Ubisoft announces format for bizarre Rainbow Six: Siege Reload tournament

Ubisoft has revealed plans for a massively unique and strange Rainbow Six: Siege tournament. Known as Reload, this event features a very stylised format that involves teams challenging other teams or playing it safe in the effort of outlasting the rest in the hunt for a slice of a €480,000 prize pool.

Set to occur in Rio de Janeiro this May, between the 10th and the 18th, the tournament will have a group stage and then a playoffs stage that follows. In the group stage, each team will be handed six bullets, which allow them to challenge another team to a match, where the winner reclaims their bullet and the opponents, and the loser loses theirs. The idea here is that each team's standing is determined by the number of bullets in their reserve and this is important as it determines not only qualification to the playoffs that follow, but also seeding and potential bye rounds for the latter stages of the group phase. More aggressive teams with more bullets have a better standing, and vice-versa.

The group stage will even feature Wildcards that massively switch up how each game plays, such as the Survivor card, which "if a Team starts a round with just 1 Bullet and wins, they gain an extra Bullet. This Card activates automatically in any round and can be used an unlimited number of times."

In the playoffs, bullets are irrelevant as instead a single-elimination bracket is used where losers are instantly knocked out of the tournament.

The group stage will run from May 10-14, and the playoffs will run from May 16-18, with the finale set for May 18. Tickets for the tournament are still available to snag.