Parker “Interrobang” Mackay, seasoned caster for Rainbow Six Pro League and self-proclaimed lover of sushi, has given us his thoughts on the NA scene headed into the Season 8 Finals. How did each team get to this spot? What will they have to do to make it to the top? Interro takes us though his thoughts on the NA journey to Rio.
North America’s shot at glory in Rio de Janeiro rests in two familiar hands: Evil Geniuses and Rogue. Both teams have spent much of the year duking it out for title of “best team NA,” with EG edging out Rogue at most events. Despite this, neither team has had the success their fans have wanted. Will North America’s drought end with the Season 8 finals in Brazil? Let’s speculate.
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses (EG) have had a great year by most metrics. Kicking off 2018 with a 2nd place finish at the Invitational in Montreal, EG followed that up with a disappointing first-round exit at the Season 7 finals in Atlantic City – at the hands of their arch-rival G2. Evil Geniuses rebounded with a 2nd place finish at Dreamhack Austin, then secured yet another 2nd place finish at the Six Major in Paris (starting to see a pattern, here?) before the mid-season break. Not wanting to settle for second best, EG opted for a shakeup during the break. Parting ways with coach BKN, the team shuffled Necrox, one of their longest tenured players, into the position of coach and then promptly acquired Geometrics from Rogue to round out the roster. Unbeknownst to them, they weren’t done: only a short time later, BC shocked the entire R6 pro community by announcing his departure from Evil Geniuses, as well as active competition, in order to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Necrox’s time as coach came to a very quick end as he moved back to the starting roster and, weeks later, Challenger League competitor Gotcha would be selected to don the mantle of coach for the final weeks of Season 8.
Despite these changes and a slower start to the season than many expected from the North American squad, EG persevered. After trailing SK Gaming in the standings for most of the season, Evil Geniuses overtook them with only a handful of games remaining to lock in not just a playoff spot but the first overall position as well. There was much discussion about how the roster changes would affect EG but in the end the team looked just as formidable as ever, finishing with the best record over the second half of the season, having only a single loss over those 7 games.
The team will now turn its focus to Rio in hopes of ending their string of 2nd place finishes. EG’s first challenge will be FNATIC, APAC’s second best team over the past season. The Aussies will provide for an interesting matchup, but the opposition that EG has faced over the past few LANs have been just as strong if not stronger – at least on paper. Should EG prove victorious they would have very little time to rest as they play the winner of G2 vs Immortals. Assuming G2 comes out ahead, we would be treated to yet another rematch between these two teams. Toppling G2 would be an enormous victory for Evil Geniuses, as they have yet to beat the European titans in any of their matchups. Not just a huge confidence boost, this matchup will undoubtedly be EG’s toughest match. A victory over G2 would position Evil Geniuses as heavy favourites to end their string of 2nd place finishes by winning it all.
Rogue
With just two games remaining in the season, Rogue’s shot at making the playoffs looked all but gone. Sitting at fourth in the standings, Rogue needed a perfect storm to make it happen: win both of their remaining games while having both SK Gaming and Spacestation lose theirs. With SK and SSG’s losses in the second final week, Rogue’s window was wide open. All Rogue needed was to beat SK in their final match and the spot would be theirs. After one of the most electrifying and unpredictable matches that we saw all season, Rogue prevailed 6-4 and punched their ticket to Rio.
After visa issues had sidelined Geometrics from two of Rogue’s LAN appearances, the team was all together and ready to conquer Season 8. The first half of the season saw Rogue perform surprisingly average, falling behind a couple of hungrier teams in the region. Whether prompted by a need to perform better or not, the team experienced two substantial changes during the mid-season break. Flex player Bryan was traded to Spacestation Gaming for Shuttle, reuniting the team with their ringer from the S7 Finals. Next up was Geometrics, whose move to Evil Geniuses prompted Rogue to poach Supr from his team in Challenger League. Alongside the two roster moves, Rogue also showed new flexibility with their role distribution, moving Slashug over to a steady anchor position alongside Easilyy. This adaptability was key for Rogue and will almost certainly make for a stronger team heading into Rio.
After claiming NA’s 2nd and final playoff spot, fans began proclaiming an interest in a rematch with APAC’s #1 team, Japanese powerhouse Nora Rengo. The two teams had met in Atlantic City only a few months earlier and had put on one of the most exhilarating matches of the entire event. Despite it being Nora Rengo’s first international LAN the team put on an incredible performance, ultimately falling short to 4/5ths of the Rogue starting lineup. With Nora Rengo having improved over the past half-year and Rogue now fighting fit, many players on both teams had expressed desire in the teams facing off again. As luck would have it, Rogue was drawn as Nora Rengo’s opponent in what will be an absolute barnburner of a show.
Providing Rogue wins, their next test would be against the winner of FaZe vs Mockit. FaZe will almost assuredly prove for a more difficult opponent as they will not only be competing in their home country in front of an enormous home crowd but also had one of the best statistical seasons of any team in Pro League. Mockit would be no slouch either, as the European team has constantly silenced their most vocal critics with good performances week in, week out. Rogue has all the tools to make it to the Grand Finals where they will likely meet G2 or Evil Geniuses, two of the most consistent teams in the past year. Either one of those teams will be a brutally difficult foe but Rogue always digs deep when it matters the most. The path to the playoffs looked impossible for Rogue but they pulled it off despite overwhelming odds. The path to the Grand Finals will be even tougher but if we’ve learned anything this season, it’s to never count Rogue out.
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