Six Invitational 2026: North America LCQ Grand Final Preview

Six Invitational 2026: North America LCQ Grand Final is at the final three stage with everything on the line. Paris awaits the winner, and with just two series left to go, North America will soon join Europe and MENA in locking in its full roster of sides heading to Paris in February. DarkZero will be the Grand Final boss, with Cloud9 and Oxygen Esports set to battle it out in the Upper Bracket Final just before seeing who will join DarkZero in the Grand Final.

DarkZero had a very strong run in the Upper Bracket to secure its spot, taking down STANDBY, the ex-Aelix roster, and Oxygen Esports to secure its spot. DarkZero, who recently acquired NRG, will be the favourites, and this run could be the perfect start to that new relationship. For now, they will continue as DarkZero, but if they make it to Paris, we could see the debut of the NRG name. Before that, however, they have to win against either Cloud9 or take down Oxygen Esports once again.

Six Invitational 2026: North America LCQ Grand Final Preview

DarkZero

It could well be Zero Day for Europe and MENA, and the North American region, as DarkZero is joined by Project Zero as Grand Final representatives for its respective regions. DarkZero had a great start to the Upper Bracket, taking down STANDBY (2-1) and later the ex-Aelix roster (2-0). When it got to the Upper Bracket Final, they would win again, taking down Oxygen Esports (2-1) to secure the spot in the Grand Final. Confidence will be high, though Oxygen Esports would be the much harder side for them to beat of the two possible final opponents.

That said, DarkZero has a strong recent record against Oxygen Esports, losing just once in a Best-of-One back in late 2025. As for Cloud9, they have beaten them twice in 2025 in Bo1 matches, so they’ll be feeling very confident. They will also have played fewer games than either of the other two Grand Final sides, which should serve them well from a “fitness” POV.

GRAND FINALS LOCKED 🔒

One more for SI. We’ll see you tomorrow for the grand finale. pic.twitter.com/to4Phxe1VI

— DarkZero (@DarkZeroGG) January 11, 2026

Oxygen Esports

Oxygen Esports was the first side to lock in the Lower Bracket Final spot, having lost to DarkZero in the Upper Bracket Final. They have a strong recent record against Cloud9, having won twice and lost once. Crucially, they swept them 2-0 in the Upper Bracket already, putting a lot of pressure on Cloud9 when it comes to the Lower Bracket Final. If Oxygen Esports can win that, they will have a chance against DarkZero, but they’ll need to perform as they did in the first two maps of the series against DarkZero where they were very competitive.

Cloud9

It’s a tricky situation for Cloud9. They were thrown into the Lower Bracket by Oxygen Esports already, but managed to beat JJ and Co (former ENVY) before taking down STANDBY and JJ and Co. once again in the Lower Bracket. As mentioned earlier, Cloud9’s record against Oxygen Esports is not the best, but this gives them another chance at a Best-of-Three, so it remains to be seen if we see a stronger performance this time around.

Regardless, a spot in the Grand Final awaits the winner, and then just one more series win separates them from a spot in Paris in a month.