It’s a big week of Rainbow Six in Australia, with plenty going on in APAC South and Oceanic Nationals. Let’s focus on the latter as the race to playoffs continues to heat up on Gameday 5 and we once again ask: Who can actually stop Bliss?
There’s one big talking point to be had leading into this week: The APAC South teams will likely be knackered. They would have played officials on July 1, 2, 6, and 8 before 10. That’s five games in nine days.
This could give the likes of Bliss and LFO, who have games against the international-focused “top four”, a chance to get some points. Sure, there’s match readiness, but if the last stage taught us anything, doing 3+ officials in a week is a struggle.
To help me break down this week’s games, I’ve once again got the expert panel whispering their holy gospel into my column.
- Brandon “Raven” Langiano: OCN & APAC South caster
- Michael “Guzz” Gurrie: OCN & APAC South caster
- Jake “Zenox” Brander: OCN & APAC South caster
- Rob “Manic” Munday: OCN & APAC South caster
- James “Devmarta” Stewart: OCN & APAC South caster
- Alex “Skye” McCallum: Caster and observer
- Andrew “Ducky” Amos: Snowball Esports journalist
One more thing: Don’t get caught out. The games are on Saturday this week, not Friday. Now, let’s jump into this week’s action.
RoflcopterGG vs Rhythm (Saturday 7pm AEST)
Prediction: Roflcopter win
against Order, but it wasn’t an easy one, pushing the series to overtime and only managing to take two points against Order (helped by a bit of confusion regarding defusers… again).
However, now with two wins under their belt — including one against Stage 1 champions Chiefs — Rhythm could be Roflcopter’s ticket back into playoffs contention. Three points here could see them end the week as high as third, while just two will be enough to overtake Wildcard.
Rhythm, while showing promise, lacks the structure every other team in OCN has. It’s highlighted constantly on broadcast, but their drone economy and intel game really leaves a lot to be desired, and puts pressure on the squad to back their gun skill.
So far, that’s entirely backfired, and unless they’ve cooked up some strategies to fight back against the electric Roflcopter, it’s hard to see them snaking away with even a point.
Chiefs vs Wildcard (Saturday 8pm AEST)
Prediction: Chiefs win
This is an interesting match to follow this week in OCN, if only for the dynamic it brings for the two teams between APAC South and the domestic league. With Chiefs and Wildcard playing each other on July 15 (5 days after their OCN game) in the bigger international competition, questions about strat hiding come out.
You’ve also got Vinnie on Twitter saying he’s in a bit of a slump right now (stats wise, that rings true somewhat), however it doesn’t entirely tell the story of how Wildcard are a squad still struggling to find their identity without Diesel.
They’re still two really strong teams, and with Wildcard already on the cusp of falling out of the playoffs race, there’s plenty of pride at stake too. Missing playoffs two stages in a row would be devastating for Wildcard, even if it’s “just” in OCN.
Chiefs should have the momentum to take out Wildcard, especially after what Vast said in our interview this week, however it should be a close game.
Bliss vs Order (Saturday 9pm AEST)
Prediction: Bliss win
Well, this could go either way. Bliss have looked totally unstoppable in OCN so far this stage, keeping a clean regulation record of 4-0 — no overtimes. It’s certainly allowed them to rack up the points, and left the chasing pack in the dust.
Order is one of those squads in the mix right behind Bliss, however Order has been struggling with consistency issues across APAC South and OCN. They’ve had fights not fall their way, and then seemingly lose composure for a string of rounds that has squandered them points. The latest misplay ultimately cost them the win against Roflcopter.
Bliss, on the other hand, has been practically faultless. They have the depth of the APAC South teams, and Jigsaw’s addition has only really bolstered their top four status in Oceania (Alexa, how do I fit six teams into a group of four?) with a bit of fragging prowess.
Bliss should be able to take the win over Order — especially considering by the time they face, Order would have played two APAC South games in the last four days (and hardly had a break in a fortnight). However, will they drop a point? Maybe, especially if the Order that thrashed Chiefs in APAC South comes out to play.
Knights vs LFO (Saturday 10pm AEST)
Prediction: Knights win
Unlike last week’s final game thriller, this week’s sign-off will likely be a quick affair.
Yes, despite all the fear mongering about the APAC South schedule, the Knights should be able to net a win against LFO without too much hassle. Since their Week 1 Roflcopter scalp, the orgless squad have struggled, hitting a new low against Wildcard last week.
Whether it’s a map pool thing (they looked clean on Kafe, but iffy on everything else), or just a missing spark in the strat book, it should be elementary for Knights — a top three APAC team — to beat LFO.
However, it’s late at night. It’ll be at the end of a long week. If LFO can win their ones, force Knights to be at the tippy top of their gunplay, and win a few close rounds, an overtime point could help them squeeze into playoffs at the very end (if results go their way).
Oceanic Nationals returns this Saturday (not Friday), July 10 at 7pm AEST with Roflcopter taking on Rhythm.
You can catch the action live on the Rainbow Six Bravo Twitch channel.
