Fnatic, the global esports organisation with headquarters in London, have revealed their new Rainbow Six: Siege roster as they sets their sights on further expansion into the Japanese esports market in 2022.
Following talks with Japanese esports team Guts Gaming, Fnatic has reached an agreement with them to sign four of their Rainbow Six team’s Japanese players – Yura, Li9ht, Lily and Merieux – who will represent the black and orange in 2022.
Rising star Chibusu will also join this roster of talent, with long-standing Australian team captain Etienne ‘Mag’ Rousseau, who has been pivotal to the migration of Fnatic’s Rainbow Six operations to the region, joining the team later this year.
Mag has been playing for Fnatic since 2018, winning a number of Masters events in his home country of Australia, as well taking home the Rainbow Six Pro League: Australia and New Zealand trophy for the organisation in 2020.
The newly formed squad will compete in both the Rainbow Six Japan League (RJL), the first season of which is due to kick off on March 26th 2022, and the Rainbow Six Japan Championship (RJC) later this year.
Another Australian, Jayden ‘Dizzle’ Saunders, who has been leading the team since 2018, will remain as head coach. He will lead up a support staff which will include former manager of the Guts Gaming Rainbow Six squad, ‘GuNBoY’ (from Japan), as well as France’s Théo ‘Phenomene’ Hentgen who has been signed as a strategic coach and analyst.
Phenomene is well known for his work helping teams like Gamma Gaming and The Last Dance take home trophies across the French and Benelux circuits.
Jayden ‘Dizzle’ Saunders, head coach for Fnatic’s Rainbow Six squad said: “We’re excited to finally begin our journey into Rainbow Six Japanese esports through the distinguished RJL and RJC.
“We have a new roster of incredible homegrown Japanese talent who we’ve signed from Guts Gaming and can’t wait to kick-start scrimming with the roster ahead of these two all-important competitions. We’re also delighted that Mag will be returning later this year – a player who believes strongly in this project and our vision for Rainbow Six esports in Japan.”
“We’re excited to finally begin our journey into Rainbow Six Japanese esports through the distinguished RJL and RJC.”
Jayden ‘Dizzle’ Saunders, Fnatic
Daniel Cao, head of operations at Fnatic Asia, added: “The Asia-Pacific (APAC) market is of huge importance to Fnatic. We’ve already witnessed huge amounts of success in the region through strong viewership numbers and various collaborations and campaigns with world well-known brands, tapping into audiences with a high affinity for gaming culture and Fnatic brand, especially through game titles that are loved all over the world.
“In 2021, we accelerated our strategic growth plans within the region and Japan specifically through a $17m funding round with our strategic business partner Marubeni. We’re excited to begin our quest in Japanese Rainbow Six esports and further grow the orange and black footprint within the APAC region in 2022 and beyond.”
As mentioned, the announcement comes after Fnatic raised this $17m in investment to expand in Japan and APAC last year, which was led by Marubeni Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in Japan.
The Covid-19 pandemic prevented the organisation from expanding its operations and entering into the RJL or RJC until now.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
