The knockout stages of the Rainbow Six Siege Mexico Major kick off later today, but it has already been a disappointing event for the United Kingdom.
Though the Major concludes this Sunday, there are no UK teams — or individual UK or Irish players — left to root for in the tournament. Both G2 Esports and NAVI flamed out of groups.
G2 Esports: A rough patch
As in most esports titles, G2 is a prestigious name in competitive Siege, perhaps more so than any other title, relatively speaking. The G2 of old, with all-time-great players such as Pengu, Fabian, and Kantoraketti, established the org as one synonymous with success.
But the EU team is experiencing a rough patch. It hasn’t been plain sailing for captain Kayak, from Liverpool, since he joined the org in March, replacing arguably the best player in Siege history in Pengu. No team has a divine right to win, but considering G2’s history, it’s jarring to see them lose so badly.
Kayak’s performances have been inconsistent since he joined, and the same can be said for most of his team. Fellow UK teammate CTZN was perhaps G2’s most consistent player in Mexico, and is one of the world’s best as a lurker, but some, including Siege greats Pengu and Canadian, believe his talents are being misused by G2.
NAVI disappoints in Mexico
NAVI, with its majority-UK roster, lost all four of its matches at the Mexico Major this week. NAVI’s group was reduced from four teams to three after Australian team Pittsburgh Knights were forced to withdraw due to COVID restrictions in their country.
NAVI lost both its matches to US team Spacestation Gaming, winner of Six Invitational 2020, as well as its two matches against LATAM team FURIA.
With eight teams left in the tournament, there are no UK or Irish players left. The APAC region has impressed, with DAMWON KIA in particular beating the current world champion Ninjas in Pyjamas twice, advancing to the quarters and eliminating NiP from the event in the process.
Relative to other esports titles, the UK and Ireland is very strong in Rainbow Six Siege. Other teams aside from G2 and NAVI, like Cowana Gaming, MnM Gaming, and Viperio, could feasibly compete on the world stage. The state of Siege in the UK and Ireland is good, but the Mexico Major was certainly disappointing.
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