Disrupt Gaming And SuprSoniqs Looking To Qualify For The Six Invitational
The European Six Invitational 2021 Qualifier features a star-studded lineup of EUL teams and half of them are legitimate contenders for the last remaining Rainbow Six Siege European spot. In North America, things are a bit different. Spacestation Gaming, Team SoloMid, DarkZero Esports, and Oxygen Esports have all qualified already, meaning that the rest of the North American League and some Challenger League teams get a shot at making the event. But what is actually left beyond these four top lineups?
Unfortunately, the conclusion of NAL has brought about some impactful changes to the competitive landscape. Tempo Storm and eUnited have dropped their rosters, all while retaining their league spots. This means that quite a few players are now not only out of their jobs, but also out of the only competitive circuit in North America. Susquehanna Soniqs have benched a majority of their squad as well.
As a result of this, Disrupt Gaming were given the US Division spot for this Six Invitational Qualifier. This team hasn’t had the best of times in the league. During Stage 1 and 2, they made seventh and sixth place, respectively. That’s not really an achievement, considering that the US Division only features eight teams, but it puts them ahead of the Qualifier playing field nonetheless. Without the Winners’ Group standing in their way, they have a clear path to victory. On top of that, they almost made the North American November Major after dragging Spacestation Gaming through an intense Best-of-Five in the NAL Major Qualifier. Granted, SSG haven’t looked their best in quite a while, but this is still more than most of the teams in attendance here have to offer.
Hailing from the Open Qualifier are beastcoast, RentFree, and APE. The latter two are just mix teams, whereas beastcoast is a US Challenger League roster. Unfortunately, they were beaten out for the US Division spot by RentFree, which they will obviously try to seek revenge for at this event. Altiora is the strongest Canadian team right now, but that doesn’t really translate to a great international performance. Even in continental match-ups, the Canadian teams have continuously struggled to compete with US or Latin American rosters. This bracket obviously leaves a lot of NAL players out of the equation, but after most of their teams have dissolved, some of them were now able to form a new lineup and enter the Open Qualifier.
ENTER SUPRSONIQS
While Disrupt Gaming are definitely the only established organisation in this tournament, they’re not the only title prospects. Out of the digital ashes of Susquehanna Soniqs, eUnited, and Tempo Storm, a new roster of players has emerged. Lead by Seth "supr" Hoffman, these players are now looking to topple Disrupt and qualify for the Six Invitational themselves.
They actually do stand a chance. One player in particular can give them the upper edge over virtually every opponent in this bracket. Tim “Creators” Humpherys was one of the highest-rated players of NAL. Going up against the likes of Jason “Beaulo” Doty or Gabriel "LaXInG" Mirelez, he held his own and was definitely a cut above the rest. If he manages to compete with the very best of that league, all the teams at this Qualifier should prove to be no match for him - and that includes Disrupt. However, Disrupt’s own Aaron “Shuttle” Dugger was also one of the strongest players of the league.
All of this places SuprSoniqs well within the reach of a first-place finish at this Six Invitational Qualifier. They have the individuals, but do they necessarily have the preparation and the teamwork to set themselves on top of Disrupt? This is impossible to tell, after all the team has just come together.
They might as well be disbanded in a few weeks time again, but with the lack of professional organisations looking to sign mid-tier North American talent right now, they might also have to make it on their own for a while. And what better way to start their journey than with a spot at the Six Invitational, right?
IS THERE ENOUGH TALENT LEFT OUTSIDE THE TOP FOUR?
Maybe, one of the biggest issues facing the smaller North American talent is the separation into different teams. There are quite a lot of great competitive players left beyond just DarkZero, TSM, SSG, and Oxygen. But they’re all split up, competing against each other in different lineups. If players like Creators and Shuttle were to band together alongside a capable in-game-leader, perhaps they could actually establish a fifth viable team in this region.
But for now, there’s just the organisation of Disrupt Gaming left. Even if they were to make it to the Six Invitational, is there really any chance of them making a deep run? The playing field of this upcoming tournament might be the strongest it’s ever been. So many teams are eyeing for the trophy, and without a way to really compare the different regions heading into this event, this will be an intense fight for first place.
Images via SiegeGG
