ALGM 2:0 EDG 
The BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City is just around the corner. Before the action begins in Utah, we have put together an article including our five favorites to win the tournament.
Without further ado, these are our five favorites to win the BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City:
G2 Esports
G2 Esports is a well-established gaming powerhouse, there's no doubt about that. Not only that, but the samurai have got an extense legacy in Rainbow Six Siege filled with silverware, including two hammers, a Six Major win, various PL Finals, and other continental and regional successes. Given G2 Esports' numbers and past appearances, combined with the caliber of their players, the expectations around the samurai are always high.
In Salt Lake City, G2 Esports will have a different type of expectation: for the first time in a long while, G2 Esports are big favorites. This is due to two factors mainly: the lack of international powerhouses and the arrival of Stéphane "Shaiiko" Lebleu and Benjamin "Benjamaster" Dereli.
Similar to last year, following the addition of eventual Rookie of the Season Zack "Stompn" Lamb, G2 Esports entered a honeymoon stage as they kicked off the season by winning the Europe and MENA League 2025 Stage 1 and reaching the Esports World Cup 2025 grand final. After their performance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the team's overall results took a nosedive; a Top 6 at the BLAST R6 Major Munich preceeded an underwhelming Top 12 at the Six Invitational 2026.
This time, G2 Esports must prove that they have the consistency required to lift trophies. So far, in Year 11, the samurai have showed they have got the individual talent. Mechanically, G2 Esports are way above average. It's up to the players to finally lock in and secure G2 Esports' first international piece of silverware in over three years.
FaZe Clan
G2 Esports' favoritism in Salt Lake City is obviously shared with FaZe Clan, who have won the last two Six Invitational editions—the first roster to do so.
If the Brazilians show themselves on Salt Lake City as they have in the most recent international competitions, they should be favorites. However, the team hasn't been really consistent in South America's Kickoff, as they ended up qualifying the hard way: a 1-2 defeat against Fluxo W7M put them in a position where they had to beat their archenemies Team Liquid Alienware to reach the first international event of the season. Eventually, they did so despite losing the first map of the series.
In addition to that, FaZe Clan had an unexpected hero, their IGL Victor "VITAKING" Augusto. The Brazilian averaged a SiegeGG rating of 1.26, being extremely important in the team's victory against Team Liquid Alienware with a SiegeGG rating of 1.42 and three clutches.
FURIA
FURIA is possibly one of the best surprises this season. Name by name, FURIA's new project was logically seen as exceptionally strong, as it included the highly-experienced Gustavo "HerdsZ" Herdina, Roberto "Loira" Camargo, Gabriel "volpz" Fernandes, and Lucas "DiasLucas" Dias, as well as the talented Caetano "Bokzera" Molina.
Whilst expectations were high given the quality of these players, the team coached by the former MIBR player Tassus "reduct" Issi wasn't expected to win South America's Kickoff—especially after having put together players from so many different teams. Against all of the odds, the players adapted well and the roster has been delivering strong performances since day one.
So far, FURIA's only defeat came against INTZ as the Brazilians fell to the former Challenger Series squad after reaching overtime on Kafe Dostoyevsky. Other than that, the Black Panthers secured two wins against Fluxo W7M and Ninjas in Pyjamas, as well as beating LOUD once.
The recent South American champions should be contenders to win in Salt Lake City; after all, the team includes players that have already won international championships or, at least, produced deep international runs. The only flaw this lineup may have is the lack of game time together; it will be interesting to see how FURIA can do in their first international event as a roster.
Team Falcons
Team Falcons' core haven't missed out on a single BLAST R6 Major grand final since the start of Year 9. The Europeans reached the grand finals played in Manchester, Montreal, and Munich; however, they failed to win all. Despite their final results, their consistency in the format used at Majors is a fact to keep in mind.
Whilst under normal circumstances Team Falcons should be seen as the second or even first favorite for the championship, the departure of Stéphane "Shaiiko" Lebleu and the change to Marc "jume" Steinmann has yet to completely work for Team Falcons. The roster was highly unconsistent in Europe and MENA's Kickoff and ended up finishing in fourth place after a surprising 0-2 defeat against Twisted Minds.
Although taking part in Salt Lake City's play-in may benefit Team Falcons, the truth is that they will likely have to face Shopify Rebellion in a BO3 series to reach the Swiss Stage. A win could drastically increase their hopes and confidence; but a lose may do exactly the opposite effect. The line here is very thin.
DarkZero Esports
Last but not least, we have gone for DarkZero Esports as North America's favorites to win the BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City—very close to Wildcard, who have been exceptionally strong on the international stage since the start of Year 10.
The purple roster had a brilliant start to North America's Kickoff after a flawless group stage run, where they only lost eleven rounds. However, a thrilling 1-2 defeat against Wildcard saw them falling to the Lower Bracket, where they narrowly beat Spacestation Gaming. Eventually, they improved their seed in Salt Lake City with a 2-1 victory against Shopify Rebellion.
Whilst their final results in North America created some doubts around their potential performance in Salt Lake City, the former Spacestation core is expected to deliver a solid performance on home soil—where they won the Six Charlotte Major four years ago.
For more information about Rainbow Six Siege and its esports scene, make sure to check out Siege.GG.