The NAL's first play day this week will feature a lot of games between clubs who are not particularly close to one another in the rankings. The biggest difference will be between league leaders Soniqs and a faltering Oxygen Esports, with a difference of 11 points.

On the second day, most things will remain the same, with the exception of the game between XSET and Spacestation Gaming, which will be decided by a single point. But by the time this game begins, XSET might have already earned a spot in the Six Invitational 2023 by defeating Astralis and securing at least eighth place in the standings.

Despite the differences, though, there are only five points separating second from ninth place, so things may be very different by Wednesday night. At the conclusion of Stage 2, it seemed unimaginable to think that Mirage would be able to secure a spot at the following Six Major by finishing a very easy week (on paper) with six points.

However, this week's game between DarkZero Esports and TSM FTX will be the one to watch.

The Rivalry So Far

Since the start of the Pro League's Season 10 and TSM's introduction to the Rainbow Six Siege esports scene, both teams have faced off frequently. Since then, TSM has won 7 of the games, while DarkZero Esports has won 10.

DarkZero have defeated the reigning world champions in every match since June 2021, despite TSM presently being in second place with one point more than their opponents. Here is a look at how they have fought since 2021.

Despite having a four-game losing run versus DarkZero Esports, TSM's most recent two defeats have occurred in their lowest condition since October 2019. TSM may be able to halt the current trend with the arrival of Nick “Snake” Janis and Keegan “Gasher” Slovensky.

The Goals For 2023

On play day six of last week, DarkZero Esports appeared poised to qualify for the Six Invitational, but they were shocked when they fell 3-7 to Mirage.

They still have a chance to advance this week even if they fall short against TSM because Oxygen Esports will need to win their game versus Soniqs by at least one point. However, DarkZero can still qualify for SI 2023 quite easily even if Oxygen does that.

All they would have to do is make sure their performance against TSM FTX or the following day versus Oxygen matches Oxygen's against Soniqs. By doing this, they will finish no lower than eighth in NAL Stage 3, beyond the reach of Oyxgen in ninth.

DZ will receive 115 more SI Points in addition to the 600 they already have from winning the Charlotte Major and the 225 from finishing fifth in Stage 2 of the NAL by guaranteeing at least eighth place. Only 15 teams at most may overtake them in the standings with 940 SI Points.

Even if the qualification appears inevitable, the current global champions TSM will be eager to prevent it from happening while they are in charge, assuming they have any control over the situation.