SI2021: No EU Team in Top 4!

For fans of BDS, Empire, and the rest, the Six Invitational has been a major disappointment. After last year, everyone had high hopes for seeing a European team climb the podium again. The region had a formidable roster in the running. In the last 12 months, BDS had showed incredible skill and potential to succeed.

But then the LATAM teams came. FaZe, Liquid, MIBR, the Ninjas in Pyjamas… if TSM won’t survive the Lower Bracket, we will only have Brazilian teams in the Grand Finals for the first time ever! Obviously, this is a reason for celebration in the region, and after the results of recent days, they definitely deserve their standing in the tournament.

The European representatives collapsed in the Upper Bracket openers already. BDS and Empire narrowly lost out to NiP and Oxygen, which dropped them down to the Lower Bracket. There, we had already lost G2 Esports and Mkers prior. DarkZero made headlines by dropping out against FURIA, and Spacestation Gaming also blew out in the first round of playoffs.

The Canadians lost their representatives in the form of Parabellum Esports. Like most other teams, they had to admit defeat to a Brazilian lineup. The Upper Bracket continued on in the same fashion, until MIBR and NiP were the only ones left. So it’s already guaranteed that a BR team will make the Grand Finals. At least the Lower Bracket offers some hope for one single North American roster.

TSM ARE NA’S LAST AND ONLY HOPE

Jason “Beaulo” Doty and his men are the only ones still in the running to at least somewhat hamper the Brazilian dominance. Unfortunately, they had to eliminate their domestic colleagues of Oxygen Esports in the Lower Bracket. Earlier, they made great strides versus BDS and Mkers. Now, they’ll have to face Liquid, though, who have previously beaten FaZe and Empire. At the very least, Liquid lost out to MIBR earlier on and are not entire invincible.

If TSM can survive this match-up, they’re heading for the Lower Bracket Finals. There, they will either have to contend with the Ninjas in Pyjamas or MIBR. Not only that: Should they win this match, the Grand Finals are following on the same day – and they’ll have to play with a map deficit on top!

So they’re already in a disadvantage going up against either MIBR or NiP. The situation is as bad as it could be for Team SoloMid. If they pull through, North America will keep their victory streak alive. However, should they be unable to follow in the footsteps of Spacestation Gaming, the most recent Six Invitation trophy and a whopping $1,000,000 first-place prize will be up for the taking for Brazil only.

NIP ARE GETTING A SECOND CHANCE

After their tragic loss in 2020, the Ninjas in Pyjamas would deserve such a finish. After all, they only admitted defeat on a 2-3 scoreline. Without the map advantage on the part of SSG, they might have swung the match around on the fifth map. NiP are the only players to have somewhat retained their level from Six Invitational 2020. This alone might make them worthy of the SI title this year.

However, that achievement is still a long ways away. Soon, they’re going up against MIBR, after which they’re either entering the Grand Finals or the Lower Bracket versus TSM or Liquid. In both cases, they’re far from being safe. But especially in the playoffs, they have shown that they can tackle almost any challenge!