The old Team Reciprocity roster had a fairly successful 2019, all things considered. After finishing as the top North American team at the 2019 Six Invitational, they went on to secure a third-place finish in their region during Season 9 and a second-place finish in Season 10, qualifying themselves for the Season 10 Finals in Tokoname, Japan.
An eventual joint-third finish here and a runners-up finish in the 2019 US Nationals Finals both situated the team as one of the top teams in their region before a somewhat disappointing group-stage exit at the 2020 Six Invitational and a fourth-place finish in North America during Season 11.
These results were then followed by the news that the Reciprocity organisation was putting their team up for sale as a part of large scale cutbacks caused by the "astronomical crash in the global financial markets".
As well as a loss of income for the players, this also led to fears that the players would not be invited back to the North American League, after the same issue hit the Evil Geniuses and Luminosity Gaming rosters, causing the organisations to exit and the players to lose their Pro League spots.
This, however, was not the case as the Reciprocity organisation's teams in Rainbow Six, Rocket League and Fortnite were all acquired by the new Boston based organisation of Oxygen Esports five weeks later.
As well as these three games, the organisation also has the top-ranked team in the 2018 Hearthstone season and a Magic: The Gathering lineup, both of which they acquired off of the old Team Genji lineup.
We spoke to the co-founder of Oxygen, Murph Vandervelde, about the creation of Oxygen, their move into Rainbow Six and what the future holds for players:
Firstly, can you introduce yourself and your role within Oxygen?
How did Oxygen Esports form?
What does the future of Rainbow Six look like to you?
What kind of support will your new Rainbow Six roster enjoy?
What are your goals within Rainbow Six?
Your org also picked up Reciprcoity’s Rocket League and Fortnite teams. What are your overall goals for the organization?
Can we expect any upcoming roster changes before the kick-off of the NAL?
Since joining the Oxygen organisation, the team has played in just the Gamers Without Borders charity event where they defeated eUnited 5-1, 5-2, 6-4, and donated their $150,000 winnings to the charity "Direct Relief", which "works in the U.S. and internationally to equip doctors and nurses with life-saving medical resources to care for the world's most vulnerable people".
Oxygen Esports' next game will presumably be when the US Division of the North American League kicks off in approximately a month's time, with the following roster:
Davide "FoxA" Bucci Gabriel "LaXInG" Mirelez Franklyn "VertcL" Andres Cordero Spencer "Slashug" Oliver Khalil "b1ologic" Pleas Anthony "HOP3Z" (coach) Taylor "Redeemer" Mayeur (coach)
