Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Image via Team Empire

Team Empire on red-hot day one of SI groups: ‘At home we play with 60-90 ping, it’s hard to play against 9 ping players’

Can Team Empire keep this pace for the rest of SI?

Team Empire surprised fans and analysts on the first day of the Six Invitational. The infamous all-Russian squad went 3-0, defeating title favorites Team Liquid and BDS in the process.

Recommended Videos

Danila “dan” Dontsov said the colossal ping difference was a big “key” to their early success.

“The most important key is the ping difference. At home we play with 60-90 ping, it’s hard to play against 9 ping players,” said dan.

Dan also praised the play of Danil “JoyStiCK” Gabov. JoySTiCK scored the highest SiegeGG Rating out of all the Group A players on the first playday, and led the group in Entry +/- with +6.

“JoySTiCK has a good form right now, so we are ready to continue like that,” said dan.

Team Empire has always been a confident team, but JoySTiCK said that in all-online play, they lost a bit of confidence despite being an “experienced team.” Historically, Empire has been a brute force team: They run their strategies and play their game, exactly the same way each round, and dare you to stop it.

Team Empire appears to have wound back the clock in some ways. While they had portions of 2020 where they excelled, particularly in the November EU Mini-Major they won, they haven’t been as dominant as they were during 2019. That year, they soared to a Raleigh Major title and was runner-up at SI 2019. JoySTiCK’s individual play was a large part of those deep tournament runs and titles.

Both dan and JoySTiCK called the more aggressive meta as another reason for their early success.

“Right now it’s a more aggressive meta, so you can push the site earlier, or breach something earlier, do everything faster. I think it’s all about the meta,” said JoySTiCK.

While neither want to make hard predictions about their expectations for the tournament, it’s easy to see that Team Empire as a force to be reckoned with. The level playing field of LAN compared to a turbulent online environment and putting the “20 second meta” in their rearview mirror have turned the hands of time backwards for the Russian squad.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Hunter Cooke
Hunter Cooke
Investigative Unit. Rainbow Six Siege, VALORANT.