FURIA 2:1 FW7M 
AULA 1:2 GOODI 
LOS 0:2 FAZE 
DPLUS 2:0 CAGV 
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Dplus KIA's 2-0 victory against CAG by VARREL last weekend saw the Brazilian lineup moving to the BLAST R6 APAC North League 2026 Stage 2 grand final, putting them one match win away from qualifying for the BLAST R6 Major Osaka.
Since the Major's location was announced, all the eyes rolled on the Cyclops; the Japanese, who are based in Osaka, could play an international event on home soil. However, nobody said it would be easy.
Throughout the years, APAC North's presence at international events has progressively gone down. This is mainly due to how APAC sub-regions work; only the best one of the three (APAC North, Asia, Oceania) can send two teams to a BLAST R6 Major. Unfortunately for Japan and South Korea, APAC North has been the worst, with Weibo Gaming and ENTERPRISE Esports stealing the show in recent events.
Which brings us to today: with APAC North only owning one BLAST R6 Major spot, competition was always going to be fierce. Although CAG by VARREL have been the favorites since the very first playday, teams like Dplus KIA or SCARZ always followed the Japanese roster closely.
Dplus KIA's victory on October 17 was a result that defied the odds. It was the Brazilians' first victory against the Cyclops since September 2025. Since then, the Japanese had beaten the Brazilians seven times in a row. The result boosted the Brazilians' hopes of being in Osaka. Simultaneously, it generated doubts around the Japanese community; the possibility of not having a Japanese team at the BLAST R6 Major Osaka became very real in just a few hours.
Surprisingly enough, this wouldn't be a first time for Japanese fans. In November 2019, the PL Season 10 Finals, celebrated in Tokoname, Japan, didn't include any Japanese team: Aerowolf and Wildcard Gaming beat PET-Nora Rengo and CYCLOPS in the PL Season 10 Asia Pacific Qualifiers. These two defeats came as a huge surprise, as the two Japanese powerhouses had represented the region at the Six Raleigh Major just four months before. As a result, iconic Japanese Rainbow Six Siege players such as Tsukasa "Merieux" Asano, Toya "Papilia" Miyazawa, or Yuta "ReyCyil" Inoue missed out on a home international event.
Out of the ten players that competed for either PET-Nora Rengo or CYCLOPS back then, Reon "Anitun" Sakai is the only one who will be involved in today's action. Wildcard's 8-6 and 7-5 wins against the Cyclops saw the Japanese being gatekept from Tokoname. Today, he will have a chance to redeem himself.
First, CAG by VARREL will play against SCARZ, who are looking to qualify for a Rainbow Six Siege international event for the first time since the Six Invitational 2024. The winner will be Japan's last hope as they will play against Dplus KIA. Only the victorious side will qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Osaka.
CAG by VARREL's Shuuhei "ShuReap" Yaguchi has been APAC North's best player in Stage 2 with a SiegeGG rating of 1.25. The Japanese has been in great form in the last few months, as he also averaged a SiegeGG rating of 1.25 at the Rainbow Six Siege Esports World Cup 2026. In Paris, ShuReap played 16 maps against teams including Team Liquid Alienware, DarkZero Esports, FNATIC, Shopify Rebellion, or LOS, among others.
In fact, despite their recent score against Dplus KIA, the Japanese have only lost two matches in Stage 2. They can definitely bounce back, especially considering they have beaten SCARZ thrice this season. However, it's worth noting that three of the five maps they played in Year 11 ended in overtime scores.
Overall, it feels that anything could happen today. Dplus KIA desperately need to qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Osaka to keep their Six Invitational 2027 hopes alive. For that to happen, they will have to crush Japan's hopes of having a team in Osaka. No matter what happens, it's going to be a day of Siege people will remember for a while.
For more information about Rainbow Six Siege and its esports scene, make sure to check out Siege.GG.