The Rainbow Six Siege eSports circuit has abandoned the team that formerly belonged to eUnited, to the outrage of just about everyone. Rainbow Six Siege is one of Ubisoft's most prominent eSports titles. Back in September, the game cemented that reputation with the formation of the Rainbow Six Siege World Cup, a global competition bringing in eSports athletes from 45 different regions around the world.
The eSports scene is proving just as cutthroat and competitive as the world of physical sports, if not more so. Back in October, for instance, prominent eSports company eUnited, known among other things for its prominent win in the Call of Duty World Championships last year, dropped its Rainbow Six Siege lineup entirely and left the competition. The team had had a poor showing in the 2020 season, winning only two of the ten games in the North American League. While this was enough to keep the team out of relegation, it caused eUnited to rethink its commitment to the competition, which ultimately led to the company pulling out of the league entirely.
eUnited's departure from the circuit is terrible news for the team it had fielded, as Ubisoft announced on Tuesday. The game developer clarified that, under the rules of the Rainbow Six Circuit, roster spots belong not to the team that's competing but to the organization that owns it. Since eUnited is gone, the team is no longer eligible to compete. This places the team at last place in its division, bumping up Tempo Storm, which eUnited's team had defeated to secure its position. This questionable roster decision has enraged a lot of fans, including prominent pro gamer and internet personality Anne Munition, who points out how baldly preposterous it is that the team doesn't get to keep the spot it worked for just because the people sponsoring it backed out. Even more bizarre, Tempo Storm doesn't have an org like eUnited, and is playing independent. It makes very little sense that the former eUnited team can't do the same. No matter where one looks, fans seem to be echoing Munition's statement.
eSports doesn't tend to get taken seriously outside of the gaming community, but it's a major industry, and it's growing fast. More and more companies are looking to get in on the industry, like SEGA, who's making it the focus of its new Virtua Fighter game. This is far more than just a hobby for a lot of people, and this team losing its spot in the league is devastating news.
Fans have a right to be confused and distraught by this ruling. It disrupts the entire structure of the league, and puts good, hardworking players out of work for no real reason. This feels for the most part like business getting in the way of the game, and that's something no one wants to see. Hopefully these bereft Rainbow Six Siege players can find another way to take part in the sport they love, org or no org.
Source: Ubisoft, Anne Munition