Team Empire upsets G2 Esports to win Rainbow 6 Raleigh Major

Against all the naysayers, Team Empire defeated G2 Esports after beating them 3-1 in an exhilarating best-of-five series to become the 2019 Six Major Raleigh Champions.

Team Empire has been at the heels of G2 Esports ever since they lost to them in Montreal at the Rainbow Six Invitational earlier in the year.

G2 Esports has been one of the most dominant teams in the scene since their debut at the Six Major Paris 2018. They have had strong showings, finishing in first for six straight tournaments. And their performance in the Raleigh Major left R6 fans floored after crushing TSM and forZe on their way to Grand Finals.

Team Empire has been equally as dominant in the Rainbow 6 scene, mostly dominating the minor tournaments on the circuit. They were seen as the underdog going into the Grand Finals, beating FaZe Clan and Team Secret. Before the Major, Empire had not succeeded in taking a map off of G2, let alone a huge international win.

The first three maps were back-and-forth, both teams trading victories with amazing clutch plays, such as Daniil “JoyStiCK” Gabov’s ace on Border.

Or Dmitry “Syther” Semenov’s amazing 2v5 4 kill retake on Kafe Dostoyevsky that left commentators in disbelief.

The whole competition was fierce, but Empire’s ability began to shine brighter than G2’s as the matches played on. The last map played was at Coastline where Team Empire would take a 7 victory streak and end the series 3-1 and redeeming themselves from their previous defeat at the Invitational.

Your #RaleighMajor 2019 champions: @team_empire! pic.twitter.com/Ti5TL7xmA9

— ESL Rainbow Six (@ESLRainbowSix) August 18, 2019

The impact of Empire’s Major victory will take some more time to settle in and truly be felt, but Empire has changed the scene after this event. And with the Raleigh Major in the books, fans can look forward to more pro Rainbow 6 Siege sometime in September. But until then, Operation ember Rise is set to release live on the Technical Test Server tomorrow at August 19.