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(Photo by Robin Cerutti / Ubisoft)
w7m emerged victorious at the 2024 Blast Rainbow Six Montreal Major, claiming the trophy after besting BDS 3-1 in the grand final.
Europeans Team BDS took the first game on Consulate, before w7m’s Brazilian roster won the next three.
The latest Siege Major, held in the heart of Montreal – home to Ubisoft’s development studio for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – culminated in the Brazilians securing the title and a prize of $217,000.
BDS UK player Josh ‘Yuzus’ Pritchard said after the defeat:
The news comes three months after UK Rainbow Six Siege player Yuzus was featured on a display at London’s Piccadilly Circus after winning the Esports World Cup.
Over two weeks, 20 teams from across the globe competed for supremacy in this final Major of the 2024 season.
The Major also marked a return to Montreal, celebrating the roots of Rainbow Six Siege, which is developed by Ubisoft Montreal.
New Siege esports announcements for 2025 and beyond include Partner Program criticised by teams such as UK’s Into the Breach
The Montreal Major served as a platform for some announcements about the future of Rainbow Six Esports, including a new event exclusively for partner teams.
In Ubisoft’s words: “As the current season comes to a close, we are gearing up for a transformative 2025:
- “The introduction of the Reload event, which will kick off the new competitive season in May 2025, hosted in Brazil. This event will feature exclusively our R6 Share Partner teams, bringing a unique format and fresh excitement to the new season.
- The unveiling of a streamlined global league structure, consolidating the current nine leagues into four major regions: EML, SAL, NAL, and APL. This change aims to elevate the competitive scene and provide clearer pathways for teams to reach international stages.
- A new hybrid qualification system for the Six Invitational, allowing teams to secure their spots through direct wins in key competitions or by accumulating SI Points across regional leagues and majors.
- The evolution of the R6 Share program for 2025, including the reveal of 18 out of 20 partner teams. The final two partners will be announced at the Six Invitational in Boston next February, adding further anticipation as we head into the new year.”
20 teams are a part of the Partner Program, including Faze, G2, Fnatic and more. There’s also an affiliate program for up to 23 orgs to get access to some revenue sharing.
Ubisoft revealed more specific details in this R6 Esports in 2025 article.
However, this did not go down well with parts of the community or some teams, including UK esports org Into the Breach:
Even the Montreal Major winners w7m Esports criticised the announcement.
“Unfortunately, some prefer to have a narrow view of what longevity and corporate commitment really mean,” they said in the below tweet.
“We hope Ubisoft realises their mistake soon. But that won’t — and never will — stop us from continuing to grow.”
Blast’s esports operations manager for Siege, said he believes the changes bring more support for Siege esports and its ecosystem:
Esports News UK reached out to Ubisoft but the publisher declined to comment.
Six Invitational 2025 approaches
With the conclusion of the Montreal Major, all eyes now turn to the Six Invitational 2025, set to take place in Boston from February 3 to 16.
This event will bring together the best teams from around the world to compete for the title of World Champion.
The Six Invitational 2025 will also be a platform for more announcements, Ubisoft said, including the reveal of the final two R6 Share Partner teams and additional details about the new competitive format for the 2025 season.
Related article: Epic.LAN to host Siege T2 EU esports finals in early 2025
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.
