While the Six Invitational 2021 was originally scheduled to happen this February, due to travel restrictions implemented by the French Government, Ubisoft announced that the Six Invitational 2021 is now scheduled on May. The exact location and dates for the tournament will be announced at a later date.
Here’s an updated calendar for Stage 1 to leave room for the Invitational:
- Stage 1 of the Asia-Pacific League will start with the South Division on March 18th at 6PM AEDT.
- 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.
Aside from the updated timeline, Ubisoft announced the following changes for its Rainbow Six Siege esports program in 2021 across all regions:
- Draws removal: instead of ending games with a tie, matches will be decided through best-of-3 overtimes.
- Extended rosters: to facilitate the organizations’ ability to compete at both Regional and National levels – by allowing them to have 2 distinct rosters –, organizations will now be able to have up to a total of 12 players under their banner, 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.
- Standardized points system at the regional level: a regular win is rewarded with 3 points while a loss gives 0 point. When the two teams fight up to the overtime, the winner gets 2 points while the loser gets 1 point.
- Update of the tiebreakers.
In the Asia-Pacific League, the 2021 Season will have still have teams divided into divisions. These are the North Division – composed of teams from Japan, South Korea and South East Asia – and the South Division – composed of teams from South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Each division will now have 8 teams and follow the same competitive format: an online round robin with Best-of-one matches.
In addition of these 2 divisions, Ubisoft will continue to hold the South Asia Nationals to offer up-and-coming teams the opportunity to hone their skills and reach the international competitions.
At the end of a stage, the top-ranking team in each division will be automatically qualified for the Six Major. The teams ranking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in each division meanwhile, will move on to the Playoffs. The Playoffs will also include the 2 best teams from the South Asia Nationals for a total of six teams that will face off to determine the two that will move on to the Major.
Aside from Asia-Pacific League changes, there are also updates to the Siege esports program in other regions. For more info on the full list of adjustments, visit the official Rainbow Six Siege website.