The international Rainbow Six Siege tournament Six Invitational 2026 ran in Paris, France, from February 2 to 15. FaZe Clan closed the event with a historic second consecutive championship. Twenty teams that had performed strongly over the year competed for the Sledgehammer, the symbol of the annual world title. For its tenth edition, the event looked back on its legacy under the theme “HERE TO MAKE HISTORY.”
This report covers the three days the author watched in person and explains why the event left him eager to launch Siege and queue for a match. If the game is installed, queue up as you read; if not, start the download.
A stage of real flowers and a distinctly French design
The final three days took place at Adidas Arena in Paris. The stage filled the arena, with the Sledgehammer trophy at its center. The event brought Paris into its design: real flowers were planted on the stage, while the broadcast and on-screen interface used fonts that evoked France.
The competition’s stage and central trophy turned the arena floor into the centerpiece of the event.
Event advertising appeared across Paris Metro stations, including major hubs such as Gare du Nord.
Paris is known for its Metro. Stations shaped by more than a century of history carried extensive tournament advertising. Promotion reached beyond the area around the arena to locations across the city, including the major hub Gare du Nord.
There was also a pop-up shop in central Paris. It sold event merchandise and presented an exhibition looking back at the history of Siege and the Six Invitational.
The arena concourse offered a hands-on preview of Rainbow Six Mobile, due for global release on February 23. Its defuser case was adorable.
The concourse also had photo spots and an Xbox Game Pass booth, sponsor of the event’s 1v1 tournament. Visitors who played by the same rules as the 1v1 competition could receive a code for an in-game bundle, such as a set of skins. Apparently the code was available only there. Nice.
The opening ceremony carried the weight of ten years
The first day with a live audience was February 13, which also featured an opening ceremony. An orchestra and choir performed the Six Invitational theme. Video footage revisited the legends who had won previous editions, like a reel of memories, making the weight of Siege’s history tangible.
Past Six Invitational winning rosters were also displayed in the arena. Looking up at them could make you emotional. The 2019 roster, including players such as PENGU and Fabian, who defined an era, was especially hard to look at without tearing up.
The venue exhibition revisited the competition’s past alongside its opening ceremony.
FaZe Clan makes history as Team Secret pushes it to the limit
On February 15, the final day, another opening ceremony celebrated the grand final. Watching the players enter to an orchestra still gave me chills. With the added weight of ten years behind it, this year’s walkout felt almost solemn.
Then came the final match: EMEA’s Team Secret against reigning champion FaZe Clan. Team Secret included French players, so the local crowd gave them a huge response and reacted openly to each play. European crowds bring plenty of booing, too. Even a camera shot of a FaZe fan could draw boos. The way spectators treated their rivalry as part of the entertainment felt very different from Japan. The familiar FPS “ACE” chant was there as well: whenever a player had a chance at a multikill, the audience called for an ace, or an all-kill. When one actually landed, the arena erupted.
FaZe Clan secured the repeat title after the grand final went the distance.
FaZe, who had reached the final after winning the upper bracket, took the first two maps quickly. It looked as if the series might end early. But Team Secret took the third map, Fortress, 11–9 after repeated overtime rounds. Jeme produced two incredible 1v3 clutches, making for a feverish finish.
At most international Siege events, overtime is won by the first team to take seven rounds. Six Invitational instead uses a special rule: play continues without a fixed limit until one team leads by two rounds. It has become a signature feature of this tournament.
On the fourth map, Border, Team Secret reached match point first at 6–3. The crowd seemed to brace for a fifth map, but FaZe mounted a furious comeback and sent the game into another seemingly endless overtime. FaZe narrowly pulled through.
It was the first time the same roster had won the event in consecutive years. The extraordinary overtime made it a tournament to remember.
Siege really is good
I want to share a little about myself here. I have been a passionate Siege fan since launch. For several years, my routine was to get home from school and immediately play Siege. Over time, changes in life and in the games my friends were playing drew me away. I never quit completely; I still played now and then after updates.
I was invited to cover the event, so I watched closely from day one. It had been a long time since I watched Siege seriously. And what happened? It was so much fun. The high level of play brought one baffling angle, firefight and mind game after another.
There are rounds like that. The current meta has more quiet stretches. Put positively, that gives the game’s strategy room to show. Pro players picking apart opponents through impossibly narrow angles make for great viewing. The downside is that there can be little action until the middle of a round. But when an angle opened early comes into play later, it feels like a story paying off. Other FPS games rarely offer this kind of setup and payoff. It is a Siege-specific pleasure: the taste of tactical shooting you can get only from Siege.
Thanks to Tomozo
My personal special thanks go to commentator Tomozo Yamano. He has kept posting “Man Siege” on his YouTube channel almost every week as a dedicated voice in the Siege community. The videos briefly recap what happened in the competitive scene that week, and during the event he put out daily updates. Catching up on Man Siege helped me prepare for the tournament and understand the current meta and competitive environment. I want to take this chance to thank him.
He does this every day. Nothing but respect.
Japan is next. Let’s play Siege again
I have rambled on pretty casually, but the conclusion is simple: Siege is fun. Those three days reminded me of that. You can open and reinforce the map as you like, then take the areas you want to attack or defend, step by step—or in a completely unexpected order. The joy of this ultimate territory-control game is still here in its eleventh year, and it is the one-of-a-kind reason I sometimes want to come back to Siege.
An international tournament where people can rediscover that fun is coming to Japan in November 2026. It will be the first time in about seven years, since November 2019, that this excitement returns to Japan. I hope everyone watches: people who love Siege now, people who used to love it, and people who are about to discover it. Game*Spark’s report on the Japan Major announcement looks at the market and the competition’s return.
That is not all. Year 11 Season 1, “Operation Silent Hunt,” begins on March 3, with Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid joining as an operator. Game*Spark interviewed Ubisoft and Konami about the collaboration. Season 2 is set to bring a Dokkaebi rework and a new map. Season 3 is planned to add an anti-shield operator codenamed Fireworks. There is plenty to look forward to.
Everyone, come back to Siege!!!!
