APAC Finals: Japan, the house of the rising skill

The Japanese in Rainbow Six: Siege have always been a quiet, but present force. The first team to make international waves was eiNs back in Season 6. However, with the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region still far behind their international counterparts, they had little impact and APAC was once again quietly forgotten for the time being.

It was at the Six Invitational 2018, when the Japanese certified their Siege credentials after eiNs beat eRa Eternity, and very nearly did the same to ENCE eSports. Papilia and ShiN had been two of the top performers then, with Aroer1na not far behind either. The latter’s claim to fame had been slightly earlier, and slightly more restricted in audience, when he had ripped through Team CryptiK (now Aerowolf) on three highly contested maps in the Season 6 APAC LAN Quarter Finals.

It was not until the Season 7 Finals in Atlantic City, though, that the Japanese players’ raw skill and teamwork became apparent. NORA-Rengo narrowly lost to North American team Rogue, but it did not matter, for the team had shown that APAC players -- Japanese players -- had what it took to be some of the best in the world. Wokka had started that Quarter-Final match in style, kicking things off with an ace in the very second round of the first map. This ace would later net him the Esports Awards Play of the Month for June, and his overall performances would also earn him a nomination for Esports Rookie of the Year (PC).

Merieux, also from NORA-Rengo, would not go unnoticed either. He would very quickly come to be regarded as one of the best Ash players in the world, with many teams going so far as to use their bans to target his comfort-pick. He would get the most exposure when NORA-Rengo would make an appearance at the Six Major Paris, although his team would only beat Obey Alliance once in their only group stage victory. All five of these mentioned players, Papilia, Wokka, Merieux, Aroer1na, and ShiN will be present at this season’s APAC LAN Finals in Tokyo, although ShiN will only be there on the desk.

Papilia, Wokka, and Merieux will be an extremely fearsome prospect for any opponent to face, with all three of the star performers now together on NORA-Rengo. Their side will first go up against the Koreans on New Life, and will then face either the Southeast Asians on Aerowolf, or the Australians on Athletico. On the back of these three incredible players, NORA-Rengo will be in with a very strong shot at making it all the way to the Global Finals in Rio de Janeiro.

Aroer1na, on the other hand, will be on the other half of the bracket with Sengoku Gaming Extasy, and may miss the presence of Papilia when his team faces old foes Fnatic. Back in Season 7’s APAC Finals, Sengoku Gaming had been decimated 10-0 by the Australians. However, despite losing Papilia to their regional rivals just after the Six Major Paris, the former substitute gatorada has stepped up, and Fnatic -- and possibly either Xavier Esports or Mantis FPS -- will be ill-advised to underestimate the Japanese.