LATAM’s historic start and NiP’s surprising loss headline first day of Rainbow Six Copenhagen Major

With the Rainbow Six Copenhagen Major starting today, a lot of attention shifted to some of the smaller regions in the Rainbow Six esports circuit. While the newly separated regions of Asia, Japan, and Korea all entered the global stage, it was the LATAM representatives who made the biggest splash.

Previously no Mexican or Argentinian majority lineup had beaten any professional team outside of their region since October 2021. Now with LATAM being offered two direct qualification spots to the Six Major, we finally got to see them on a global stage for the first time in Rainbow Six esports history today.

The representatives in question were Six Karma, a Mexican majority roster with two Argentinian players, and REVEN ECLUB, a British, French, and American team that had moved to Mexico specifically to compete in the LATAM League. Both of these teams defied expectations with very strong early victories. 

REVEN ECLUB faced Japan’s NORTHEPTION to open the tournament. Despite including one of Japan’s most exciting new players, Nina, NORTHEPTION were unable to perform as they fell apart while moving onto the attack on Oregon. Five round losses in a row gave the game to the British-majority LATAM League team in a 7-3 scoreline.

Two hours later, Six Karma played what was a much more difficult opponent on paper, Ninjas in Pyjamas. NiP’s core roster previously won the Six Invitational in 2021 and were runners-up in 2020 as well as at the Rainbow Six Sweden Major. They are arguably Brazil’s most successful team and a massive obstacle in Six Karma’s way. Nevertheless, on Club House another 7-3 result went LATAM’s way to end an 18-month dry spell for the region against Brazil. 

This meant day one ended with both LATAM League rosters winning their games and now being a single map away from the playoff stage of the tournament. REVEN ECLUB will face Soniqs on Wednesday, April 26, at 6am CT, while Six Karma faces Spacestation Gaming, another Six Invitational-winning organization, an hour later. Should either team lose, they will rematch today’s opponents in the lower bracket final. 

While good news for LATAM fans, it was unexpected for many Brazilian viewers who are used to their teams easily dispatching LATAM opponents. In a post-game interview after NiP’s subsequent victory over Elevate, Gabriel “pino” Fernandes commended Six Karma stating they “evolved a lot with the new lineup” and put their loss down to a lack of confidence due to the best-of-one map format. 

Ninjas in Pyjamas will next face either Spacestation Gaming or Six Karma in the lower bracket final in another best-of-three, as they may have a chance to avenge their defeat. 

The Rainbow Six Copenhagen Major will resume tomorrow, April 25, at 6am CDT with w7m esports vs. Team Bliss as Brazil’s second and Oceania’s only representative enter the competition.