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The Siege Year in Review

The Six Invitational 2020 was the last big offline event for Siege. After that, the competition had to retreat... Fabio | 27. December 2020

The Six Invitational 2020 was the last big offline event for Siege. After that, the competition had to retreat into the online realm and we had to watch the Major tournaments over stream exclusively. Still, the teams and players have delivered a great show. We’ve taken a look back at the most exciting and memorable moments of 2020.

SPACESTATION GAMING STAND VICTORIOUS AT SI2020

For Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski, this was the greatest moment of his career. In the early years, he managed to win the first ever Six Invitational alongside Continuum. Afterwards, he firmly remained at the top of North American Siege. Under the Evil Geniuses banner, he won two more Pro League Seasons, but in the international competition, he struggled. It took him until the US Nationals in December of 2019 to finally win a meaningful trophy again. As part of Spacestation Gaming, he took to the Six Invitational 2020, which he quickly won.

SSG defeated Natus Vincere and TSM in the Group Stage, after which they didn’t lose a single map going up against MIBR and DarkZero. Following that, they faced off against Team SoloMid again, who had to concede despite winning on the first map. So Spacestation arrived in the Grand Finals on a map advantage. This they desperately needed, as the Ninjas Pyjamas took them for a ride on Villa and Border. Suddenly, Canadian and his men stood with their backs against the wall. How were they supposed to get out of this predicament?

Following four round losses on Clubhouse, it looked as though the North Americans were done for good. But as soon as they switched over to the defense, their luck turned around. Suddenly, they were the ones winning round after round, and apart from one round in which João “Kamikaze” Gomes managed to get a double kill, they absolutely handled the Ninjas in Pyjamas. Their 7-5 comeback gave the players a well-needed confidence boost. But most importantly, they got the chance to take the trophy home on Bank.

And they did so in style. There, SSG powered through a 4-2 half and in the offense, they were practically unbeatable. Alec “Fultz” Fultz closed the map with a triple kill to win a 7-3 and, by extension, the Six Invitational 2020 trophy. This thrilling comeback story took place in front of a home crowd and will forever remain in the viewers’ memories.

Image via Ubisoft

THE RISE OF BDS

BDS Esport made headlines when they suddenly qualified for the Six Invitational 2020. The Qualifier bracket was full of established teams like Vitality, PENTA, Chaos, Team Secret, and G2 Esports. But at the end, the Frenchmen overtook almost all of them, until they eventually fell to Secret. After a quick 3-0 victory over MnM Gaming, they still landed a Grand Finals spot.

There, they had to fight Secret again, who had entered the match with a map advantage. But BDS were prepared and had learnt from their mistakes in the previous encounter. On two overtime maps, they managed to secure the lead. On Bank, they eventually got a one-sided 7-4 victory to conclude the match and snatch the Six Invitational spot.

Image via ESIX

Arriving on site, they quickly dispatched Wildcard Gaming. The Winners’ Match versus G2 Esports proved to be a little too much for them, though, and so they had to fight one last match against Team Reciprocity. In the end, the Frenchmen made playoffs. There, they even won over MIBR and Fnatic, before falling to the Ninjas in Pyjamas in a hard-fought and tense match. For a team that had just recently made last place in European Pro League, this was quite the success. This massive leap forward was a sign for what BDS would be able to achieve in the coming months.

After signing Loïc “BriD” Chongthep, they climbed to a second place in EUL Stage 1. Afterwards, they managed to rob G2 of the August Major trophy in a perfect reverse-sweep. Following a first-place finish in Stage 2, they only made second place in the November Major. There, Team Empire managed to land the big upset and clinch the victory.

Nonetheless, this was the year of BDS Esport. In the European space, they achieved more than any other team out there and over a longer period of time as well. They were the only European squad to make the Six Invitational Top 5. With 41 points to their name in EUL, they are ten points ahead of the second place contestants, G2 Esports. Their defeat to Empire in the November Major won’t stop them from re-engaging in the coming year.

WHO WEARS THE NORTH AMERICAN CROWN?

The fight between Oxygen Esports, Team SoloMid, DarkZero Esports, and Spacestation Gaming wasn’t as clear-cut as European competition. After their victory at the Six Invitational, SSG weren’t just the best team of their region, but of the entire world as well. So it wasn’t a surprise to see them make first place in NAL Stage 1. But then came the August Major.

In the Opening Match already, they succumbed to DarkZero Esports, who had only secured a slot at the event through the Qualifier. But it didn’t stop there. DarkZero reigned victorious over TSM, whom they also beat in the Grand Finals again. Kyle “Mint” Lander and his colleagues wrote Siege history with the best underdog story of the year. Nobody would have expected them to win and there was no reason to expect the tournament to play out like this.

Image via SiegeGG

Soon, they were the winners of NAL Stage 2 as well and entered the November Major. There, they ironically fell to Spacestation Gaming in the Opening Match. Even though they survived against Oxygen Esports, they were later booted off the tournament by TSM before they could reach the Grand Finals. There, TSM even won on a 3-1 scoreline to secure the trophy of the November Major. But who wears the North American crown now?

These four teams are incredibly close to one another. At the Six Invitational 2021, Spacestation Gaming could be back in the driving seat again, or maybe even DarkZero. TSM’s victory at the November Major won’t be the start of an era if Canadian and his men regain their form and manage to fix their issues.

WHAT IS WAITING FOR US IN 2021?

SI2021 will be a turning point for the Siege scene. Until now, this tournament has always been a visitor event in North America, but now it will be made a studio event in Europe. This is obviously due to the ongoing pandemic, which makes travel a nightmare for almost all teams. But with the ever-growing case figures in Europe, it is possible that this event will eventually be cancelled and moved online as well.

Rainbow Six: Siege desperately needs to have a region comparison again. Particularly in North America, we have seen the exact same four teams fight for months and the match-ups are slowly growing stale. Will we finally get to see an international event again in the coming year?