BDS Esports came into the Rainbow Six Siege Six Invitational 2021 as one of a rare few teams considered a true favorite.
At SI 2020, they came in fourth and were the highest-placed EU team at the event. During EUL, they remained on top of the region, earning at least a second-place finish in every “Mini-Major” and regular EUL Stage they played. As such, the mechanically brilliant all-French team is a popular pick to lift the hammer on May 23.
“We know that we are one of the favorites, a lot of people are saying that, but I don’t think it puts any added pressure on us,” Bryan “Elemzje” Tebessi said. “We are here to play our game and to make all the fans proud.”
Through the first day of play at SI 2021, BDS are playing like a favorite. Their sole loss is to Team Empire, who finished the first day 3-0 and are playing like a favorite themselves. BDS survived a scare from the strat-heavy DarkZero and thrashed FURIA 7-4.
BDS have yet to play some of the strong Brazilian teams in their group, like Team Liquid and FaZe Clan, in particular. Elemzje and Loïc “BriD” Chongthep complemented the region and mentioned that LATAM is arguably the strongest region as a whole in the tournament.
The perception of BDS to the untrained eye is that it’s a team built on mechanical talent and not too much else. But both BriD and Elemzje said their teamwork is crucial to getting their players in the right spots and no one on the team cares about personal glory.
“If I make 20 kills but we lose, I don’t want that… I don’t care about the [individual] performance,” Elemzje said.
BDS will get their shot at some of Brazil’s best on May 13. First, they’ll have to fight through EU regional rival G2, then they’ll take on FaZe and Team oNe in back-to-back matches.
