Ubisoft, one of the biggest game developers in the world, have announced a new Rainbow Six (R6) Esports Global Circuit. They also announced they will enter into a multi-year deal with tournament organizers BLAST. The R6 Esports Global Circuit will see a few changes to the format and start in March 2023 before ending in February 2024.
BLAST will run R6 Tournaments everywhere but Japan
BLAST, well known among esports enthusiasts for running CS:GO events, will take up most of the organizational responsibilities following this multi-year deal. They will handle every region bar Japan as far as R6 is concerned. Ubisoft should have no real problems with this deal. BLAST have grown a lot since their CS:GO origins; they have been organizing tournaments for FIFA, FIFA, and Apex Legends more recently.
“We have exciting plans to elevate and grow the Rainbow Six Siege esports scene and we look forward to leveraging the full extent of our esports expertise and first class technology across broadcast, production and direct-to-consumer streaming, to create an ecosystem that the community can be proud of, and excited about,” said Leo Matlock, BLAST’s Managing Director of Development, following the announcement of the deal with Ubisoft.
© Ubisoft
Smaller teams now have the opportunity to qualify for Majors
There will be six closed regions: Europe, North America, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Hispanic Latin America. This extended season will also make way for a mid-season break where third-party organizers can hold tournaments.
All the regional events will be closed with a set number of competitors. The South Korean and Latin American regions will have eight teams competing, whereas every region apart from the Asian, Oceanic, and MENA will have 10 teams competing. It’s enough space to fit all the best R6 players into a single circuit.
An open qualifier will be held for all regions to ensure smaller teams have a chance to qualify for Majors. The Majors are also expected to have a new stage before the group stage and playoff matches, but there is a limited amount of information on this for the time being.
New Schedule and Significant Changes
Stage 1 of the new R6 global circuit will take place from March to May, with a new extended Major concluding this stage in May. An off-season will follow this from June to August.
Stage 2 of the R6 global circuit will run from September to November, with another extended Major concluding this stage in November. This will, once again, be followed by an off-season period from December to February. The R6 invitational in February will end the season.
Only the top 20 teams from the two stages will get a chance to compete in the Six Invitational. A new points system will be in place to ensure that the best teams qualify for the R6 invitational. More points will be awarded to teams who do well in international events. For many teams, the season will conclude with Stage 2.
How Significant Is This For R6 Esports?
R6 esports is a relatively new competitive space. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise has always been one of the most popular tactical FPS games over the last decade. It’s still surprising that an esports sector took this long to develop.
In 2017, only six teams competed in this esport in the Xbox One and PC tournaments. This deal with BLAST and a new Global Circuit is a real statement from Ubisoft.
The R6 Global Circuit will attract many new players to the game and allow more experienced players to consider R6 esports as an alternative within the esports industry. The first game from this franchise was released in 1998, but it has taken a while for R6 to establish an esports scene on a global scale. It’s finally here, and there should be a lot of fun in store for old and new fans.
