eUnited Rainbow Six Continues to Grow During First Season in ESL Pro League

By: Zachary Lange 

Building from the ground up, eUnited Rainbow Six has found its way through the introductory split of the Rainbow Six Siege Pro League.

Through the first three matches of competition for both team and organization, eUnited sits at 1-2 and have already pulled out one victory in the season opener against Tempo Storm by a 7-4 final. In a contested match against TSM, who is currently at the top of the league standings, the team fell in defeat by a 7-3 margin.

Most importantly at this stage in the team’s development is the need to find a voice among the quintet in the starting lineup, which has played as a unit for approximately six weeks.

“I would like to see the team grow in maintaining calm communication in the match and to be better at adapting on the defensive side of the ball,” said entry fragger Xander “Yeti” Lawson.

While Yeti maintained that the team was “mentally ready” for the second week of matches, which began with the team falling to Luminosity by a final of 7-4, the growing process is still underway for the squad which is to be expected. Most of the current participating roster have not played in the top-tier pro league until this season, and Leo “Alphama” Robine has yet to be inserted into the starting five after awaiting visa clearance and time to practice with the team.

Still, each match presents a learning opportunity for flex Roman “Forrest” Breaux and his squad. He pointed to his team’s emphasis on breaking bad habits, communicating as a team more efficiently and strengthening defensive alignments as examples of an over-arching process that has seen the team mesh together.

“I think our team right now is in a good spot,” Forrest said. “We are usually learning from scrims and from other pro teams on how we can fix a strategy or take a different approach on a bomb site. Currently, we are a strong attacking team in a defense meta but lack the defense synergy in some areas and maps.”

It’s a long way to go before the end of the season for eUnited. Each team in the league of eight plays one another twice, with each meeting being a best-of-one format. A total of 12 rounds can be played and matches can end in a 6-6 draw.

Of the 12 matches played before the fourth matchday on Jan. 15, two have resulted in a tie. It’s an outcome that, while may not be expected, isn’t exactly a rare scenario.

Matches for the first half of the season will conclude on Jan. 27 with eUnited playing each opponent once. After a break in February for the Rainbow Six Invitational, the eight teams with reconvene in late March for the conclusion of the overall season.

It’s uncertain when Alphama will be inserted into the starting lineup, but it is expected to happen at some point during the current season. The French support player has seen success competing in the European region and is looking forward to his abilities translating over to the North American scene.

His hardest adjustment wasn’t in game, but rather being able to pick up on an American English that isn’t quite native to the 19-year-old. After roughly a month of picking up on new communication queues, he’s been invested in sharing his insight and experiences with his team to take the next step up in performance and consistency.

During practice, Alphama has looked at the little things, such as team rotation and when to be aggressive to smooth out the fine details that can make all the difference in the round.

Once the strategies take hold and the team begins to settle in and find that identity, the Frenchman sees a high ceiling and the potential to grow.

“There is a lot to be done here (in North America), and I feel like there is always a place for a young team to reach the heights of pro league if you take the right steps,” Alphama said.

Coming off of a defeat to LG, the first step back on the right foot is a match against DarkZero Esports. A win would bring eUnited back to an even 2-2 on the season, while DZ (2-1) is looking at the top of the table with a win bringing them to 3-1.

Fans can tune in to the official Rainbow Six Twitch channel at 8:30 p.m. for the match tonight, Jan. 15. Also, weekly schedules of eUnited’s opponents and broadcast times will be released across all social media platforms each weekend.