"It would be a dream come true for me to be able to represent Bangladesh on the international stage": Hasib Arman, the IGL of MercenarieZ’s Rainbow Six Siege team

Rainbow Six Siege is among the top-tier esports games in the world right now. The complex and tactical approach gameplay style makes it one of the hardest FPS competitive games.

The Rainbow Six Siege Esports scene has grown drastically and hosts multiple tournaments in many regions throughout the year. One such region is the APAC, and to qualify for it, players from various countries have to qualify by competing against teams from other countries in the region.

The closed qualifier for APAC kicks off on July 16th. MercenarieZ, one of Bangladesh’s top Rainbow Six Sieget teams, will be participating in the qualifiers.

Update:The result between Team Valiants and RV has been confirmed.Finally, the 8 teams to fight as the SA Nationals are:MercenarieZKIRA EsportsMonkey Hunters LFO (ex-UG)Valhalla EsportsExtraordinaire EsportsGamer's SyndicateRed ViperZ; andClickBait!#SANationals pic.twitter.com/3ORO2fkkmw

— SA Siege News (@SASN_GG) July 11, 2021

To talk about Rainbow Six’s esports scene in the APAC region, Sportskeeda Esports’ Amlan “M4DM4N” Roy had reached out to Hasib “HasibWantsPeace” Arman of team MercinarieZ for an exclusive interview.

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Hasib Arman of team MercinarieZ opens up about APAC and the Rainbow Six Siege and its community

Q. Let’s start by giving an introduction to our readers. Tell us a bit about yourself. Talk about your life outside gaming, what you like to do. How you have spent your journey before joining team MercenarieZ.

Hasib: Hello everyone, I am Hasib Arman also known as HasibWantsPeace from Bangladesh. I am a professional Rainbow Six Siege player for team MercenarieZ based in Bangladesh.

To talk about my life outside gaming, I am currently studying for a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree. Other than studying I really enjoy playing games a lot when I get some free time.

Q. In Rainbow Six Siege, there are various roles a player can take up. Every team member takes up these roles in order to help each other. What role do you play in the team?

Hasib: When playing Rainbow Six Siege, every player has their own way of playing the game. Well, if you ask me, I mostly play as support or flex operators in the game. Also, I’m the In-Game Leader (IGL) for my team.

Q. We know you play Rainbow Six Siege, but which game actually brought you into the shooter games genre? How did you get to know about Siege.

Hasib: Before joining Rainbow Six Siege, I used to play casual games like FIFA, or Grand Theft Auto. I had never considered playing a competitive FPS game before. Taha, my cousin, and former player of MercenarieZ, kind of forced me into it.

Q. Rainbow Six Siege had a long run and their 6th year is currently going on right now. So when did you start playing Rainbow Six Siege? What made you think this game is the one for you? Also, tell us what online games do you play other than Rainbow Six Siege?

Hasib: I started playing Siege back in 2017 with two cousins. As time went on, I made new friends and started playing competitively.

To me, Siege is not your typical 'run and gun' FPS game, it is a tactical shooter game. You can outplay your opponent by executing unexpected ideas which make this game unique. This part about Siege attracted me to get into it.

When I see a SA player fragging hard, I am like he must be a great player. But when I play /get to know about him, he doesn't talk or doesn't even care about communication, No teamplay. Why is it so common in SA? (1/2)

— Hasib.MrcZ 🇧🇩 (@HasibWantsPeace) July 13, 2021

When I’m not playing Siege, you can find me playing either FIFA, GTA, or Among us in my free time.

Q. Rainbow Six Siege didn’t have a huge esports craze in the APAC region at first, but certainly gained a lot of attention recently. How do you feel about this growth and how it will affect the esports scene in Bangladesh?

Hasib: Ubisoft officially added South Asia in May 2020 to its global circuit. To earn a spot there, the entire South Asian community started grinding for it.

Ubisoft has already hosted two regional Majors, Nationals, APAC finals, and other tournaments. There will be many more in the future.

This is a fantastic opportunity for Bangladeshi teams like ours to establish ourselves on the international stage. Our stories will be revealed as time goes on. We are really excited to see what the future holds for us and our country’s esports scene.

Q. There are many players who want to get into Rainbow Six esports, but fail to do so because of the hurdles it provides. Can you tell the reader how they can start their journey with Rainbow Six Siege? Give them a tip or two to motivate them.

Hasib: For all the new players joining recently, I have one thing to say: just keep on playing the game. Try participating in every tournament to gain experience from it.

Focus on your goal and what you want. Remember, there is a difference between wanting to win and doing what it takes to win.

Q. There are more than 50 playable operators and many maps in the game. Among them, who is your favorite operator on both the attacker and defender sides? Which map is your favorite and why?

Hasib: To be honest, I don't have a favorite operator, but I do enjoy playing Jackal in attack and smoke/mute in defense.

For the map choice, I prefer to play on the newly reworked Chalet. The reason for this is that you can play the map in a variety of ways, unlike the other maps, where you have to do the same thing over and over.

Q. This is a fun question. Rainbow Six Siege had a lot of limited-time events. Which event has been the most favorite for you?

Hasib: Operation Chimera's Outbreak event was the most enjoyable Siege event I've ever played. It was not your typical Siege because it provided a unique experience. The event featured AI enemies and functioned similarly to a co-op game. This has to be the best event Siege had in its recent past, in my opinion.

Q. There have been many players in the Rainbow Six Siege esports, with some of the famous ones being Beaulo, Pengu, Shaiiko, and others. Do you have any role models in the Rainbow Six esports community?

Hasib: If I have to say one Siege player, it has to be legendary Neskwga from Team Liquid. Over the course of six years, he has demonstrated an incredible amount of passion, energy, and consistency for the Rainbow Six Pro League. In my eyes, he is the best player to me because of these characteristics

Q. Esports is a fairly new thing in this generation and not many people are aware of it. As a result, parents have always been concerned about it when someone takes this path. Does the same apply to you or they have been supportive?

Hasib: At first, my situation was the same as other Bangladeshi families but, after winning some titles by playing Rainbow Six Siege, the scenario has changed a bit. However, they still don’t really support me in this career choice. So, I really hope our future generations will get to take this career positively.

Q. APAC Closed Qualifiers are approaching and are scheduled for July 16th onwards. How are the team's preparations going, in your opinion? What do you hope to see at the upcoming Closed Qualifiers?

Hasib: To give a full performance, our team is practicing almost daily. The main focus while practicing is our own gameplay in check. So yeah, we are really hoping to win it all and make our country proud with our success.

Q. The Closed Qualifiers will have a lot of capable teams competing. Do you feel your team will dominate this tournament and outshine everyone? How will you feel if you are chosen to represent Bangladesh on a global scale as a result of your team's success?

Hasib: We’ve already won three nationals in our region, so it is quite obvious that we are only thinking about winning this time as well. But as you said, there are some capable teams in the APAC closed qualifiers, so the competition will be a bit harder this time around.

To be honest, we are not worried about nationals that much. We look forward to playing in the next APAC playoffs.

We want to prove ourselves on the global stage and maybe attend the Mexico Major. It would be a dream come true for me to be able to represent Bangladesh on the international stage. Well, if that happens, I will fail to describe the experience with words.