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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REJECT made the announcement via their official Twitter page. They thanked him for his contribution in the short time he was with the team.

“This time, the contract with Pep coach (@SBpepper_) has expired and we are leaving the team. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Pep Coach for his contribution to REJECT and wish him all the best in the future,” the tweet read.

News of Pep’s dismissal came as a shock, especially as REJECT are thriving in the 2022 Rainbow Six Asia-Pacific North League Stage 2. They are currently ranked third behind DAMWON Gaming and SANDBOX Gaming with three wins and a loss.

Although Pep’s start to his coaching career with REJECT did not start on a good note, he has since picked things up. He was hired after they secured promotion to APAC North, and helped the team improve on the basics.

Pep joined REJECT in March, and has set the team on an upward trajectory. Although they finished last in Stage 1, they managed a second-place finish in the 2022 FAV Cup.

REJECT has also mustered some decent results recently under his leadership, finishing as quarter finalists in the 2022 Japan League Season 1 playoffs.

Pep has spoken since his contract expiry and has nothing but support for the team. He recounted the short period with the team and how it has impacted him.

“In the beginning, it was only for a short period of three or four months, but everyone took care of us. It was a blink of an eye to start my career with FAVCUP and RJLplayoffstage2. It was also my first international tournament in APAC and it was a three-month period in which I was able to grow both as a team and as an individual,” he said.

“The most memorable match was the match against T1 in APAC. Although we lost the relegation match, we were confident that we could win, so we went ahead with the map van to get revenge in the same Oregon as the replacement match. The match was 5:5 and we were able to win the match with the players’ strong feelings about winning.”

The former coach also believes they will achieve more success this year.

“During the period I was there, we mainly worked as a team to improve the foundation. From now on, I think we will enter a period where we will master the power of Siege. As a result, we are in better shape than the previous season, as you can see. REJECT will go to the world during this year. Let’s all witness that moment together,” he said.

REJECT has three more playdays before the end of Stage 2. If they manage a top-two finish, they will get direct seeding to the Rainbow Six Berlin Major per Ubisoft’s new format.

By August 27, we will know for sure if REJECT were able to continue their impressive start to Stage 2 without Pep. Their next match is on July 11 against the top-seeded DAMWON, who are $1.37 head-to-head favorites with GG Bet.

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