R6 November Major: Why TSM Are the Best NA Team

North American Rainbow Six: Siege has recently been dominated by either Spacestation Gaming or DarkZero Esports. But one team has always been lying in wait to overtake their opponents – and TSM have found just the right moment for this at the November Major.

After a tight Opening Match and a defeat in the Upper Bracket Finals, it didn’t really appear as though Jason “Beaulo” Doty and his men would stand a chance in the Grand Finals. After all, Spacestation already held a map advantage and were just two map wins away from snatching the tournament victory.

But TSM were prepared. They took every mistake from their loss to SSG to heart and rectified virtually all issues that had kept them at bay before. Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski and his team barely got time to get comfortable in the Grand Finals. In quick succession, TSM acquired three maps wins and were the victors of the North American November Major.

WHY TSM ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN TEAM

On their way towards the trophy, they have beaten every other squad. Even if it didn’t look perfect, as was the case in their match versus Oxygen, they were obviously the better team. Actually, the individual level of the players wasn’t even that incredible. This Major was dominated by Alec “Fultz” Fultz, Paul “Hyper” Kontopanagiotis, and Nathaniel “Rampy” Duvall. TSM’s best player, Braden “Chala” Davenport, was lagging behind in the fragging department by quite a margin.

So how did TSM achieve this feat? For one, they showed great teamwork. Particularly the last few seconds of many rounds proved how great these players function together. Often times, SSG would have a two-man lead and ten seconds later, they would lose the round – not knowing at all what had hit them. This trend showed throughout the Major and got TSM quite a lot of round wins.

Even more important, however, is the average level in the TSM camp. While players like Matthew “Hotancold” Stevens and Franklyn “VertcL” Andres Cordero had weak outings, TSM didn’t have such an underperforming player on their roster. Emilio “Geometrics” Leynez Cuevas made up for the kills he lost on his 0.91 rating by doing strong support work and 11 defuser plants. This team worked as a unit and won as a unit.

THE OTHER TEAMS ARE ADVANCING QUICKLY

But their leadership position might not last very long. Apart from their Grand Finals appearance, Spacestation Gaming have actually shown great form and were much stronger than during the August Major or even the US Division Stage 2. They were much more competitive, didn’t fail in clutch situations and even managed to beat TSM in the Upper Bracket Finals.

On top of that, Oxygen Esports have actually shown great progress as well. Davide “FoxA” Bucci and his men failed to bring a single close game during the August Major. Last weekend, however, they delivered a 5-7 map and three overtimes in total. While they did eventually lose all of these matches, this just goes to show that they have to work on their choking issues. Aside from this issue, they have definitely done the ground work to compete with the likes of TSM.

So TSM’s success is built on rocky foundations. Just like Team Empire in Europe, they won’t get a chance to properly defend their title and will likely have to wait for 2021. Until then, a lot can change. We have already highlighted the development on SSG’s and Oxygen’s part. Getting more time will only help them rectify their mistakes and flesh out their gameplay to make a dash for the top spot.

But in the meantime, TSM can be the proud #1. They have won an actual offline event and there are no excuses for the other teams. The players have shown up in top form and outplayed their opponents. Without a doubt, Team SoloMid are the best North American team, but for how long?