Today, Ubisoft® unveiled the key updates coming to the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Esports programs in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America, as well as its new plans for the Six Invitational 2021.

Recently postponed due to travel restrictions implemented by the French Government, the fans and pro teams’ most-anticipated Rainbow Six Esports competition of the year is now scheduled for May 2021. The Six Invitational 2021 will replace the May Six Major. The exact location and dates will be communicated at a later time.

To leave room for the Six Invitational 2021, the calendar for Stage 1 has been adjusted in each region.

• Stage 1 of the European League will kick off on March 18th at 6PM CET.
• Stage 1 of the North American League will start on March 24th at 4PM PM ET/ 1PM PT.
• Stage 1 of the Latin American League will start with the Latin America South Division on March 19th.
• Stage 1 of the Asia-Pacific League will start with the South Division on March 18th at 6PM AEDT.

More information on the adjustments coming to the Six Invitational 2021 schedule, including the Stage 1 specific calendar, is available: HERE

Additionally, building upon the learnings from the 2020 Season and community feedback, Ubisoft revealed the updates coming to the Rainbow Six Esports programs across all regions in 2021:

• Draws removal: instead of ending games with a tie, matches will be decided through best-of-3 overtime.
• Extended rosters: to facilitate the organisations’ ability to compete at both National and Regional levels, organisations will now be able to have a total of 12 players under their banner – allowing them to have 2 distinct rosters – with up to 7 players registered for each specific roster. Any roster must count a minimum of 5 players and each roster can be supported by its own dedicated coach. Once a roster is registered, it is locked until the next Transfer Window. More details about the practical application will be communicated at a later date.
• Coaching timeout: coaches will be given the opportunity to pause the game and discuss the strategy with their players. More details on the practical application are coming soon.
• Standardised points system at the regional level: a regular win is rewarded with 3 points while a loss gives 0 points. When the two teams compete in overtime, the winner will receive 2 points, and the loser receives 1 point.
• Update on the tiebreakers: In case two teams have the same number of points in the regional standings, a new set of tiebreakers will apply, in the following order, to determine who qualifies to the Six Majors:
  • Head-to-head: whoever had better results in head-to-head matchups will qualify
  • Round difference: whoever had a better round differential throughout the stage will qualify
  • Match Win percentage: whoever had a higher victory percentage throughout the stage will qualify
  • Round win percentage: whoever had a higher round win percentage will qualify
  • Tiebreaker match: If after all these filters there is still no winner, a special match will be organized to determine which teams qualifies for the Major.

EUROPEAN LEAGUE

In Europe, the format of competition will remain the same: an online round robin with best-of-one matches. The 9 playdays will be spread over 7 weeks, with only one match per week for each team on Mondays, starting at 6PM CET. The last two playdays will be played on a special weekend on the 7th week.

Ubisoft is also revamping the online qualifiers for the European Challenger League, with 3 open tournaments spread until the end of summer, granting points and prize money to the participating teams. The top 5 teams across all 3 tournaments will join the 9 Group Stage National League winners, and the 2 relegated teams from the 2020 Season, making the European Challenger League a 16-team competition in 2021. The Playoffs will gather 8 teams, competing in a double elimination bracket played in best-of-3.

NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE

With the merger of the US and Canada Divisions, 10 teams will be joining the 2021 Season of the North American League. The 2021 Season will be broken down into 3 Stages and will be played offline at The Esports Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our main priority is the health and wellbeing of our pro players, partners and staff, and we will be working diligently throughout the season to ensure the set up and adherence of strict sanitary measures.

In order to maintain consistency between the regions, all North American League matches will be played in a Round Robin, best–of-one format with overtime. The stages will consist of 7 weeks of play each with 1 playday per week on Wednesdays at 4pm EDT /1pm PDT. The 7th week of each stage will be a ‘Super Week’ with 3 playdays back-to-back from Tuesdays to Thursdays beginning at 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the schedule may be subject to change.

With the merger of the US and Canada Challenger Leagues, the 2021 Challenger League will consist of 18 teams moving forward. The league will see 14 playdays over 7 weeks, with teams playing in a Round Robin, best–of-one format with overtime.

LATIN-AMERICAN LEAGUE

For the 2021 Season, the Latin-American League will maintain its 3-division structure – Brazil Division, Mexico Division, and the Latin America South Division – but will change its competitive format to best-of-one matches during the regular online stage.

The three divisions will be organised as follows:

• Brazil Division: will remain with 10 teams
• Mexico Division: changing from the 2020 structure, an additional team has been added, reaching a total of 8 participants
• Latin America South Division: will remain with 8 teams from Argentina, Peru and Chile.

Each division – Brazil, Mexico and Latin America South – will have 2 playdays per week over 4 weeks, with an additional 5th week for Brazil featuring 3 playdays, named ‘Super Week’.

• Brazil Division playdays will take place on Saturdays and Sundays;
• Mexico Division playdays will take place on Saturdays and Sundays;
• Latin America South Division will take place on Thursdays and Fridays;

At the end of each stage, the best teams from each division advance to the LATAM League Stage Finals, a tournament that will give the top 4 teams the chance to qualify for one of the most prestigious Rainbow Six Siege tournaments in the world, the Six Major.

Stage 1 of the Brazil Division will kick off on March 20th, while Stage 1 of the Latin America South Division will start on March 19th and the Mexico Division on March 21st.

ASIA-PACIFIC LEAGUE

For the 2021 Season, the Asia-Pacific League will remain divided into 2 divisions, with the North Division – composed of teams located the northern part of the region including Japan, South Korea and South East Asia – and the South Division – composed of teams located the southern part of the region including South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Each division will consist of 8 teams and follow the same competitive format, an online round robin with best-of-one matches.

In addition, Ubisoft will continue to organise the South Asia Nationals to offer up-and-coming teams the opportunity to hone their skills and reach the international competitions.

During a stage, each division will have 1 playday per week over 7 weeks.

• North Division playdays will take place on Wednesdays, starting at 6PM SGT
• South Division playdays will take place on Thursdays, starting at 6PM AEST/AEDT

At the end of a stage, the top-ranking team in each division will automatically qualify for the Six Major, based on the regional league point system. The teams ranking 2nd, 3rd and 4th in each division will be joined by the 2 best teams from the South Asia Nationals, to decide who will get the 2 remaining slots for the Six Major in a special weekend of Playoffs.

Ubisoft is also adjusting the R6 SHARE program in the region, with all 16 teams, from both the North and South Divisions of the Asia-Pacific League, now included.

Details on the new plans for the Six Invitational 2021, the related adjustments coming to the programs and the Stage 1 calendar, as well as the key updates coming to the Rainbow Six Esports leagues across all 4 regions, are available here.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Esports, please visit http://www.rainbow6.com/esports.