Ubisoft has revealed everything coming to the 2026 Rainbow Six Siege (R6) Europe and MENA League (EML) Challenger circuit, offering a €75,000 (~$87,000/£65,460) prize pool.
Aspiring esports players will compete across official and partnered tournaments to earn circuit points, which are required to reach the advanced stages of the Challenger Finals and have a shot at earning Regional League promotion.
According to the blog post, Saudi eLeague teams will be allowed to play in the EML Challenger circuit this year to earn points.
Official Tournaments
Similar to 2025, there will be three primary tournaments in the 2026 R6 EML Challenger League, each offering €20,000 (~$23,200/£17,450) in winnings. These include the R6 North Rainbow Rumble, Central Combine, and South Breach.
The first tournament, R6 North Rainbow Rumble, will run from March 18th to May 3rd. There will be three open qualifiers taking place from March 18th to 19th, March 25th to 26th, and April 1st to 2nd. R6 Teams will earn points based on their end placement in each qualifier, with the top 12 highest-scoring teams progressing to the main event.
The 12 qualified teams will then be divided into two groups of six and will compete in a round-robin format from April 11th to 26th. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs, which will unfold through a double-elimination bracket from May 1st to 3rd.
All matches will be best-of-three, except for the Grand Final, which will be best-of-five.
The R6 North Rainbow Rumble champion will receive €10,000 (~$11,600/£8,720), along with 120 circuit points. All games will be broadcast on the official R6 Twitch channel.
Central Combine will take place later from June to July, with South Breach being the final primary tournament, running from September to November.
Additionally, the Saudi Esports Federation will host a dedicated tournament later this year, open to all EU andMENA teams, offering its winner the final spot in the Challenger Finals 2027.
R6 EML Challenger Circuit Partner Tournaments
Ubisoft also revealed that partner tournaments run by third-party organisers will be integrated into the EML Challenger Circuit, offering circuit points to participating teams.
Applications to become a partnered tournament is currently open, where successful applicants will receive additional support from Ubisoft. It is important to note that events must take place between March and October, be held on PC, and abide by the secondary circuit rulebook.
There are currently two partnered tournaments confirmed to be part of the 2026 circuit: Gamescom LAN and Gamers Assembly.
Gamescom is a three-day long gaming convention featuring competitive tournaments, casual gaming, trading card games, and more. The Gamescom LAN will take place from March 20th to 22nd, in Cologne, Germany, offering a €3,000 prize pool.
Gamers Assembly is an annual LAN gaming party hosting an R6 tournament in Poitiers, France. The tournament is scheduled for April 4th and 5th, featuring 40 teams competing for a €5,400 prize pool.
