The Slow Resurgence Of Team Empire
A new sheriff is in town! Following months of rebuilding, Team Empire are back at the top of European Rainbow Six: Siege with a victory at the November Major. They hadn’t been able to claim an international trophy since the Six Major Raleigh in August of 2019. Afterwards, the team had failed to retain its level, bombing out in the Group Stage of Six Invitational 2020.
When the team only got a third-place finish for their efforts in the last ever Pro League season, they knew that a change-up was in store. Eugene "karzheka" Petrishin was benched in favour of Dmitry "Always" Mitrahovich, an 18-year-old newcomer with less than a year of professional experience. This was certainly a bold move by the organisation, but one that paid off in the long run. Always has become one of the top performers of the squad, which was one of the deciding factors for Empire’s dominant November Major victory.
WHY BDS FAILED
Right out of the gate, BDS were obviously not on their usual level. Virtus.pro stunned them on Villa during their Opening Match, forcing the Frenchmen onto two additional overtime maps before they finally managed to win. For a team that had dominated the European League Stage 2, this was a worrying result. Virtus.pro should not have been nearly as close to victory.
But all that mattered, in this case, was that BDS got the win and could head on to the Upper Bracket Final, where Team Empire were lying in wait. Adrien “RaFaLe” Rutik failed in his role of backing up Loïc "BriD" Chongthep as a supporter. Olivier “Renshiro” Vandroux clutched out two rounds for them and put up a great show, but without the heroic stunts of Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu, BDS were unable to fend off Empire. In a tense match, they recorded their first Best-of-Three defeat in months.
While they did eventually make it to the Grand Finals, they did so on a map deficit. Empire were already up 1-0 with a default win. That didn’t stop BDS during the August Major, but it did absolutely stop them yesterday. The Frenchmen didn’t even have a chance to get into the game, recording 3-7 and 2-7 losses. In one of the shortest Grand Finals in Siege history, BDS were soundly defeated by a much stronger Team Empire.
Some of this can be attributed to BDS not performing to their usual level, but this doesn’t paint the full picture. Team Empire have slowly ground their way back to the top over the past couple of months. During EUL Stage 1, they achieved an eight-place finish, way below expectations and only marginally better than Chaos, who wound up being auto-relegated. But during Stage 2, they got up to second place, surpassing teams like G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, and Rogue in the process.
Their resurgence had been a long time coming. During Stage 1, Always and Dan both recorded 0.95 ratings, way below their colleagues and most of the European playing field. In the second stage, however, the two pulled off 1.10 ratings and above. Now, during the November Major, Dan absolutely shattered the record by achieving a 1.28 rating, even beating Renshiro's incredible 1.22 August Major rating.
- Read More - The Best Players Not To Make The November Major
Empire undoubtedly were the best team at this Major installation, After their initial struggles against Tempra on Villa, they woke up and crushed them on two consecutive maps. Their first victory over BDS took them quite some effort, but their Grand Finals win was an absolute cakewalk. Even without their map advantage, they would have easily completed the 3-0. Now that BDS have effectively been dethroned, what does this mean for the top of European Siege competition?
Click to enlargeTHE FUTURE OF EUROPEAN SIEGE
Unfortunately, Empire have announced themselves to the highest level at a particularly bad time. Not only will they not get a shot at proving themselves against the EUL playing field on LAN, but there are also no more tournaments scheduled for the remainder of the year. If it takes until 2021 for these teams to get back onto the server, Empire might have already lost their edge again. The scene is ever-changing, and teams like Virtus.pro and Secret are starting to catch up with the rest.
Most importantly, two lost matches don’t spell the end of an entire team. BDS certainly have a lot of work to do, and their blowout defeat in the Grand Finals proves that they have some serious issues that require fixing. They might even want to consider making a roster change, as RaFaLe has underperformed for quite a while now. They wouldn’t even have to go the international route, as the rise of Tempra Esports has uncovered quite a lot of promising French talent. Both Christophe "Chaoxys" Soares Dylan "Dirza" Brigitte put up a solid show during Stage 2. Going a step back, even Challenger League talent like Alexandre "BlaZ" Thomas or Jean "RevaN" Prudenti from PENTA might deserve a shot at EUL fame.
The future for Team Empire is quite uncertain. They won’t get any opportunities to prove their worth anytime soon. Their progress will be ground to a halt, giving the other teams a chance to reset the competition. The resurgence of Empire might have been a long time coming, but they’ll actually have to wait until 2021 to show that they’ve got what it takes to remain at this level.
Images via SiegeGG