The Six Major Paris is just days away, which means that some of the best teams in the world are getting in those last few scrims before they get ready to compete for a share of $350,000. Talent from across the globe will be attending, with Pro League Season 7 champions Team Liquid leading the Brazilian hopefuls and Rogue and Evil Geniuses hoping they can bring a trophy back to the United States once again. However, it is the home region of EU that is bringing the most contenders, with six of the 16 teams competing in Paris coming from Europe. Some come in as clear favorites, while others carry the underdog tag but all of them have a good chance, and need to be on your radar before the tournament begins.
Team Vitality
Team Vitality have long had a presence in the world of Rainbow Six, but this roster is perhaps better known under their old organization of Supremacy, who they represented when they placed top eight at the Six Invitational earlier this year.
After the Invitational, they moved organizations over to Vitality and had a very interesting qualifying run for the Six Major. They just missed out on making it through the French Cup, and then also came tantalizingly close in the EU qualifier, placing fourth overall despite making both winners and losers semifinals. But just a few days later they headed to DreamHack Valencia where the winner would make it to Paris. After taking down both PENTA and ENCE 2-0 they faced off against I Don't Know (now Team Secret) in the final and lost. However, as IDK had already qualified through the EU qualifier, the spot in Paris went to Vitality.
Bastien "BiBoo" Dulac is the player you will want to keep an eye on here, as mid-way through the Pro League season he sits as the third highest fragger, racking up 59 kills in just 64 rounds. Playing on home soil should give this French roster even more incentive to win.
Millenium
The second French roster at the Six Major is Millenium, who made it here thanks to their appearance at the Season Seven Finals, where they finished in third/fourth place, falling to the eventual winners Team Liquid in a close semifinal. Since the start of year three they have been one of the best rosters in Europe, taking second in the EU Pro League for Season Seven and currently sitting in third place at the mid-season break for Season Eight. They also managed to win DreamHack Austin back in June.
However, the roster has seen some changes in recent weeks. Longtime member Nolan "Joghurtzz" Crouzery has been benched, and at the Major, Millenium will be playing with Vincent "Falko" Baucino. Falko is no stranger to Millenium, having played for the organization back in 2017. That being said, both Olivier "Renshiro" Vandroux and Valentin "risze" Liradelfo have been in great form recently and the core of this lineup should still be strong enough to do well.
MockIt Esports
The final home nation team is Mockit Esports, who managed to book their spot in Paris nice an early thanks to winning the Home Nation Qualifier, the French Cup. Despite losing 2-0 to DeathroW in the winners semis, Mockit went on a big lower bracket run knocking out, their own academy roster, Millenium and DeathroW before taking down Team Vitality in convincing fashion in the final to secure a place at the Major. Since then, the team has been been on a solid run of form in the Pro League. They had a very rough start, going 0-3 in the opening weeks, but have turned that around to a 3-4 record, having only lost to Chaos in recent match days.
The team relies heavily on the duo of Dimitri "Panix" de Longeaux and Jean "RevaN" Prudenti. If those two keep their actual momentum, Mockit can certainly become a solid contender.
G2 Esports
G2 Esports are the European team that everyone wants to beat. The reigning world champions after their win at the Six Invitational, which qualified them for the Six Major and opened up an extra slot in the EU qualifier. The current leaders in the EU Pro League with a 6-1-0 score, having only drawn with Vitality, are undoubtedly a favorite to take the crown. Seemingly, the only major blemish on their run over the course of this year was defeat to Team Liquid in the Season Seven final.
Every player on the G2 roster is a true Siege legend, and can all take over a game on their own if given the chance. We have seen time and time again that if one player is having a bad day that another can easily step up, top frag and guide the team to victory.
But since the Six Invitational, we have seen a slightly different G2 emerge. Former star player Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen had dropped into a slightly more supportive role, allowing the somewhat recent addition of Juhani "Kantoraketti" Toivonen to take a more aggressive role, which has clearly worked out for them. Anything less than a win for G2 Esports is a disappointing finish.
Orgless
OrgLess, as you might be able to guess by the name, are a team that are currently not signed to a major organization. The core of this German roster is made up of members of the former 1UPeSport roster that finished third/fourth in the EU Pro League during Season Seven, and qualified for Paris via the EU Qualifier, which on paper would make them a very attractive proposition to any big name org. They sit in fourth place in the current Pro League season, and have looked pretty good this season.
Despite the roster readjustments, OrgLess is home to one of the most impressive players in the world this season, Maurice "AceeZ" Erkelenz who is the top fragger in the EU Pro League with 70 kills and just 49 deaths in 66 rounds, resulting in a ridiculous +21 KD ratio. If AceeZ can pull this kind of performance out on the international stage then everyone else should be worried.
Team Secret
Team Secret might not be a name you recognize instantly, which is probably because they are the latest major esports organization to enter the world of Rainbow Six Siege. Just a few weeks ago, the organization signed the I Don’t Know team, who had been playing as an independent roster.
In fact, the Secret roster has been one of the surprises of the season. They came into the Pro League for the start of Season Eight after qualifying through the relegation tournament, and have since looked very impressive. They currently sit in clear second place in the EU Pro League, with four wins, two draws and just one loss, which came at the hands of PENTA.
Much like G2 Esports, we have seen almost every member of Secret step up at different points in the season, and they really do perform as a team. Although, Leon "LeonGids" Giddens is certainly the one to watch, because when he has a good game, he looks near unstoppable.
For the latest updates, please visit the Rainbow Six Esports Twitter page or Subreddit to catch all of the action during the event, August 13th – 19th
