DarkZero claims Rainbow Six Charlotte Major trophy

DarkZero topped Astralis to claim the trophy at the latest Rainbow Six Major. The Charlotte Major was one of the most exciting events for the game in quite a while, bringing a live audience back to Rainbow Six for the first time in years.

We witnessed an action packed event where North America dominated most groups and playoffs matches.

DarkZero comes out swinging

R6 Charlotte Major ended with DarkZero besting Astralis in the final, for the first time this season. This is DZ’s first international trophy, an achievement long time in the making.

Mere days ago, nobody would have put DZ as the favorites to win the event. They topped a lackluster group stage versus G2, w7m and Heroic, where every match seemed like a coin-toss. Come Playoffs, they beat Team oNe and Liquid in the Brasilian part of the bracket to book their final versus Astralis.

We were treated to a full blown LAN final where both teams went hard, but ultimately DZ claimed Bank handily to win it all.

DarkZero is now firmly in the lead in the Global Standings with 600 points ahead of regional contenders Astralis and Oxygen.

Visa Issues at the Charlotte Major

The R6 Charlotte Major Invitational featured sixteen teams in all, but some were having some big issues prior to the event. Team oNe, W7m, and FURIA all unable to get into the United States, had to settle for playing online once again. Playing from the Ubisoft Broadcast Studio in Mexico City, might have swayed the outcome of this Major in more than a few matches. Team Elevate also dropped out of the Six Major due to Visa issues days before the event started.

A lot of players and fans have raised questions about the competitive integrity of the game in the Rainbow Six Charlotte Invitational. It’s hard to argue that the teams playing online were not at a disadvantage. Even if everything was perfect in terms of technical setup, the lack of a cheering audience is a huge determent to performance. With a level playing field, Groups might not have gone the way they have. More importantly, the first Playoffs series between DZ and oNe eSports might have gone in a whole different direction if all five oNe players were present.

This is not throwing shade at DarkZero, and how amazing were against Liquid and Astralis, there are just plenty of “what-if” scenarios to be looked at. I truly hope the next Major fields the entire roster of teams in an LAN environment.