R6 NAL: Recapping The First Matches

With the start of the North American League Stage 2, we’re finally back with some top-tier R6 action. After an exciting ending to the August Major, in which DarkZero managed to take the trophy home, the teams have had a few weeks of rest. But now, they’re back at it again.

GROUP A

In the first match of the group, the Major winners of DarkZero went up against Soniqs. While it did get quite close on Kafe, the players basically had this match under control. Kyle “Mint” Lander carried his team to victory with his 1.31 rating.

In this group, another match has taken place thus far. Spacestation Gaming faced eUnited, who shouldn’t have had a chance against the Six Invitaitonal 2020 winners. But on Consulate, the teams pulled so close that SSG only narrowly scraped past with a 7-5 victory. On Clubhouse, eUnited even dragged them into overtime, where Spacestation eventually came out on top. Obviously, for them this isn’t a perfect start into the league. But at least Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski was able to show his very best side.

GROUP B

For the last-placed team of the NA Major, Oxygen Esports, the opening match couldn’t have gone any worse. They seemed to have it in the bag already after they got into a 5-1 lead on the defense of Theme Park. Their opponents, Tempo Storm, didn’t stand a chance on the map and gave Oxygen a rather easy win. But on Villa, Tempo managed to mount a better offense, tying the game at 3-3 at halftime. OXG got in the lead with the next round win. However, Tempo Storm pulled off a perfect defense for the 7-4 victory.

On Kafe, Oxygen even sat on top of a 4-2 lead after the first half, but again, their game plan didn’t hold up on the attack. Tim “Creators” Humpherys sealed the bomb spots shut and earned himself a 1.31 rating on 30 kills. On the OXG side, Davide “FoxA” Bucci had a particularly bad day.

The other opening match in Group B featured Team SoloMid and Disrupt Gaming. The Major finalists were able to hold their own. As Jason “Beaulo” Doty impressed with a 1.57 rating, TSM definitely put the most convincing win on the board so far.

 

DARKZERO VS. SSG UP NEXT!

Spacestation Gaming are probably nervous already. In this exact match-up, they had commenced the North American Major and in this exact constellation, they had lost the match. They had been unable to recover and soon exited the tournament.

Now, DarkZero have a Major title to their name, and SSG have nothing to show – apart from a desire to prove themselves once again. Their position at the top of North American Rainbow Six has been thoroughly contested. If they want to retain this spot, they need to put some wins on the board quickly. Otherwise, they will have to watch as DarkZero and TSM overtake them as the new domestic leaders.