Looking ahead to the Six August 2020 Major Europe

Four teams have made it through to the Six August 2020 Major in Europe. A hard fought qualification for some teams, but within this stacked final, who will have the best shot at taking home the money and Six Invitational Global Points?

It is not what we expected going into this year as the August Major of 2020 should have taken place in North America, but with the ongoing pandemic Ubisoft decided to give every region their own finals. There will be four teams battling it out for the prize pool of $125.000 and a significant boost in the form of Six Invitational Global Points, helping them on their way to a spot for the most important event in the whole of Rainbow Six competitive circuit. 

The reformed number one

The first seed coming in from the league stage is once more Rogue, who finished first seed as well in Pro League Season 11 – Europe. Their consistency is slightly odd however, as two players have been swapped between seasons, both Valentin “Risze” Liradelfo (now Vitality) and Théophile “Hicks” Dupont (Inactive) were replaced. The former Team Empire player Eugene “Karzheka” Petrishin joined the ranks, once more showing Rogue to be an international roster apart from their German core. The final addition was made by picking up Leon “Leongids” Giddens, who was a free agent when the Team Secret roster disbanded.

With these new additions, as well as gaining two coaches, Rogue only lost in the first and last week of the new European League, both times with a 2-7 score. They grew stronger every week, profiting off the immense pressure Maurice “AceeZ” Erkelenz is able to put down on the map. Being strong and consistent throughout the season quite possibly makes them most likely to take the title and the hefty $62.500 cheque. 

The 7-1 masters

If you watched the first matches of the European League Season 1 (Stage 1), you could not have missed the dominance BDS Esport brought to the table. Winning convincingly with 7-1 three times in a row. The hype for French dominance was there, but unfortunately, when their opponents became tougher, they started to struggle. Losing in matchday five against Rogue seemed to be a turning point.

They went on to win two more matches, but also lost 1-7 against Team Empire (8th) and drew against Tempra Esports (7th). The inconsistency shown later on in the season might be a sign of problems going into the best-of-three format, where the veto is even more important and weaknesses are easier to exploit. 

G2 Esports going for gold

It has been some time since the legendary Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen and G2 Esports got to lift a trophy for Rainbow Six. His team has consistently been competing in the top of the European region, yet not being able to get to the position he was once at for a long time. Coming in second in Pro League Season 11 and third in the first stage of European League Season 1 they showed promise with the additions of Ben “CTZN” McMillan and the Australian Jake “Virtue” Grannan.

With enough time between the end of the season and the Major, everything should be in place to perform here once again, facing off against BDS Esport in the first round. G2 Esports will always be a contender for the title but at this moment in time Rogue seems to be a stronger and more consistent force. Of course it is not to forget that G2 Esports has beaten Rogue in the first matchday, but a best-of-one is a completely different beast than a best-of-three.

Limping into the top four

The last team making it into the Major is the Russian team of Virtus Pro. They ended up with the same amount of points as Natus Vincere, but winning against them in the second to last day meant a fourth place finish despite having a worse round-difference. This round-difference deficit might also have been impacted due to Virtus Pro being the only team to not have a draw this season, ending with four wins and five losses.

Their performance in the European League so far has not been ideal, losing against every other team in the top four. Keeping this in mind, they are definitely the underdog going into the tournament. Upsets are always possible however, so do watch out for some crazy Russian tactics.

Our prediction

Keeping in mind what has transpired this season, and of course the double elimination format, we have made our own prediction on who we expect to win the Six August 2020 Major – Europe.

1st Rogue: Their performance has been consistent throughout the season, showing growth and improvements where needed. Starting against Virtus Pro should get them a win and confidence going through the rest of the tournament.

2nd G2 Esports: There is a lot of experience within this line-up, whom always manage to bring either Montagne or Blitz to make Pengu even more frightening. They will have a tough first match, but should be able to exploit weaknesses to start with a win. Rogue might still be a little to strong however, making G2 our second place finisher.

3rd BDS Esport: The French team is strong, but struggling from time to time. We expect them to be stronger than Virtus Pro, but G2 seems like the more stable force, which is necessary in this format.

4th Virtus Pro: Cutting it close getting into the Major itself does not bode well for the line-up, however, they can always surprise.

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