The Wolves Rainbow Six Siege team claim top 12 finish at the world championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The French speaking roster started the tournament group stage in great form claiming three out of a possible four wins in a very competitive group. They finished in third place, separated only by head-to-head record with FaZe Clan in second place, and qualifying for the playoffs.
The playoffs began with the tournament favourites, W7M Esports, picking to play against Wolves in the first round of the upper bracket. Many expected it to be a competitive game but the ultimate winner to be the Brazilian roster.
Wolves defied expectations in this regard claiming the 2-1 victory in one of the most entertaining and competitive series of the playoffs and knocking W7M into the lower bracket in the process.
Expectations were high for Wolves going into their second upper bracket match of the day as they faced off against the North American team, Soniqs.
However, having played an intense series just hours before against arguably the best team in the world, the team showed obvious signs of fatigue as some basic errors combined with Soniqs’ trademark off-rhythm style of play culminated in Wolves being defeated in straight 2-0 fashion and found themselves in the lower bracket with no more room for error.
The next day they met familiar opponents Team Bliss from Australia, a foe they have faced many times before, including earlier at this tournament. Wolves were the undoubted favourites to progress to the next stage but unfortunately that is not how things turned out.
The Australian roster, riding high from their previous win and currently enjoying their furthest run at any major event to date brought everything they had to the table. Wolves took the first map with ease, 7-2, led by a strong performance by Mowwwgli and all looked to be heading in the right direction.
However, the second map was a different story as Bliss claimed it for themselves with a determined performance and sprinted to a 7-3 victory shocking Wolves and spectators in the process.
It all came down to the deciding map. The winner would progress to the next round and the loser would find themselves knocked out of the tournament.
Momentum was with Bliss having won the previous map so convincingly and they rode that wave hard in map three taking the victory 7-5 and knocking Wolves out of the world championship.
While a top 12 finish on the biggest stage of all is nothing to be sniffed at, the team undoubtedly had bigger goals in mind and felt disappointed with how the playoffs panned out.
The goal of every team entering the Six Invitational is to be able to make it to the main stage and play in front of the crowd. Anything less than that could be classed as underachieving, something Wolves certainly felt like they did.
However, there is not long to grieve as the new season begins shortly and with an appearance at the Malta Cyber Series next month there is no time to dwell on what could have been. Instead, they will look to the future, regroup and plan how they can improve in the year to come.
