Ubisoft has announced a brand new formula for the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Pro League – and all worldwide competitions for the game.
These changes cover both amateur and professional tournaments for the next two years, and will come into play from June. It means the overall Rainbow Six esports prize pool each year will exceed $1 million.
Rainbow Six Siege has enjoyed a decent first two years, and its esports scene has continued to grow especially throughout 2017.
The first Rainbow Six ESL UK & Ireland Premiership kicked off earlier this month and got off to a solid start, drawing more than 1,000 viewers during its first week.
Regarding the changes, firstly the Rainbow Six Pro League will be composed of two seasons, lasting six months each, from June to November and December to May.
Each Season will be concluded by season finales, where the eight best teams of the season – two per region (Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America) – will compete for a prize pool of $275,000.
This six month-basis format will start this June, after a season of transition lasting from March to May. This season of transition, the seventh Pro League season, will last three months, and a season finale will take place in the United States mid-May.
“These changes cover both amateur and professional tournaments for the next two years, and will come into play from June. It means the overall RB6 prize pool each year will exceed $1 million.”
Pro League Season 7 (the transition season) will run from March to May 2018, Season 8 will go from June to November 2018 and Season 9 will take place from December 2018 to May 2019.
Then there’s the Challenger League, which will have two seasons per year, starting in September and March. These will run for three months each and the Challenger League will also follow the Season 7 (transition season) format.
Another fundamental change is that each year will now feature two Majors. In addition to the Six Invitational each February, a ‘Six Major’ tournament will take place in Paris in August.
The Six Paris Major and the Six Invitational will grant $350,000 and $500,000 prize pools respectively. Both events will feature 16 teams from all over the world.
There are also Weekly Online Tournaments, including Go4s every Sunday on all platforms.
“There will also be community cups and local ladders. Several local events will also be organised throughout each year in different territories, including the UK ESL Premiership. The complete calendar will be shared soon,” Ubisoft said in a statement.
There was no other mention of any potential changes being made to the ESL Prem.
Year 2 is currently ongoing as all top-placing teams in Asia-Pacific, European, Latin American and North American regions will face off again in the second Six Invitational, which takes place February 13th to 18th 2018, in Montreal.
The Six Invitational 2018 will determine the world’s best players of Year 2 as they compete for a prize pool of $500,000 in the biggest competition to date.
Be sure to check back on Esports News UK for the latest news from the Six Invitational in February – our trusty writer Craig Robinson will be flying out and reporting live from Montreal.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
