The highlight match of the second matchday of the GSA League in Rainbow Six Siege can surely compete with a good thriller for fans. The German newcomer team FACT Gaming has, against all odds, dismantled the professional team Rogue – with a strong comeback and a surprising ending.
This is how the second matchday went: On the evening of May 21, the second matchday of the GSA League took place. The event started at 18:00 with the pre-show “The Weekly Breach” and subsequently, hourly matches began from 19:00. Here are the results:
- DIVIZON 7:0 mYinsantiy
- Rogue 3:7 FACT Gaming
- WarKidz 4:7 Team Secret
- Turtle eSport 3:7 G2 Esports
While the games of G2 or Team Secret did not provide surprising results, both newcomers DIVIZON and FACT showed remarkable performances. Both teams have just played their way into the GSA League through the qualifiers.
Particularly the match FACT vs. Rogue is worth a closer look.
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FACT vs Rogue – Like a good thriller
Why was the match so exciting? Rogue is one of the best teams in Europe and even competes internationally in the Pro League. The team even managed to win the Pro League Season 11 in Europe, just like the United States Nationals 2018.
FACT, on the other hand, is a newcomer team with virtually no experience in the pro scene of Rainbow Six. Aside from player BZ, none of the members have significant experience in LAN tournaments.
Nevertheless, they managed to have a perfect round with 7:0 against Turtle eSport on the first matchday. By then, it had become clear what potential FACT has. Still, for many fans, Rogue was the favorite – who ultimately did not prevail.
A weak start – Was Turtle just a stroke of luck?
This is how the start of the match went: In the first rounds on the map Border, FACT Gaming had considerable problems in defense. Rogue was able to win the first three rounds with relatively little effort, showing no signs of weakness.
FACT did not perform badly in these rounds and often landed important kills, especially at the beginning, but they could never extend their advantage.
At 3:0, many spectators were sure that FACT would not win this game. The first match against Turtle eSport was probably just a stroke of luck: professionals who encountered strong newcomers unprepared and lost against them.
Apparently, the players from FACT just needed the first three rounds to warm up. Then came the grand comeback.
“Guys, don’t be afraid, we’re just going to push them down”
After the third round, FACT’s playstyle changed significantly. Instead of passively allowing their opponents to pick them off one by one, they now fought together and took the fight to Rogue with strong team play.
The communication visibly improved, Rogue fell further behind, and in every round, they were repeatedly dismantled by the aspiring professionals from FACT. Particularly helpful were strong plays from both players Gisela_Blume, who was named the best player by colleagues at GameStar, and StrkR.
Both notably dismantled the opposing operators almost single-handedly:
In an interview with player Daya after the match, it was said for team motivation: “Guys, don’t be afraid, we’re just going to push them down.”
FACT Gaming knows Rogue quite well, and their player Korey even coached the team for a while – accordingly, they knew it would be a challenge.
Aggressive play leads to a winning streak
After equalizing at 3:3, the roles then switched: FACT on the attack, Rogue on the defense. Here FACT really turned up the heat and pressured Rogue more and more with aggressive tactics.
Instead of jeopardizing themselves with risky rush tactics, the players communicated their abilities and executed them strongly. This was particularly evident in the seventh round when it came to opening a room:
- one player uses his drone to scout a room where an opponent is located
- StrkR as Ash prepares for a shot through a reinforced wall
- KeTo as Maverick opens a small hole at the behest of the drone owner
- StrkR eliminates the opponent in the room just a moment later
This style of teamwork finally led FACT to steadily win from a seemingly losing position of 3:0, eventually taking a 3:6 lead. Anyone who plays Rainbow themselves should definitely pay attention to such plays.
Exciting end – Yet another defeat?
After six consecutive victories, FACT Gaming had already secured a point in the standings. In the following decisive round came yet another surprise: Despite the winning streak, FACT lost round 11.
Despite the support the German newcomers had earned in the chat and among fans, doubts arose again. Perhaps the momentum was gone, and Rogue would turn the game around after all?
However, the respective eleventh round was just a brief slump, because in round 12, FACT was finally able to secure the win, albeit narrowly.
Rogue clearly found a strategy at the end that worked against FACT – unfortunately, it was too late for them to build on it.
German newcomer takes the lead in the standings
With the victory over Rogue, FACT is now in first place in the GSA League standings with 10 points, followed by the second qualifier DIVIZON, who share a spot with the favorite G2 Esports. They are currently the strongest of all teams in the GSA League.
FACT Gaming, the German team that hardly anyone knew before the GSA League, is leading after day 2 of the league. If this continues, they have a good chance of a top 3 placement – or even the win.
The biggest opponents from now on are likely to be DIVIZON and G2. The match against G2 will take place on matchday 4 (June 5), and against DIVIZON on matchday 5 (June 12). If FACT wins these matches, or at least one of them, they should be able to secure second place without any contest.
If you want to follow FACT’s future journey, visit our overview of the GSA League with match times, standings, and highlights from all matchdays. There you will find all further information about the big esports event.
GameStar and MeinMMO are media partners of this year’s league for Rainbow Six: Siege in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We will regularly cover the league, matches, and teams on our websites and channels in the coming weeks and months.
