There are definitely trends that we notice when we make these kinds of lists, and Rainbow Six Siege isn't an exception on the mousepad front: large, cloth pads are very obviously favored here.

This can be the case for a multitude of reasons, but we can take an educated guess on why this came to be the case over the past decade or so. Most professional players are playing at comparatively low eDPI values so they definitely need a large playing surface to accommodate all these large mouse swipes, and large hard pads are simply much less mobile due to the fact that they obviously take up way more space than a rolled up cloth pad. Aside from that (or as a consequence of more and more pros and competitive gamers using cloth pads) there just isn't a lot of choice if you're shopping for hard pads.

So, if the pros are to be believed you should look towards cloth pads, but that doesn't mean that you don't have options. Contrary to what you might initially think there's a great deal of variety among cloth pads, and while it's obviously impossible to rival the swiftness of a dedicated speed hard pad there are certainly plenty of options if you go for cloth, ranging from dedicated control pads to speed pads and everything in between.

We've established that there are plenty of options as far as the feeling of your playing surface goes, but it does seem as if the pros agree that one surface is better than others.

Whereas we usually see rather evenly distributed usage numbers among the most used pads this isn't the case for Rainbow Six Siege. The SteelSeries QcK+ is clearly the most used playing surface in the pro scene, and while the numbers that this product manages to put up are impressive in their own right they get even more impressive when you consider the fact that the QcK Heavy has the same surface as the QcK+.

Just under 33% of pros are using a SteelSeries pad at this point in time, making them the clear winners. Razer takes around 17% of the pie, followed by Zowie and Logitech who each account for 8% of the playing surfaces used on pro desks. The usual suspects, as you might call them, clearly take it here. Interesting fact: one analyzed pro says he doesn't use a mousepad at all.

Whether you're going to a general gaming forum or a community dedicated to hardcore competitive grinding, odds are you'll see the SteelSeries QcK line being recommended at one point or another. This is perhaps the most widely known and used line of gaming mousepads, and it didn't get there by being subpar.

The QcK+ is the largest of the regular QcK family at 450 mm x 400 mm (there's also the desk sized QcK XXL, but that one's thicker than the 2 millimeters that the regular QcKs offer) so it offers plenty of room to swipe your mouse around, and it comes with a nicely coated underside so that the pad remains in place even when swiping around like a maniac.

It's not a dedicated speed pad, nor is it a super controlling pad, offering a very nice compromise between the two and perhaps that's what makes it so popular. That, and the fact that it's available almost anywhere and in so many different versions and iterations (you see the FaZe special edition in the image) at a very fair price. If you're looking to buy your first pad or you want a nice and thin surface with a smooth 'middle of the road' sort of glide this is the one to go for.

A lot of gaming companies tend to offer at least one 'middle of the road' mousepad with a glide that's neither super fast nor extremely controlling, and this is that middle of the road pad from Logitech. In fact, this is the only sort of glide you'll get from cloth Logitech pads as they don't offer any other options, apart from different sizes of this same pad.

'Quality over quantity,' Logitech must've thought, because what you get here is definitely a great pad. The glide is smooth and lasts for a long time before you have to wash the pad and the rubber base ensures that everything stays where you put it. Combine that with a non-offensive thickness of 3 millimeters and you can see why this pad is used by a lot of professional gamers: it's a reliable, 'standard feeling' pad that's easy to take on the road and requires little to no maintenance.

The SteelSeries QcK Heavy is the second pad coming out of this range, and while it has the same surface as its thinner siblings it definitely does have a feeling of its own. That's down to the immense thickness of 6 millimeters, making it by far the bulkiest pad in this lineup.

The reason for having a pad as thick as this one is twofold: there are people who just flat out prefer the feeling of it, obviously, but as an added advantage this mousepad also has a way easier time maintaining a smooth playing surface on uneven desks when compared to thinner pads such as the regular QcK.

Some people think that the Heavy has a slower glide than regular 2 millimeter QcKs but that's (in theory) not the case, since both use the same materials. This one might feel slower due to the fact that the mouse feet can sort of 'sink in' the pad but whether or not that's a significant factor will depend on the size of your mouse feet and the amount of pressure you apply to your mouse when aiming.

Razer heavily emphasizes the fact that this pad was designed for speed and control, and this isn't some hollow marketing statement. The Gigantus allows you to execute fast and large swipes with ease while also offering a reasonable amount of friction for when you're doing smaller mouse adjustments. This makes it lean a bit more towards being a control pad than most other offerings in this article but it's definitely not as 'limiting' as a dedicated control surface.

It's also one of the thicker pads out there; with a thickness of five millimeters it's sure to cover up pretty much any inconsistency on your desk (within reasonable limits, of course) and with some nicely stitched edges and a rubber base that does a perfect job of securing the whole thing it's certainly a great option for most gamers.

The Zowie G-SR-SE has seem somewhat of a boost in popularity across all of our analyzed games in recent times, and that's for a good reason. It's a pad that offers a different experience than what some of the big brand heavy hitters offer and it has a number of other features that make it an alluring purchase if you're looking for a mouse surface.

The G-SR-SE will give you a slightly more controlled glide without sliding into 'super control' territory like that other Zowie pad, the G-SR. The overall glide seems to please a lot of people, and the amount of micro control that you get combined with the fact that it doesn't really hold you back from making big swipes makes it ideal for shooters where precision is important. Couple that with its super and consistent foam and you've got one great mousepad.

One drawback of the G-SR-SE is that it's coated, so once the glide 'goes' there's no way of getting it back.