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 in May during Gamers Without Borders 2023 – Korea & Japan, where SANDBOX won 2-0. It was a relatively close game that could have gone to three maps, so it’s not fair to say that SANDBOX are undoubtedly the better team.

Crest Gaming Lst have since made some roster changes, bringing in Sironeko from FAV Gaming and installing oft0nn as a new strategic coach. With Sironeko, Crest Gaming placed third at Japan League 2023 Stage 2 and won the Japan League 2023 Stage 2 LCQ.

SANDBOX Gaming hail from a stronger region, which explains why they are priced as favourites; however, at the offered R6S esports betting odds, we like Crest Gaming with a 1.5-round advantage. The gap between Japan and Korea isn’t big enough to justify the offered price.

?G2 Esports have never met with FURY before, but they are expected to win this matchup comfortably. That is not shocking, considering G2 are Six Invitational 2023 champions and hail from a much more competitive league.

Still, G2 Esports can be very up and down, and they have recently dropped way too many rounds against weaker opponents. So even though FURY will have to produce their game of the season to take down G2, Pasatron “Darkk” Boonrubasb and co. have taken games off stronger teams this season.

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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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The veteran coach made a return to the Valorant esports this week despite leaving Sentinels, his previous team, during their first season as a franchised member of the Valorant Champions Tour.

Rather than his previous role as head coach of Sentinels’ Valorant team, SyykoNT signed on to M80 as their vice president of esports.

SyykoNT has been a key figure in North American Valorant from the early days of the esport. He previously played with lesser-known teams like Sedated before joining XSET and Sentinels.

During his time on XSET in 2022, SyykoNT helped the team win two international tournaments and reach a top-six finish at Champions 2022. He joined Sentinels ahead of the 2023 season and oversaw the signing of several big-name players during the off-season.

These include Brazilian stars Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi and Bryan “pANcada” Luna. SyykoNT also helped them sign former XSET players Zachary “zekken” Patrone and Rory “dephh” Jackson.

He left Sentinels on April 18, following the team’s disappointing 1-2 record at the start of the VCT Americas split. SyykoNT has not been signed to any other organization since then; instead working in esports media.

As M80’s Vice President of Esports, SyykoNT will oversee the efforts of esports teams across games like Valorant, Street Fighter, and Rainbow Six: Siege.

The new role will also see a sort of reunion between SyykoNT and Marco Mereu, the founder and CEO of M80. Mereu was the co-founder and COO of XSET before founding M80 in August last year.

“Don has a rich track record building and leading championship-caliber esports teams, and his addition to M80 will ensure our continued competitive dominance,” Mereu said in a press conference.

“M80 has quickly cemented itself as a top esports organization, and Don’s ability to spot and support talent will help us thrive in our current titles while also successfully entering new ones.”

In a separate statement, SyykoNT revealed that he looked forward to working alongside Mereu once again and helping the them grow.

“M80 is approaching pivotal moments across its teams and my sights are set on nothing but setting our squads up for success,” he said.

Despite his move to a managerial position, SyykoNT disclosed that he was not shutting the door on coaching jobs in the future.

“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time as a coach over the years, so I haven’t fully closed the door on it,” he said.

“However, I’m excited to take the skills I’ve developed during my time coaching into this new VP of Esports position and utilise them to support M80’s teams, scout rising talent, and build new programs in promising titles.”

The ex-Sentinels coach will make his first major move with M80 at the VCT Ascension Americas tournament in Brazil on June 30. The organization’s Valorant team recently qualified for the event and are set to face off against five other squads for a spot in the franchised league.

According to recent reports, TSM broke the news in a meeting with Ubisoft, the developer and tournament organizer of Siege. The organization is expected to give up its NAL spot during its exit.

A year earlier, TSM beat out Team Empire in the grand finals of the Six Invitational in Stockholm to become the tournament champion. The esports team was able to lift the championship hammer despite entering the tournament via the North American Qualifier rather than through global standing.

The 2022 Six Invitational was the squad��s first win after placing top four in previous iterations of the competition. In 2020 TSM placed third and finished fourth in 2021 before shooting to first in the 2022 Six Invitational. The win was the third time a North American squad emerged champions in the R6 tournament.

Matthew ��Achieved�� Solomon gave an MVP performance during the tournament, winning the MVP award with a K/D leading of +63 K/D. Jason ��Beaulo�� Doty, one of TSM��s youngest stars, also gave an impressive showing.

TSM initially lost to Team Empire in the upper bracket final, pushing them back to the lower brackets. Both teams went head to head in a rematch in the grand finals, and after a drawn-out fight that went to overtime, TSM took the series.

The match was the first time in five attempts that TSM beat Team Empire. The loss also placed Team Empire in second position for the second time at the Six Invitational.

Despite TSM��s success the year prior, the North American team struggled to recreate the win of the previous season. They finished close to the bottom of the table in the first two NAL stages and ultimately could not qualify for SI 2023.

By the end of the 2022 season, TSM��s star player, Beaulo, at 21 years, retired from professional competitive gaming and started a new career as a content creator. He has been part of the team since June 2019 and has amassed an impressive track record as one of North America��s best.

With TSM��s departure from the Siege league imminent, there is no information about the status of the organization��s Siege roster.

TSM currently has esports teams in EA��s Apex Legends and Dota 2 and competes with its flagship League roster on Riot Game��s League of Legends and Valorant. The North American organization also announced that it intended to return to the CS:GO scene by October. It was in the middle of recruiting a general manager to head the esports division. TSM left Valve��s FPS scene as far back as January 2016.

Last year, the organization suffered significant financial losses when its 10-year $210 million partnership with FTX plummeted with the cryptocurrency crash. TSM went on to remove the crypto exchange company��s name on its jerseys and social media accounts and erased other connections with FTX.
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?In January, G2 Esports parted ways with Ben “CTZN” McMillan and replaced him with Benjamin “Benjamaster” Dereli, formerly of Heroic. Benjamaster is an interesting pickup who can help G2 Esports reach a higher level, but an even more impactful signing was the addition of William “Titan” Davie, who joined G2 Esports as an analyst.

Unlike G2 Esports, KOI didn’t make any roster moves ahead of Six Invitational 2023. The only change was the banner under which the European squad will fight.

G2 Esports and KOI (then Rogue) last met in October, when KOI won 7-2, and according to the latest R6S betting odds at GG Bet, they should come out ahead again. However, while KOI look stronger on paper, G2 Esports can cause serious damage, especially if Benjamaster fits well with the rest of the team.

As the first match of the season between two regional rivals, and rosters that aren’t that far apart talent-wise, this should be a close affair. Over 2.5 maps looks like a safe play.

?Team Liquid, alongside w7m esports, are the only team from Latin America that didn’t make any roster changes ahead of Six Invitational 2023, and that’s fine. Liquid might not have been the most dominant team in the region throughout 2022, but they weren’t that far off.

Liquid placed second in Brasileir?o 2022 Stage 3 and Copa Elite Six Stage 3, won the Brasileir?o 2022 Finals, and came one map short of winning Six J?nk?ping Major 2022. With those results, Liquid are rightly considered one of the favourites to win SI 2023, but Soniqs are not to ignoed.

Soniqs made a major roster change this offseason, adding G2’s Ben “CTZN” McMillan, who looks like a huge upgrade on paper. The team already performed well at the end of 2022 with a semifinal run at Six J?nk?ping Major 2022 and are not to be overlooked as a dark horse to win in Canada.

Team Liquid look stronger than Soniqs, and since they have made no changes, we can expect less volatility in their game. Still, at $1.71, Soniqs to win at least one map on Tuesday is an excellent offer we can’t pass on.

?In January, MNM Gaming replaced Callum “Neonical” Humphreys with Nathan “Nathan” Sharp, who returns to the squad after spending ten months with Natus Vincere. This move could work out for MNM Gaming and give them the little push they need.

Wolves Esports decided to run it back with the same French-Belgian roster, which makes sense. Even though Wolves struggled at Majors in 2022, with two top-eight finishes (Berlin and J?nk?ping), they still reached the semifinals in European League 2022 Finals, which was enough to end the season as the European League Season 2022 champions.

MNM Gaming last met with Wolves Esports in the semifinals of European League 2022, when they won 2-0, yet they’re the underdogs for this bout. Most of it has to do with the roster change, but we don’t see it affecting MNM negatively. There are questions about how Nathan will do with his new squad, but even so, MNM Gaming’s chances of winning are greater than what the latest Rainbow Six Siege betting odds show.

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“For the first 2 years of Cowana Gaming we have always tried to be one of the top places to go for players, staff and creators and we have succeeded,” the organization wrote.

“Unfortunately, we also felt the effects of the international crises and a large part of our business was no longer executable.

“The protracted nature of these circumstances has led us to decide to discontinue the trip at the end of the year. We will make sure that any outstanding balances are paid by the end of the year.”

As revealed by the extensive statement on the Twit longer post, Cowana Gaming will be shutting down operations at the end of the year, having cited “international crises” as one of the main reasons for its decision.

The company which was founded in 2018 by Cowana Marketing, a gaming and esports marketing company, is mostly known for its Rainbow Six team. It is also known for its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team which participated in the ESL Meisterschaft and 99Damage leagues in Germany.

Although the organization did not share any specific details, it revealed that it will pay all outstanding balances before closing its doors.

While Cowana Gaming had shared that “a large part of the business is no longer being executable” due to an “international crisis” which has led the company to discontinue its operations, the company also stated that “the protracted nature of these circumstances” had led them to decide to cancel the trip at the end of 2022.

According to a recent interview held with a German media company, the Chief Executive Officer of Cowana Gaming Michael Wamser, said that the company could no longer finance its esports endeavors solely through sponsorships and partnerships. He added that the venture was not financially viable for Cowana GmbH, the parent company of Cowana Gaming.

Wamser also stated in the interview that a lack of professionalism exists within the esports scene, particularly in Germany,/a>, and that several partnerships the company pursued did not pan out and they often do not provide the necessary funding. Former Cowana employees also shared with the media company that payments to creators often came late.

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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 �C 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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CYCLOPS athlete gamng are 4-1-0-0 with 14 points, which sits them atop the standings, two points ahead of SANDBOX Gaming with a 4-0-0-1 record and 12 points. As a game between the only two teams who seem to have a realistic chance to compete for the top spot, this will be a critical match, neither squad can afford to lose.

While both very talented teams, it’s hard to doubt CYCLOPS, especially after their recent showings. Last round, they demolished Spear Gaming (7-1) and were just as convincing at the start of the month when they took down FAV gaming (7-3). As a team, CYCLOPS are playing well, but we must mention Takuma “SuzuC” Nakajima, who had an insane performance last week, posting a 1.69 rating and 100% KOST against Spear Gaming.

SANDBOX also showed some strength last round, defeating Fnatic (7-4), despite trailing 1-4 in the first half. But while it was an impressive performance from the Korean Rainbow Six Siege esports team, it was mostly Fnatic choking.

SANDBOX Gaming are a solid team, but they’re not at CYCLOPS athlete gaming’s level. So we’ll side with the favourites to cover the 1.5-round handicap.

FAV gaming are already eliminated from the Winter Major contention with a 0-1-1-3 record, but they played an extremely solid game last week when they edged past DAMWON Gaming (8-7). The Japanese squad even had to make a mid-game substitution, bringing in Ken “K-RAISER” Takazawa to replace Naoki “Yura” Takamoto, who had technical difficulties.

K-RAISER even had a solid performance considering the circumstances, going 4-1 in the first four rounds, but finished the game with a 7-9 KD and a 0.82 rating. Their next opponents, REJECT, are still on course to qualify for the Major, but they have been quite wobbly of late.

Last round, REJECT nearly lost to Talon Esports but edged out an 8-7 victory, leaving them with a pretty easy schedule as they only need to beat FAV gaming and Spear Gaming. That might sound like an easy task, but REJECT will have to show far better performances to take wins from the resilient FAV.

On paper, REJECT look like strong favourites, but at the offered R6S betting odds, it’s hard not to take a shot with FAV. The underdogs might be out of the tournament, but they’ve proven to be tough to beat, making them a great choice on the round handicap market.

Fnatic attacking woes returned last round, in a key match against SANDBOX Gaming, with the Japanese team taking a 4-1 lead on the defence, only to fall apart after the switch. Admittedly, SANDBOX played well enough to steal the win from Fnatic, but that fixture mostly showcased how flawed and inconsistent Fnatic can be.

Before that slip-up, Fnatic have collected three straight victories against REJECT (7-4), FAV gaming (8-6), and Gaming (7-4), and they even had solid offensive performances in some of them. So the question for this match is which version of Fnatic will we get.

Talon Esports can no longer compete for a ticket for Sweden following their narrow (7-8) defeat against REJECTS last week, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Talon have been fairly competitive at this stage. They forced SANDBOX Gaming to 12 rounds (7-5) in round four, crushed Spear Gaming (7-3) in the second round, and played a solid game against CYCLOPS athlete gaming on day one.

Admittedly, Talon Esports aren’t good enough to compete with the best APAC R6S teams, but they can take advantage of the situation if presented. And knowing how inconsistent Fnatic can be, it’s not too crazy to believe that Talon can force a close game on Wednesday.

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Besides League of Legends, the official press release on the partnership revealed that KOI would have a foothold on Rogue��s other esports teams in Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty, and Rocket League.

The collaboration will also include KOI��s Valorant squad. The team were among the 30 squads selected for the 2023 VCT partnership. The co-founder of KOI, Ibai Llanos, will also reportedly be the ��featured ambassador�� of the partnership.

��Ibai Llanos, the social media celebrity and Twitch luminary who operates the fourth most followed channel in the world will serve as a featured ambassador of the partnership across both KOI and Rogue,�� the press release read.

��Including KOI��s competitive teams in the much-anticipated pro Valorant league and LVP SuperLiga, as well as Rogue��s teams in Call of Duty, Rocket League, Rainbow Six, and their championship League of Legends roster- the number one LEC seed entering into next week��s Worlds competition.��

The partnership will also allow KOI to participate in the LEC and see Rogue��s LoL team rebranded as KOI. The change will be made in time for the LEC��s 2023 Spring Split, but the formal name change remains to be announced as many anticipate it might bear KOI.

Rogue will reportedly continue managing affairs at the company despite the change. The current management will handle the management and operations structure of the merged League of Legends team. Details concerning the purchase amount and the percentage split were not revealed in the press release.

Several competitive esports teams are taking some time off as a result of the offseason, so the partnership of both esports teams will officially start in 2023. This applies to both the Valorant and League of Legends teams of both organizations.

At the moment, Rogue��s Rainbow Six team are participating in the European League tournament and are currently in the third stage. If the team scales through the event, they will have a pass to compete in the J?nk?ping Major scheduled to take place in November.

The Piqu�� organization��s League of Legends team are set to participate in the North American League of Legends World Champion Championship on October 7. The main event’s best-of-one fixture against DRX will be their first outing in Group C, with Top Esports and GAM Esports as the other two teams that make up the group. The 2022 Worlds main event kicked off earlier today with Fnatic clinching a win over Cloud9.

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