Rainbow Six, also known as R6, is a tactical round-based first-person shooter game released in December 2015. Since then, the game has only gained popularity, drawing similarities to other popular games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and more recently, Valorant. The game requires much more coordination and teamplay than your normal tactical shooter, with each round starting with three minutes on the clock. One team is attacking, as their goal is to plant the bomb while the opposition defends its ground. Sides switch after six rounds, with the first team to seven rounds winning the match.
Heading into their second-to-last game, Clark University’s Rainbow Six Siege team was looking to cement their spot in the playoffs. They were set to face off against Murray State Blue in week six of action–here’s how the standings looked heading into the contest:
With Buena Vista facing off against the Hastings Broncos and University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK) defeating SIUE Black earlier in the week by forfeit, this match was a must-win for Clark’s top 3 hopes. Their only loss of the season came at the hands of BVU, while they defeated UNK in a three-map brawl just last week.
Clark chose Club House with their map pick, while Murray State countered with Bank. If the match were to go to a third and deciding game, it would be played on Chalet.
After a swift and successful first-round attack by Clark, Murray State responded by winning a 3v5 situation to even the score at one. Rounds are traded back and forth, with Murray State clutching a 1v2 in the sixth round, leveling the score at 3-3 heading into halftime.
Finding themselves down 5-4, Clark was in a near must-win situation as they were trying to disallow match point. Nick ‘CU.Later’ Panetta led the team in the all-important round, picking up a quadra kill en route to the round victory.
After another clean round, Clark gained the first match point of the map. Despite the momentum, Murray State was able to get valuable picks at the start of the round, eventually forcing overtime on Club House.
In the first round overtime, Silas ‘Cheese’ Palmer found himself in a 1v2 clutch situation, in which he delivered. His heroics carried into the next and ultimately round, in which Clark surgically defeated Murray State in a coordinated attack.
Panetta led Clark’s effort with a game-high 19 kills, while Zack ‘Rated’ Garzella clocked in with ten kills himself. After a nail-biting first map, Murray State should be more comfortable heading onto Bank, their map pick.
They were not.
Clark Red began the map on defense, immediately asserting their dominance against the Racers, taking five of the six rounds before halftime. While Murray State was able to take the first round after side-switch, Clark quickly answered to bring the score to 6-2, as they would have four straight match points to put the game away.
They would only need one, as Clark clutched up in another 1v2 situation, this time with Jasper ‘Cream’ Louden playing hero. While the first map caused some worry, the Cougars stayed together and composed, finishing off Murray State in two maps (8-6, 7-2).
This crucial victory allowed them to keep pace with both UNK and Buena Vista, as each team in the Navigators division play their last match the week after next. Here’s what the standings look like after six weeks:
The three schools have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, as they are on a collision course to meet during the NECC playoffs.
Clark’s next and final regular season match is against SIUE Black on Tuesday, November 8th at 6 P.M. Buena Vista faces off against Defiance at 8 P.M. on that same day, while UNK will meet Coe College in their last contest.
If you want to watch the full replay of the match, NECC streamed the whole thing! You can find it here.
We’ll keep you posted on the exciting action from Clark’s premier Rainbow Six team.
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