This past E3, Ubisoft announced that Rainbow Six Siege has reached a new milestone — 35 million players. This came on the heels of Operation Para Bellum, the game’s latest season. It featured two new operators to join the fray. There’s Alibi, with her prismatic holograms that can befuddle opponents, and Maestro, with his remote turrets. The new map, Villa, was also well-received due to its aesthetics and atmosphere. This is, no doubt, also bolstered by a healthy esports scene that’s now joined by the US Nationals program.
Siege the World
For those unaware, Rainbow Six Siege is one of the most watched games on Twitch. According to Twitchstats.net, the game is ranked 14th globally. For other sites, it’s either 11th or 17th. It has around 2,500 channels, with roughly 800 streaming actively.
Basically, thousands of people watch games each day, and that number continues to grow at a good pace. It can pretty much compete with the likes of Overwatch (9th), World of Warcraft (11th), Grand Theft Auto V (12th), and God of War (17th). It also routinely trumps Destiny (41st), Arma 3 (103rd), and fellow Ubisoft game The Division (112th). So it goes without saying that the developers will look into capitalizing on the game’s success even more. The key is its esports programs.
That burgeoning esports scene has seen many teams venture into Siege territory. Teams such as Cloud9. The game’s competitive arena was previously anchored by the Pro League which has recently shifted to a more traditional league format. That is further reinforced by the G04 Cup series meant to be a grassroots cultivation of esports talent, as well as the Challenger League. Excitement erupted when the Six Major was announced a couple of months ago, marking another major tourney alongside the Six Invitational. Paris will host the inaugural Six Major this August with the venue changing each year. The event’s total prize pool will be a stunning $350,000.
This is America
Now, America becomes the battleground with the Rainbow Six Siege’s US Nationals. The brand new program is open to all players in the United States, pro or otherwise. The best players will be competing for a $50,000 grand prize pool in an event that runs from July until December.
All participants are divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. Each stage of the competition will have two qualifying rounds per conference. The top teams then advance in a knockout tournament until only two remain — the champions of their respective conferences. Since there are three stages with qualifiers, there will be three Western Conference champions and another three for the Eastern Conference. The final stage is the Wildcard where previously eliminated teams will have one last shot at glory.
Come December, during the US Nationals finale, there will be eight teams competing. Six are previous champions from their respective stages, and the remaining two are wildcard winners. Sign-ups are already live for those who wish to participate in what is sure to be a hotly anticipated event. Check out Rainbow Six Siege’s official website as well as the schedule below for more information. You can also hop on the game’s main subreddit, or “#R6USN” your way into finding a team via Twitter.
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