Ninjas in Pyjamas and G2 Esports are two of the strongest teams attending Six Invitational 2024, but according to the R6S betting odds, there’s quite a gap between the two.

The European no.1 seed and defending Six Invitational champions had a solid run at the end of 2023. They placed third at BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023 and cruised through R6 South Breach qualifiers but then fell apart in the main event, which they exited in the first round.

This puts a huge question mark above G2 Esports and their form; however, it’s not like Ninjas in Pyjamas are in a better spot. NiP have not played a single game this year and have no official matches on their record since BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023 in November.

G2 Esports look stronger on paper, but considering both squads are rusty, we can expect a close affair.

Spacestation Gaming had a very good run at BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023 in November. They made it through the group stage without any issues, beating Alpha Atheris and Team Bliss and adding three more victories against SKARZ, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Bleed Esports in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, their run was cut short by FaZe Clan in the quarterfinals, marking their third premature exit from a big event in 2023.

Wolves Esports were also present at BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023 but couldn’t make it through the playoffs, with defeats against Soniqs, Virtus.pro, and Geekay Esports. They’ve since not made any roster changes, but unlike SSG, Wolves have been active over the last month, producing mixed results in Malta Cyber Series.

Although Wolves have had a chance to warm up for the Six Invitational, their performances at the Malta Cyber Series don’t inspire much confidence. These teams look evenly matched, so at plus money, we like Spacestation Gaming better.

DarkZero Esports made exciting roster changes in January, bringing on Nathan “Nafe” Sharp and Jason “Beaulo” Doty as replacements for Gaven “Gaveni” Black and Jason “Ryce” Ngo. While the new-look roster looks strong, it has yet to appear in a professional match — and it comes with an asterisk.

Beaulo hasn’t played professionally for 11 months, so it’s hard to say how he’ll do at Six Invitational. But Nafe should be a more impactful addition to the roster, as DarkZero were lacking a solid support player.

Geekay Esports made a splash in late 2023 when they won MENA League 2023 Stage 2 and reached the quarterfinals of BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023. Despite not winning any big titles last year, Geekay played several competitive games against stronger opponents, suggesting they can do some damage in Sao Paulo.

DarkZero are the better team, but they might have a slow start due to the new signings. At $2.63 with esports betting sites, Geekay Esports are the more appealing choice.

FaZe Clan are clear favouites to win Six Invitational 2024 Group B, whereas Dplus are arguably the weakest team of the five.

Dplus were the clear best team in South Korea in 2023, but their success in international events was limited to two group stage exits at BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen 2023 and Major Atlanta 2023. Ahead of 2024, Dplus signed former LAVEGA Esports player Jang “dmaly” Hyun-jun, but this minor change won’t be enough for Dplus to reach their former heights.

FaZe Clan have not only won both Brazil League stages but also made the semifinals of BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen 2023 and Major Atlanta 2023. This perfectly illustrates the gap between the two squads.

Rust could play a factor but it’s hard to doubt FaZe and their chances to crush Dplus on Tuesday.

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These teams last met on September 4 in the first round of Europe League 2023 Stage 2 Group A, when Team Secret won 7-4. However, despite winning the opening series, Secret finished the group stage in fourth place – one below Into the Breach.

In the knockout stage, ITB lost against Wolves Esports (1-2) and were swept by WYLDE (0-2), proving that Luke “Kendrew” Kendrew and his crew are not that competitive. And that explains why Into the Breach are priced as underdogs for this match.

Team Secret have already beaten Into the Breach in this tournament, so it’s fair to believe that it will happen again. However, like ITB, Secret are inconsistent, so there’s a good chance this series will get decided on the third map.

WYLDE finished the Europe League 2023 Stage 2 group stage in second place with a 2-0-1-1 record and just one defeat, which came against Into the Breach (7-8). However, they didn’t make it far in the knockouts, where they were swept by MNM Gaming.

Even though WYLDE could’ve shown more of late, they’re expected to have a field day when they face KOI, who are, results-wise, the worst team in the Europe League. They didn’t win a single game during the group stage and ended the season’s first stage with a -13 round differential. However, KOI forced the league champions, Virtus.pro, to overtime in the final round, which is a promising sign.

WYLDE showed solid form early into the group stage but also produced some stinkers. And considering KOI won six rounds against Virtus.pro, they might not be as weak as they seem. An upset is unlikely, but KOI winning a map is a real possibility.

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Black Dragons were exposed by Ninjas in Pyjamas (4-7) in the final match of Group A as they suffered their first defeat of Brazil League 2023 Stage 2. Considering their poor entry stats, that loss was hardly shocking, but even though Black Dragons are far from stable, they’re expected to do well in the first round of the knockout stage.

Keyd Stars finished Group B in third place, with a 1-0-1-2 record and just one win against MiBR (7-3). Their only other notable performances were an overtime loss against Team Liquid (6-8) and a relatively solid showing (4-7) against w7m esports.

Black Dragons are an excellent team with a high ceiling, but they have an exploitable weakness. If the Black Dragons can improve their entry stats, a top-three finish in Brazil League Stage 2 won’t escape them, but until we see some improvement, it’s fair to believe that Vinicius “Patoxy” Lima and his crew can drop a map against Keyd Stars.

E1 Sports finished Group B with a 2-1-0-1 record and a lone defeat against the region’s top dogs, w7m esports. FaZe Clan, meanwhile, barely made it through Group A, although their 1-0-1-2 record doesn’t paint a complete picture.

Despite what their numbers suggest, FaZe Clan did not look too bad during the group stage. FaZe nearly defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas (7-8), and they arguably should’ve beaten Black Dragons (5-7 in the fourth round.

FaZe Clan are capable of much more than what their numbers suggest, which explains why they’re expected to defeat E1 Sports. But while that’s a fair assessment, the $1.57 head-o-head price on offer at GG Bet is too short for our liking.

Even though FaZe Clan can always count on Lucas “soulz1” Schinke, they’ll also have to contain E1’s Thiago “xS3xyCake” Reis, which is easier said than done. FaZe should be favourites, but at this price, we’re getting more value backing E1 Sports.

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Black Dragons moved to the top of Group A with a 7-0 sweep of Miners.gg and two 7-5 victories against LOS and FaZe Clan. However, despite holding all nine points, Black Dragons must still beat Ninjas in Pyjamas if they wish to secure direct passage to the semifinals.

Ninjas in Pyjamas are 2-1-0-0 after the first week of action, with wins against LOS (7-0), Miners.gg (7-2) and FaZe Clan (7-8). And even though NiP haven’t looked as dominant as Black Dragons, they shouldn’t be ignored heading into their final group match.

Black Dragons look great on paper, but they struggle with entries. That was noticeable in their narrow win against LOS, where Roberto “Loira” Camargo and Vinicius “Stemp” Stempnhak went 0-5 in entries. The same thing happened against FaZe Clan on Sunday, when FaZe won nine out of 12 entry kills.

With an entry differential of -13, Black Dragons are a prime example of a team that looks very strong but is flawed in a crucial area. Ninjas in Pyjamas aren’t perfect either, but they don’t have any gaping holes in their game, making them an excellent outsider pick for this match.

With wins against MiBR (7-4), Team Liquid (8-7), and Keyd Stars (7-4), w7m esports are guaranteed a spot in Phase 2 of the Brazil League. However, with top seeding on the line, they still have something to play for in this match.

E1 Sports are 2-1-0-0 with eight points, which ties them with w7m for first place in Group B. Their wins have not been all that convincing, however, and they needed overtime to make it past MiBR (8-7) last weekend.

E1 beat Team Liquid 7-2 on the first day, and they didn’t look too bad against Keyd Stars (7-5) either. So although w7m look stronger, the question is: by how much?

E1 Sports have had their moments and shown enough for us to believe they can cause w7m issues. Still, w7m esports are far more experienced and have looked way more consistent during this stage, making it hard to believe they can lose on Sunday.

Team Liquid started Group B with a 2-7 loss against E1, then bounced back with a hard-fought win against Keyd Stars and suffered their second defeat against w7m esports (7-8) last weekend.

Forcing w7m to overtime is no small feat, and we must acknowledge how good Liquid were on defence. And while we can find some positives about this team, there aren’t many things we can praise MiBR for.

MiBR have won just 14 rounds across the three games played, with three defeats against Keyd Stars (3-7), w7m esports (4-7), and E1 Sports (7-8). Forcing overtime against E1 looks promising, but it shows how weak E1 can be more than anything else.

Team Liquid aren’t the most consistent team, but as the offered R6S betting odds suggest, they’re a class above MiBR.

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?With a 0-1-0-6 record, beastcoast are guaranteed to finish the North America League 2023 – Stage 2 outside the top six and miss out on the playoffs. On the other side, Luminosity Gaming are 0-2-1-3 and in a tight race with Spacestation Gaming and Mirage for the final spot leading to Phase 2.

Like beastcoast, LG have not won a single game in regulation, and they have only looked good against other weaker teams. However, as much as we can doubt Luminosity, beastcoast are in a much worse spot.

They lost 3-7 against Mirage on Friday and were lucky to edge past Spacestation Gaming (8-7) a day prior. Luminosity Gaming have a lot to figure out, but they’ve shown more this season and field better players.

Spacestation Gaming were expected to do well this stage but showed signs of struggles very early. Alec “Fultz” Fultz and co. lost their first two games against M80 (1-7) and beastcoast (7-8); however, they showed some improvement on Friday when SSG defeated Soniqs (8-7) and Wildcard Gaming (7-4).

Mirage are tied with SSG in points; however, unlike SSG, Mirage started the stage strong but lost momentum across the last two rounds with defeats against Soniqs (4-7) and M80 (7-2). So even though the teams look evenly matched, Spacestation Gaming look like a smarter play here.

They’re slowly ramping up and are 8-0 in the head-to-head since June 2021, which includes a 2-0 sweep from BREAKING POINT in August. At even odds or better, SSG are a no-brainer pick.

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Bleed’s move to Rainbow Six comes at a time when several top esports organizations like TSM and Astralis announced their departure from the scene.

The new roster will participate in the Asian league and consists of four players, a head coach, and a general manager. The unveiled players include former Invictus Gaming and Fnatic player Patrick “MentalistC” Fan, Aldi “Hovenherst” Firmansyah from Gaimin Gladiators and ex-Dire Wolves player Wu “Reeps96” Weichen, Jay “Asphy” Wan, and Taylor “Skux” Ching.

Reeps96 exited Dire Wolves in December 2022 for personal reasons. At the time, the team were getting ready to compete in the Six Invitational 2023 qualifier, and while they felt the loss of their top fragger, Dire Wolves managed to qualify for the tournament.

Singaporean gamer Asphy and Kiwi player Skux, formerly known as “Terdsta”, are also part of Bleed’s new lineup. The duo is known for their performance in lower-tiered tournaments and has not participated in any known top-tiered events. Skux and Asphy will make their top-tier debut in the R6 this weekend with Bleed.

Zhang “BrucezZ” Jinghe was unveiled as Bleed’s head coach. He previously coached Reeps96 during a stint with the Chinese esports organization, Chillax. Ex-Invictus Gaming player and MetalistC’s former teammate Jeremy “HysteRiX” Tan will fill in as Esports General Manager.

Bleed were created in September 2021, making them a relatively new team in the esports world. The Singaporean organization have been active in the Valorant and Dota 2 scene in the past months. They boost an impressive Dota 2 roster, recently signing veteran players Daryl “iceiceice” Koh and Djardel “DJ” Mampusti. The organization also has an amazing Valorant squad.

Bleed’s success in other esports scenes certainly influenced the team’s decision to include the Rainbow League in their growing list of esports for the 2023 season.

The Rainbow Six Siege Asia League is set to kick off on March 11, 2023.

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Prior to their announcement, Astralis had an impressive run in the Six Invitational last week, finishing in fourth place. In a post, the team revealed that the decision to leave Rainbow Six was born out of the shortage of prospects for future development.

Anders H?rsholt, the CEO of Astralis, explained in a press release that the development of the league agreement made it difficult for them to keep a healthy team running in the esport.

“We entered into Rainbow 6 and the North American League with high ambitions and the best of intentions, and our US organization has done everything humanly possible to meet these ambitions,” the release read.

“However, despite the dedicated and extremely loyal efforts of everybody involved, the development and lack of prospects in the league regrettably make it impossible for us to continue.”

H?rsholt also revealed that before making the decision, Astralis had explored other options to keep their team running, including conducting “an open and constructive dialogue” with Ubisoft to consider ways to move forward. Ultimately, no satisfactory solution was settled on.

“We appreciate all the efforts made, but unfortunately, we did not find a solution where we could continue operations while meeting our obligations and standards regarding working conditions for our staff and players,” H?rsholt continued.

The release concluded by thanking everyone, including fans, management, staff, competitors and volunteers, that contributed to Astralis’ time in Rainbow Six.

The disbanded lineup includes David “iconic” Ifidon, Aaron “Shuttle” Dugger, Roman “Forrest” Breaux, Jack “J9O” Burkard, and Chris “Spiff” Park. Seth “Callout” Mik and Waiffer “Waiffer” Sibaja were the team’s head and assistant coaches, respectively, while Adam “Mango” Pazner filled the analyst position.

The players, via Forrest, revealed they were open to joining another organization with a Rainbow Six team. In the meantime, they will continue to compete together under the ‘APE’ tag.

Astralis joined Rainbow Six two years ago after signing Disrupt Gaming’s roster. Although they were unable to qualify for the Six Invitational in 2021, they showed significant improvement in 2022. The team won the two stages of the North American League 2022 and the grand finals, which took place in the fall.

In Astralis’s second season in the esport, they qualified for the Six Invitational; however, the team lost to G2 Esports in the lower-bracket semifinals. G2 went on to be the 2022 Rainbow Six world champions.

Several other esports organizations have announced their intention to leave Rainbow Six. In the past weeks, teams like PSG eSports, XSET, Beastcoast, FURIA, Luminosity, Gaimin Gladiators, 00NATION, and TSM have taken a similar route.

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?DAMWON Gaming will kick off their Japan Invitational 2022 campaign on Saturday when they clash with SCARZ in the upper-bracket semifinals. The Korean powerhouse received a direct invite for the tournament as one of the region’s top Rainbow Six Siege teams; however, their current form is slightly concerning.

DAMWON are 3-4 across their last seven outings, with defeats against REJECT (4-7), FAV Gaming (8-7) and Talon Esports (2-3), who bested DAMWON in the finals of the Korean Open 2022 Autumn last week. A streak of shaky showings doesn’t take away from the fact that DAMWON Gaming is still a very strong team, but it suggests they’re beatable.

SCARZ are by far the most dominant Japanese R6S team of 2022. Across eight events they’ve attended in 2022, SCARZ have placed worse than second just once, when they finished the final season of the Japanese League in fifth place. Still, they claimed the overall season title with a 13-5-3-6 record and added another trophy just over a week ago when SCARZ won ROG Masters Asia-Pacific 2022.

According to the latest R6S betting odds, DAMWON Gaming should win, but we wouldn’t underestimate SCARZ. The local hopes are in phenomenal form, with just seven losses across their last 34 matches (27-7), and are talented enough to challenge the Korean powerhouse.

??Like DAMWON Gaming, Team BDS received a direct invite for Japan Invitational 2022 and are the only European team competing for the lion’s share of the ￥15,000,000 (?$102,680) prize pool. Naturally, since Team BDS hail from Europe, they instantly deserve more respect, but there’s more to BDS than just their status as an EU squad.

Team BDS are a very solid R6S team and arguably one of the top-10 squads in the world. They finished European League 2022 Stage 1 in second place, and in August they won Gamers8 2022. Moreover, Team BDS recently qualified for the R6S Winter Major with a runner-up finish at European League 2022 Stage 3.

In comparison, Crest Gaming Lst have not achieved anything even remotely as impressive as Team BDS. They were one of the most consistent teams throughout the year – and finished the Japan League season 2022 in fourth place, which is impressive. But even that isn’t enough to convince us that Crest Gaming can upset Team BDS or come even close to it

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?Dire Wolves are, so far, the only team to have beaten FURY (8-6), and they even took down Berlin Major attendees Gaimin Gladiators (7-4) last round, which is seriously impressive. Having already beaten two of three main challengers for the top finish, Dire Wolves now have what seems like a relatively smooth road to Six J?nk?ping Major 2022.

They might not be the most consistent team results-wise – seeing how Dire Wolves won Stage 1 and reached Charlotte Major, only to drop to fifth in Stage 2 – but they’re playing exceptionally well and deserve to be considered one of the top teams in the league.

Wildcard Gaming are 1-0-1-1, which is a solid record, although it includes two wins against shaky teams in Knights (7-1) and Tyde (4-7) and a loss against FURY (5-7). Notably, in their series against FURY, WCG had their chances to cause an upset, but a poor performance in the second half (1-5) left them in the dust.

Even though Wildcard Gaming have shown some promise, they are undeniably weaker than Dire Wolves, who should win with relative ease. The moneyline odds on this match aren’t great, and the esports betting sites currently don’t offer additional markets. Still, even at $1.46, it’s hard to pass on Dire Wolves.

?Fielding two former Elevate players in Sirasit “BGMan” Ariyasirisopon and Sumate “i9” Srimabut (formerly Nay..Pew), FURY were considered one of the most stacked APAC Rainbow Six Siege teams, and they’ve yet to disappoint.

Their start to the competition was a bit rough as FURY lost to Dire Wolves in overtime (6-8), but they’ve since looked unstoppable, beating Elevate (7-5) and Knights (7-4), although the games were a bit closer than what was expected. While that doesn’t necessarily mean that FURY are weak, it does mean they are beatable.

Gaimin Gladiators failed to amaze at Six Berlin Major 2022 in August, finishing in 13th-16th place with a 0-1-2-3 record. Still, as shown in Stage 2, where they were runners-up, the Gladiators can be competitive domestically.

FURY are 3-2 up in the head-to-head against Gaimin Gladiators, and they won (7-4) their most recent meeting on September 24, just a day after FURY got crushed by the Gladiators (2-0) during ROG Masters APAC ’22 SEA. It’s hard to bet against FURY in the form they’re in, but Gaimin Gladiators are a bit underrated at $2.20 with GG Bet.

?Tyde (0-0-0-2) and Knights (0-1-0-2) sit occupy the bottom two places in the APAC League South Division standings. Knights have won two more points – with an 8-6 victory against Wildcard Gaming – which is hardly worth celebrating, but it’s much more than what Tyde have achieved.

In Tyde’s defence, they had to face Elevate on the second playday and even won four rounds (4-7). And that’s a lot more than Knights, who got smashed by Elevate (1-7) on day one of the APAC League South. Still, using transitivity to find a pick is rarely a smart choice.

Despite performing better against the same opponent, Tyde’s core is 0-2 against Knights on the year, including a 6-8 loss in June. Moreover, the former Invictus Gaming roster also lost many key players following the transition to Tyde, so it’s unlikely that we’ll see an upset.

At $1.57, Knights are a solid bet to win.

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?TSM and Spacestation Gaming are already locked for the Major, but they’re still competing for first place. With a 6-0-0-2 record, TSM are two points ahead of Spacestation Gaming, who are 4-2-0-2, meaning that SSG need to win in regulation if they wish to pass TSM.

This is a match between the strongest North American Rainbow Six Siege teams and two organisations with somewhat of a rivalry. They regularly clash for the top regional spot, and they even met in the 2020 Six Invitational upper-bracket finals when SSG came out ahead 2-1 and won the whole thing.

Across 17 head-to-head meetings dating back to 2019, TSM have won nine series (9-1-7) but just one of their most recent four – in July, during NAL Stage 2 (8-6). Admittedly, TSM have looked better in Stage 3 and perhaps should be favoured, but we couldn’t count out SSG. This should be a close affair, so we’ll take over 11.5 rounds.

?Mirage have been performing admirably well, going from a team that consistently finished bottom six to a squad that might make the Major. They’re not quite there yet, but with a 4-0-3-1 record and 15 points, Mirage just need a single point, and they’re in the clear.

Their next opponents, Soniqs are 5-0-0-3 with 15 points and a +8 round difference, which is good enough to sit above Mirage in the standings. And just like Mirage, they need at least one point to secure a top-four finish or hope that Astralis don’t defeat Oxygen Esports.

Mirage and Soniqs last met during NAL Stage 2 in July, when Mirage claimed their second head-to-head victory (7-5) and first since April 2021. Moreover, Mirage are in better shape ahead of the final playday, with just one loss from their last five – in contrast to Soniqs, who have won just one game over the same stretch.

The esports betting sites have Soniqs as the favourites, which isn’t too crazy, knowing that their ceiling is much higher. But we haven’t seen enough from Soniqs to bet on them at the offered price. The value is with Mirage.

?Astralis need to defeat Oxygen Esports and hope that the Mirage vs Soniqs match doesn’t go into overtime to qualify for Six J?nk?ping Major 2022. It might happen; however, most will fall on the result of the Mirage vs Soniqs match, which will be known by the time Astralis play.

Still, even if Astralis are eliminated from the Major contention, we wouldn’t count on them to just give in and lose, especially not against Oxygen Esports, who have looked very weak during this stage. Of eight games played, Oxygen have won just three, but two of their wins came last week when Oxygen beat Soniqs (7-5) and DarkZero (7-2).

Astralis put together the same perfect record with wins against XSET (7-3) and Soniqs (7-3), so the two squads look fairly evenly matched. We expect Astralis to win, but Oxygen have shown enough improvement for us to believe that they can keep it close. Take Oxygen Esports with a 1.5-round advantage at even odds with GG Bet.

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