Post-Sex Sweden Major – SiegeGG
The Swedish major was another excellent addition to the annals of the competitive Rainbow Six: Siege. Once again we saw a new champion, this time a rising FaZe Clan list who had been fighting for a title for several years.
We also saw the continued growth of the APAC region, which has long been seen as inferior to the other major regions in Europe, North America and Brazil. We have now seen a return of talent in APAC that has not been seen since Fnatic and Nora-Rengo competed. DWG KIA is at the forefront of this movement and enters the top 10 for the first time.
As a region, North America has continued to struggle. Only a single NA team is represented in the top 10, the first in a long time. If they continue to underperform internationally, they will slide further and further down the world rankings.
Let’s now look at the 10 teams with the strongest performances in the last six months.
Note: due to the lack of a pre-large ranking release, the investment changes are relative to our unreleased rankings before Sweden Major, rather than the ranking after Mexico.
10. FURIA Esports (-2)
Roster:
Tops
Miracle
Lenda
R4re
Fntzy
FURIA is seen as a secondary power in Brazil, certainly very talented, but one step below the true challengers. The competition is so fierce in Brasileirão that even a team as good as theirs has to fight with beaks and nails just to get to the major every stage.
Unfortunately for Fntzy and the company, they pulled a particularly difficult group this time and could not deliver on the international stage.
At least for now, they have to wait for their chance at the top.
9. Rogue (+19)
Roster:
AceeZ
Ripz
LeonGids
Cryn
Prano
No, the change in ranking is not a misspelling. Rogue improved its position by 19 places with its performance at Sweden Major. Previously, they had been chronically poorly ranked, with several seasons of poor performances weighing on them. While they managed to reach the top four in the EUL, no one expected them to compete in the major. Not in their first international event as a team – even if they had potential, it would take time to realize.
But they showed that they could really compete with anyone. Wins over the FaZe Clan in the groups and a 2-0 win over reigning Major Champions Team one in the quarterfinals prove that Rogue is really back.
8. Team Liquid (-1)
Roster:
NESKWGA
psk1
Paluh
reset
Question
Liquid is the only team in the top 10 that has not qualified for Sweden Major. Although they were one of the best in the world after a SI 2021 grand performance, they took a big risk by switching two players before stage 3, adding AsK and resetz instead of xS3xyCake and muringa.
The move seemed to work well enough online, as Liquid met their expectations with a second highest score in stage 3 of BR6. However, they would suffer an early exit just to qualify for the Major with a loss to Ninjas in Pajamas. Liquid’s list is still new and has not yet been really tested in international competition.
7. DWG KIA (+4)
Roster:
CATsang
yass
Woogiman
Coted
RIN
So much can be said about the DWG KIA. The Koreans sat on the map after qualifying for the playoffs in Mexico over defending world champions Ninjas in Pajamas. Fans foreshadowed the emergence of the APAC region, while detractors called it a coincidence. While their performance online in APAC was far from perfect, they went back to the Swedish Major and looked to do damage, despite pulling an incredibly tough group.
Their performance exceeded everyone’s expectations, with the Koreans topping their group and advancing to the semifinals, where they would come a single 1 on 1 from taking down any champions FaZe Clan and advance to the grand finals themselves. With this achievement, DWG KIA has established itself as a legitimate challenger for international titles and has put APAC on the map in Siege.
6. Spacestation Gaming (-1)
Roster:
Rampy
Fultz
Bosco
Hotancold
Skys
Although SSG is without a doubt the best team in North America, it may not be good enough anymore. The region has seemed to have taken a step back since the international game returned, and has over three events the lowest winning rate of any region.
Twice now, North America has failed to win a single map in the major finals. It seems that the region needs a deep attempt at SI to confirm its status, and perhaps Space Station is the best chance to make that happen at SI 2022.
5. Team Empire (-4)
Roster:
Shepherd
Joystick
Scyther
Dan
Always
Team Empire has had periods of enormous dominance followed by periods of inconsistency where they seem to struggle to find their true style of play. The “old” empire was back at Six Mexico Major, when the team won a strenuous semifinal match against European rivals Team BDS, only to end up in the grand final of the buzzsaw that was Team one. They tried to keep their form online as well, and got second place in the EUL just after BDS again.
Even after receiving without a doubt the toughest group draw, many expected Team Empire to advance to the Sweden Major playoffs, and they almost did. It came to the playoffs in the group stage, but in the end it was out of Empire’s hands. Now questions are being asked about whether the Empire has returned to its inconsistent state, or if we will see them dominate again, SI will.
4. BDS Esport (-1)
Roster:
Shaiiko
Renshiro
RaFaLe
Elemzje
BriD
The French side is our top team in the world outside Brazil. Their dominance in the European region has been impressive, and they have shown flashes of that dominance in their international appearances.
However, BDS has not shown that they can break through and really fight for a title. Although they regularly reach the top four and look like one of the best teams in the tournament, the French have never made it to a major international final.
Sweden Major was no different, with BDS looking good in the group stage just to face the final winner FaZe Clan in the quarterfinals. Bad luck maybe, but to become champions you have to beat the best in the world, and so far BDS has not shown the ability to take down Brazilian top teams in a LAN series.
3. Team One Esports (-1)
Roster:
Charge
Neskin
Alem4o
Lagonis
KDS
In the murderous world of Brazilian Siege, Team oNe are the new kids on the block. Often seen as an inexperienced but up-and-coming team that needed time to grow, “Alem4o and company” ended that story with a shocking victory over Six Mexico Major in August. Now big winners, the young stars looked to repeat their magical race and become the first team to win back-to-back Six Major events.
Unfortunately, that would not be the case. After a stable but not dazzling group game, the team met Rogue in the quarterfinals, a match that most expected to go easily to Team e on the way to a long-awaited match against NiP. To the surprise of almost all spectators, the Brazilians were surpassed and left the tournament in the quarterfinals with a 0-2 loss to the Germans.
This is not the end for Team One, as the team will try to recover and win the BR6 finals and eventually next year’s Six Invitational.
2. Ninjas in pajamas (+4)
Roster:
Psycho
Muzi
pino
Kamikaze
JULY
Long one of the elite teams and organizations in the siege of the world, the Ninjas went into stage 3 of the 2021 season in severe difficulty. After winning the Six Invitational in May, the team bombed terribly in Mexico, and many wondered if the team had lost its lead in a highly competitive region. These issues only got bigger as NiP suffered a terrible stage 3, good for only the ninth best score of all teams in BR6 for that stage.
Due to the nature of points in Brasileirão, they could still participate in the Copa Elite Six, and there they would start the road to recovery. Qualifying for the major by beating long-time rivals Team Liquid was just the beginning, as the ninjas would prove that they are still world-class Sweden Major himself.
Reaching the finals and barely losing a hard-fought best-of-five over the FaZe Clan is nothing to be ashamed of. Ninjas in Pajamas has once again established itself as a challenger for the upcoming Six Invitational 2022.
FaZe Clan (+3)
Roster:
Cyber
Ball 1
cameram4n
soulz1
Astro
FaZe Clan’s race to the top of the Rainbow 6 world has been nothing short of impressive. After missing Mexico Major, the team turned a corner and has since seemed unbeatable. Getting the most points from any team in stage 3 of BR6 and getting first place in the Copa Elite Six only paved the way for a completely dominant run on Six Sweden Major.
Now the BR6 finals and Six Invitational are waiting for FaZe, but the road will not be easy. As Brazil has cemented itself as the leading region in the R6 world, they will face stiff competition to maintain their grip on the top spot.
To read more about how the ranking is calculated, check out our blog post that explains the system.
To see the full list, check out the ranking page for the latest update!