DarkZero Esports and XSET are now guaranteed top-eight finishes in the NAL in Stage 3 thanks to the overtime end of the Parabellum vs. Beastcoast match.
In addition to that, despite Oxygen Esports‘ stage being weaker than anticipated, the North American lineup has also secured a berth at the Six Invitational 2023 in February of next year.
Due to these and other outcomes, XSET and DarkZero now have a total of 115 SI points and 22 5SI points, respectively, guaranteeing them a top-16 finish in the global standings and a spot in the Six Invitational 2023.
XSET & DarkZero – The Journey So Far
With these extra points, DarkZero now has 1050 points, compared to 960 for XSET. This comes after DZ won the Charlotte Major and XSET finished in the playoffs at the previous two Six Majors.
This represents a significant shift in the organization's prospects for XSET, which was demoted from the North American League at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Since then, they have added two rookie players and a new squad with a Brazilian majority, becoming one of the first teams to earn a spot in the 2023 world championship. The risk appears to have paid off.
This is more of a victory for Brazilian coach Matheus “Budega” Figueiredo than for anybody else, despite the fact that his assertion that this new XSET team would restore NA's dominance was widely ridiculed at the time.
DarkZero has only missed the Berlin Major since the start of 2019, making this the tenth global tournament out of the previous 11 that they have qualified for.
At SI 2023, Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski of DZ will attempt to become the first person to win the Siege three times, passing previous winners Fabian, Pengu, Goga, Joonas, and Bosco. His previous victories were in 2017 and 2020, thus if the pattern continues, he will likely triumph again in 2023.
At the 2023 Six Invitational, these two will now be participating with Astralis, Oxygen Esports, and w7m esports, until more teams get qualified. Due to missing out on the Six Major, both of these teams will have four months and a transfer window to be ready for the following global championship.
Oxygen Esports’ Journey So Far
As a result of their victory over Astralis on the last NAL play day, they moved up to seventh position and earned 140 Six Invitational Points. These increase the 785 they received from competing in the semi-final of the Charlotte Major and finishing last in the group stage of the Berlin Major to a total of 925.
They have gained a spot at the annual Rainbow Six global championship tournament alongside Astralis and w7m esports since only 15 other teams can surpass this number.
Prior to this, Oxygen only missed the Six Mexico Major while attending seven of the previous eight international competitions. They reached their pinnacle during this period by losing in the semifinals of the Charlotte Major and the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals.
The squad decided to switch Gabriel “LaXInG” Mirelez out for Jacob “Sweater” Bravico from beastcoast in August, which resulted in a lot of early losses. After suffering five straight defeats in Stage 3, the team has now won four straight matches against beastcoast, Soniqs, DarkZero Esports, and now Astralis, finishing the NAL season in seventh position, just two points behind Mirage in fourth.
With Mirage being Mitch “Dream” Malson's former team before joining Oxygen, their victory also guaranteed Mirage an appearance against Astralis at the Jönköping Major.
