Graphic: Courtesy of Ubisoft / Joao F. @itsmeERROR
The Ginásio do Ibirapuera will be the scene of a fierce competition today as Brazilian teams FaZe Clan and w7m esports go head-to-head. The local supporters, who have traditionally rooted for the home teams against opponents from Europe or North America, now find their loyalties split in this final face-off between two Brazilian squads. The question is, how will the fans react?
Regardless of the outcome, this promises to be a thrilling conclusion. Here’s our analysis going into the grand final, including background narratives, past results between both teams, and more!
Sibling Rivalry
Siblings Thiago “Handy” Ferreira and Felipe “Nade” Ferreira will square off at the Six Invitational 2024, representing FaZe Clan and w7m esports respectively.
The anticipation has been mounting over the brothers’ clash at the Six Invitational 2024, drawing in legions of fans, even those who are not regular followers of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege esports’ scene.
Taking stock of previous encounters between the brothers, it seems the odds are stacked against Nade, with Handy having triumphed in four out of five matches. Here’s the head-to-head history between the brothers:
BR6 2022 Stage 1 – Black Dragons 4-7 FURIA Esports (Handy)
BR6 2022 Stage 2 – Black Dragons (Nade) 8-6 FURIA Esports
BR6 2022 Stage 3 – Black Dragons 7-8 FURIA Esports (Handy)
BR6 2023 Stage 1 – w7m esports 1-2 FaZe Clan (Handy)
BR6 2023 Stage 2 – w7m esports 1-2 FaZe Clan (Handy)
End of an Era
In a shock announcement ahead of the Six Invitational 2024, w7m esports declared they would be parting ways with their current Rainbow Six Siege squad after disagreements over contract renewals with the Bulls.
The team had an impressive run at the Six Invitational 2023, finishing in the top two, followed by triumphs at the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen and the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta. Now, they have one more chance to claim the sledgehammer.
The Bulls are determined to make up for their loss at last year’s Six Invitational 2023 grand finals against G2 Esports. However, w7m esports have not managed to overcome FaZe Clan this season. But as the popular saying goes, third time’s the charm.
Never-ending Overtimes
The Six Invitational grand finale presents a unique aspect of esport competition: endless overtimes. This implies that, should any of today’s games result in overtime, teams will need to gain a two-round lead to secure the map win.
This radical concept was introduced to Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege at the Six Invitational 2019. That year, the epic battle between G2 Esports and Team Empire on Coastline ended in thrilling 12-10 victory for G2 Esports.
Other epic bouts include Ninjas in Pyjamas’ 11-9 win versus FaZe Clan at the Six Sweden Major.
Curse of the Lower Bracket
Ever since the introduction of the Lower Bracket in the Six Invitational, only one team, G2 Esports, has effectively broken the so-called Lower Bracket curse.
The first ever Six Invitational Lower Bracket ended in 2020 with Spacestation Gaming outranking Ninjas in Pyjamas with a 3-2 victory. The following year saw Ninjas in Pyjamas redeem their loss with a 3-2 victory against Team Liquid. TSM defeated Team Empire 3-1 in 2022, coming out as the Upper Bracket champions.
G2 Esports, however, became the first team to hoist the sledgehammer by defying the odds as the Lower Bracket champions. Now only one in every four Six Invitational champions since the double-elimination system was introduced has come from the Lower Bracket. Can w7m esports rise to this challenge and become the second?