Oceanic Nationals 2021 Stage 2 Predictions: Gamedays 1 & 2

Rainbow Six Oceanic Nationals is back for Stage 2 on June 18.

And we’re back. Just like that, Oceanic Nationals is returning to our screens tonight. The best Rainbow Six teams in ANZ will have plenty to fight for as the battle for APAC South promotion rages on in Stage 2.

A new Oceanic Nationals season means more OCN content from Snowball. We’re proud to be teaming up with Ubisoft for the fourth season running to continue covering the best ANZ has to offer in Rainbow Six.

We even assembled the best expert panel ANZ has ever seen too, but after last Stage’s horrific predictions (lots of upsets, okay?), a few of us might need to hand in our titles.

Nevertheless, to help you make sense of the Oceanic Nationals 2021 Stage 2 opening weekend action, I’ve employed some fine minds to break it down.

Let’s jump into it.


Chiefs vs Order (Friday 8pm AEST)

Prediction: Chiefs win

We got a first look at Chiefs and Order last night during APAC South, and it wasn’t pretty to say the least. Both teams got handily beaten by QConfirm and 7th Heaven respectively, and it looked like some cobwebs needed to be dusted.

The big talking point of this series is Nikoh’s proper return to OCN. After a season on the sidelines, stepping in for ItBeStyle is a tall order. It does allow for a reassignment of team duties, so we can get Speca back at his fragging best, and maybe a bit more strategic depth.

However, the OCN Stage 1 champions are a real big test to start out with, and the Chiefs will be hungry after their loss in APAC South. They were firmly outclassed on Chalet, with no one really showing up.

If that same Chiefs comes out tonight against Order, we could very well have a tight match on our hands. If the Chiefs of Stage 1 come out though, the fight is going to be a lot tougher. It’s a good litmus test for Order though as they try and break back into the top four.

Bliss vs Wildcard (Friday 10pm AEST)

Prediction: Wildcard win

It’s been a while since we’ve predicted a Wildcard win against a top four team, hey. Felt a bit weird not doing so throughout Stage 1 after losing Diesel, but now heading into Stage 2 with Milostka in his place (instead of honourable Stage 1 MVP candidate Sylix), things look up.

Milo’s debut didn’t go as planned against Invictus Gaming (ex-Giants) in APAC South, but what we did see was an exciting new Wildcard. They weren’t afraid to push the limits and play aggressive, although seeing Vincere playing anchor on defense feels like a bit of a waste.

There’s a lot of excitement around this Bliss roster though. After finally breaking their curse in Stage 1, they’ve added a new piece into their puzzle with LFO breakout star Jigsaw replacing Nazgul.

Wildcard still has a long way to go, but the firepower is now there on paper. It’ll take some time to convert, but a win against Bliss will give them plenty of confidence to take into the longer season.

Knights vs Bliss (Saturday 8pm AEST)

Prediction: Knights win

Jeez, not an easy first week for Bliss. Wildcard and Knights back to back isn’t exactly what you want to see, especially when the Knights were the only ANZ team to take a win out of APAC South this week.

The arguable number one squad in ANZ will be kicking themselves for losing their hold on the title against Chiefs in the OCN Stage 1 final. It looked like, at least on Thursday, that they put in the work in the off-season to make sure that’s only a once off. 

The Knights look so good when Hayward is on fire, and he certainly was with the 14-7 stat line. But Sageon’s round after round impact, and a cheeky bit of Flores from Dino really set the tempo against the APAC champions in Elevate.

The result is almost enough to make you wince for Bliss. If they get beaten by Wildcard on Day 1, you can’t really see them getting over the top of Knights unless they have something brewing on the side.


Oceanic Nationals Stage 2 2021 kicks off on Friday, June 18 at 7pm AEST with Roflcopter vs LFO.

You can catch the action live on the Rainbow Six Bravo Twitch channel.

Andrew Amos

After joining Snowball in mid-2018, Andrew "Ducky" Amos has fast become one of our region's best esports writers. Cutting his teeth in Oceanic Overwatch, he now covers all kinds of esports for publications globally. However, his heart still lays at home, telling the story of Aussies trying to make it big.

Andrew Amos
Andrew Amos
After joining Snowball in mid-2018, Andrew "Ducky" Amos has fast become one of our region's best esports writers. Cutting his teeth in Oceanic Overwatch, he now covers all kinds of esports for publications globally. However, his heart still lays at home, telling the story of Aussies trying to make it big.

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