Image: Ubisoft/Michal Konkol
The entire Copa Elite Six, the final APAC League play days, and the penultimate play day in Europe all took place.
With all that action, here’s a summary of the biggest stories of the week.
- #flag@20:ca A return to Montréal
- #flag@20:br Brazil sweeps through Copa Elite Six
- #flag@20:fr BDS and Wolves qualify for Jönköping Major, Rogue enters four-way race for final two places
- #flag@20:th A new face qualifies from APAC South
A return to Montréal
Montréal, Canada, will once again host the Six Invitational after two years away.
The tournament will take place from Feb. 7 to 19, with a crowd in attendance on the final three days.
The venue will be Place Bell, the hockey arena used for the 2019 and 2020 Six Invitational. In the two years since the tournament has been moved to Europe due to Canadian travel restrictions but now Siege esports will return home.
Tickets to the event are still available here with prices ranging from CA$149 to CA$399 ($110 to $294) for General Admission and VIP three-day passes.
Brazil sweeps through Copa Elite Six
To no one's surprise, the four Brazilian rosters have finished in the top four in the Copa Elite Six, which has secured them places at the Jönköping Major.
The tournament included a particularly thrilling continuation of the Team Liquid vs FaZe Clan rivalry, which Liquid won twice; first with two 15-round map wins (8-7, 1-7, 8-7) in the upper bracket semi-finals and then in a much more convincing 7-0, 7-4 in the lower bracket final.
This set up a CES grand final between Liquid and w7m esports, which w7m won 7-4, 8-6.
This makes w7m Latin America's top-seeded roster after they previously finished second behind Liquid and FaZe during Stages 1 and 2 respectively.
This victory will be a big notch under the belt of w7m's newest player and ex-NiP member, Julio "Julio" Giacomelli, as he returned from a coaching position to replace w7m's IGL in a rather controversial change. He has so far proven the doubters wrong and, with NiP in last place in the BR6 and FURIA not at the Major, will feel vindicated as he looks forward to the Jönköping Major and SI 2023.
BDS and Wolves qualify for Major, as Rogue enter four-way race for final two places
Team BDS and Wolves Esports mathematically locked in a Six Major spot this week after it seemed inevitable given their performances so far.
Wolves did it in a 7-1 result over TT9, as the ex-Empire roster took Wolves to their best map despite having zero points themselves.
BDS meanwhile made a meal of their game against G2 -- despite leading 5-0, the game was taken all the way to an eventual 8-7 win. This was enough to send G2 out of the Major race, but still qualified them for the Six Invitational.
Now, there are two places at the Major for Rogue, MNM, NAVI, and Heroic to fight over. With 14 teams now known, these will be the final piece of the puzzle and the groups will likely be drawn after Monday's games.
Rogue and MNM both attended the Berlin Major and lead the race this week. NAVI and Heroic sit two points shy of their competition and face tough games. It will be an uphill battle for both teams.
A new name from APAC South
Joining Dire Wolves as the APAC League South Division's representatives at the Six Jönköping Major will be FURY, a new name with some recognizable faces.
This result is thanks to a win over Tyde on their final play day that resulted in a 3-1-1-1 record; one point ahead of Gaimin Gladiators and two ahead of Elevate.
FURY is a Thai roster that includes both Nay..Pew (now known as i9) and Sirasit "BGMan" Ariyasirisopon, who both previously played for Elevate. While BGMan was only a substitute, i9 played during the 2022 Six Invitational.
Dire Wolves, meanwhile, previously attended the Charlotte Major where they finished with a 0-1-0-3 record. While they did finish third in their group, the only team they were ahead of was Elevate, who were unable to attend the event. Now, they'll also return to the global stage as APAC's second seed after CYCLOPS in APAC North earned more points than them.
