It was a series of wins for UK esports at the Six Berlin Major this weekend, with Rogue player LeonGids and MNM Gaming co-founder KalKal celebrating for different reasons.
First up, UK Rainbow Six Siege player and in-game leader (IGL) for Rogue, won the Major with his team. And not only that, but on his 23rd birthday – what a way to celebrate.
Rogue had finished second in Group A, behind Xset, before beating G2, Xset and FaZe Clan in the knockout stage to take the trophy.
They beat FaZe 3-2 in a thrilling five-game series in the grand final to take first place and $200,000 in prize winnings.
LeonGids said on Twitter: “23 and I’m playing a grand final of a major, could be worse ways to celebrate.”
He also celebrated by cheekily responding to Heroic’s head coach, who commented on Rogue losing to NiP earlier in the tournament.
UK host Iain Chambers also had kind words to say about LeonGids, sharing a nice pic of him next to Leon holding the UK’s Union Jack flag aloft.
Rogue’s Siege team also has UK head coach meePey and analyst Saethus, as well as Dutch coach Bernie. Their players also include Spoit, Kantoraketti, Cryn and Deapek.
Wolves Esports – the gaming arm of English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers – and G2 (who have UK talent on their team) also reached the quarter finals.
Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, chief gaming officer for Infinite Reality, which owns Rogue, said:
MNM Gaming’s KalKal pops the question live on stage
Kalvin ‘KalKal’ Chung, co-founder and CEO of UK-based esports organisation MNM Gaming, proposed live on stage at the Six Berlin Major.
Host Iain Chambers passed the mic to Kal, who popped the question to his partner on a live video call to rapturous applause.
Kal said it was the most crazy spontaneous thing he’s ever done, and that it wasn’t planned.
And of course… she said yes!
KalKal told Esports News UK: “So the reasoning I did this via call is because my girlfriend is Chinese so esports schedules don’t work for her timelines for visa applications. We only knew we qualified for Berlin at the start of August, and her job is in finance so she also just works long hours so she’s never had the chance to experience any esports event with me.
“It was quite sudden with me and Iain suddenly discussing it on Thursday August 18th. I went out and bought a ring straight away. And then It was all in motion.
“On my birthday, at the Six Major for a game that’s changed my life (R6) and put so much passion into, it just felt like it was right, a perfect way to cement my future by bridging what’s important to me: MNM, esports and my (now) fiancé.”
KalKal, MNM Gaming
“I can’t explain why I just suddenly wanted to do it but I knew I couldn’t let this chance pass. I probably would not recommend people proposing at events because it can go horribly wrong and I was so very certain she would say yes, as we had discussed marriage regardless, so it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.
“It was crazy and I was shaking after and even now I can’t believe I got engaged on stage in front of 2,000 people!”
MNM Gaming had qualified for the Six Berlin Major though unfortunately they didn’t manage to get out of Group D.
But… does it really matter?
Congratulations to KalKal and May!
Recent UK Siege news: Siege’s UK Ireland Nationals (UKIN) returns
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.
