot following their victory at the LATAM SI 2023 Closed Qualifier.
Júlio "L0BIN" Gabriel, who joined the team after the conclusion of the second stage, will make his international debut in Montreal, Canada. The remaining players of the team were part of the roster that competed at the Six Charlotte Major.
Special mention goes to Gabriel "Maia" Maia and Joao "Dotz" Miranda, who couldn't travel to the United States for the Six Charlotte Major. Both players had to compete from Mexico, while the rest of the players in the squad were allowed to travel for their quarter-final match.
DarkZero Esports
DarkZero Esports' year started in a very promising manner, as they lifted the Six Charlotte Major trophy on home ground. But life has been complicated for them since then, with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Stages 2 and 3.
Heading into the Six Invitational 2023, DarkZero decided to part ways with Tyler "Ecl9pse" McMullin and Paul "Hyper" Kontopanagiotis to re-sign Alexander "Skys" Magor permanently and to sign Challenger League talent Gaven "Gaveni" Black.
Gaveni was part of Reality TV, where he won the North American Challenger League. His last official match was in Oct. 2022, against Arial Arise, where he was the best player in the game with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.17. Three months later, he is set to have his top-flight debut at the Six Invitational 2023.
Astralis
After finishing in first place of the NAL in Stage 1, Astralis reached their first international Siege grand-final, where they fell to DarkZero 2-3. This was followed by a similar Stage 2 table-topping performance in the NAL and now, with the absence of DarkZero Esports at the Berlin Major, Astralis were one of the favorites to lift the trophy.
But, Astralis weren't even close to winning the Berlin Major. Five losses and just one overtime victory sentenced Astralis to finish at the bottom of the standings of Group D.
Following Astralis' fall in Berlin and a sixth-place finish in the NAL in Stage 3, the team decided to make changes. Matthew "Dpfire" Macway was replaced by Chris "Spiff" Park, whose only appearances before signing for Astralis were in amateur competitions like SCS or the Solar Flare Competitive League.
Spiff played for Astralis in the SCS Season 7, where he lost against Parabellum Esports in the Swiss League and against Oxygen Esports in the final bracket. Now, the player is set to make his top-flight debut at the Six Invitational 2023.
Oxygen Esports
After the Berlin Major, Oxygen Esports parted ways with Gabriel "LaXInG" Mirelez. In his place came Jacob "Sweater" Bravico, who competed for beastcoast during Stages 1 and 2.
Sweater's first stage for Oxygen Esports was far from exceptional, with the player finishing with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.00. Oxygen finished in seventh place, which ultimately meant the team missed out on the Jönköping Major. However, this came largely due to five straight losses in the first half of the stage. The second half instead saw Oxygen finish strong with four straight wins, instead.
Now, after signing for the team in August, Sweater is about to make his international debut at the Six Invitational 2023.
Dire Wolves
Chen "Ray" Rui-wei will make his international debut with Dire Wolves in his second stint for the team following the departure of Wu "Reeps96" Weichen and the retirement of Hou "Ed" Tsung-cheng. Following victories over Team Bliss and SANDBOX Gaming, the Taiwanese squad qualified for the Six Invitational 2023 after winning the APAC SI 2023 Closed Qualifier -- a certified Cinderella run.
CYCLOPS athlete gaming
After going over three years without making a single roster change, CYCLOPS athlete gaming decided to part ways with Hideki "Gatorada" Nishida earlier last month. In his place, the former Crest Gaming Lst player Takashi "Arcully" Ono has joined the squad as the team's new fifth player.
Arcully's professional career started last year, when he began competing for Crest Gaming. Eventually, the team ended in fourth place in the Japan League -- the same position CAG need to finish in their group to qualify for a maiden international playoff appearance.
Team Secret
Team Secret qualified for the Six Invitational 2023 after defeating Natus Vincere once and Outsiders twice. It means that all of Lucas "Savage" Alves, Reece "ASTRO" Lambert, and Dawid "Gruby" Marciniak will be making their international debuts in Montreal, Canada, next week.
It's also worth noting that while Alex "SlebbeN" Nordlund is yet to play at a Major, but his international debut came for Soniqs at the 2019 DreamHack Montreal.
Heroic
Finally, Heroic's new addition Adam "nudl" Hryceniak will make his international debut next week at the Six Invitational 2023.
After playing for Skull Crackers in the Campeonato Mexicano Stage 3, the player returned to Europe where he competed at the EU SI 2023 Open Qualifiers for JLingz Esports. Now, almost two months later, nudl is joining Heroic alongside Jake "Sloth" Brown to represent Heroic in Montreal, Canada.