Just days before the biggest tournament on the Rainbow Six Siege calendar was set to begin, Ubisoft has revealed that it is postponing the 2021 Six Invitational.
Set to be held as an international LAN event in Paris, Ubisoft now says that due to a recent ruling from the French government that closed the country’s borders to non-EU travellers, it can no longer host the event as planned. “We have now learned that LAN esports events are no longer possible in today’s context, despite the strict sanitary measures put in place,” Ubisoft’s announcement says.
Over the last couple of days, there have been rumblings in the pro Siege community around whether the Six Invitational would take place. It’s now evident that these rumblings were well-founded. It was always very ambitious on Ubisoft’s part to host this year’s event in Paris, considering the French government’s frequent shifting of travel and local lockdown rules to manage the coronavirus pandemic. Ubisoft does not clarify in its announcement if it will still attempt to host the event in Paris when it finds a new date. The tournament is traditionally held in Montreal, Canada, with 2021 the first year to see it hosted anywhere else.
While fans are understandably disappointed, the postponement could be good news for one team, Wildcard Gaming, whose Australian roster was ruled out of the competition after the Australian government ruled it could not leave the country and travel to France due to the pandemic. Depending on when the tournament is reorganised and what the global situation is like, Wildcard could end up appearing at SI 2021 after all.
An important update on the #SixInvitational 2021 following the closure of the French borders to all non-EU travelers.
We thank you all for your immense support and understanding.
— Rainbow Six Esports (@R6esports) February 4, 2021
20 teams (19 without Wildcard) were billed to descend on Paris for the Six Invitational this year, coming from as far afield as Brazil, Japan, and Singapore.