PGL Major Stockholm One Step Closer to Reality as Sweden Relaxes CS:GO Player Restrictions

PGL had at last come forward to give an official update from their side about the CS:GO Major on 28^th July, when they had put forth two requirements along with deadlines for the Swedish authorities. Well, the Swedish government seems to have met the first of the two deadlines as the travel restrictions have now been relaxed for esports players. As per the official press release, the relaxation of the travel restrictions will enter into force from 23^rd Aug 2021. Despite the travel relaxations for esports athletes coming into Sweden, they would still be required to produce a negative COVID-19 result upon entry.

PGL CS:GO Major Update: Swedish government eases travel restrictions for esports players

The Swedish government always had an exception in place for players and athletes who were "taking part in or performing necessary tasks at international elite sports competitions," within Sweden.

Unfortunately, esports was not recognized as an international elite sports competition by the Swedish government. This led to a huge uproar within the CS:GO community as the Mayor of Stockholm - Anna König Jerlmyr came forward and wrote a letter to both, Minister of the Interior - Mikael Damberg and Minister of Sports - Amanda Lind, in support of hosting the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 in Sweden.

A series of events resulted in Amanda Lind inviting PGL and Valve for a meeting. After weeks of silence, PGL finally came forward to reveal the two important guarantees set by them to ensure that the event is accessible to all the players, staff, and fans, keeping a close eye on the following deadlines.

1. 23^rd August

   The first deadline is directly related to the change in Sweden's temporary entry ban restriction which will allow all the players and people supporting the event to enter the country. This amendment is supposed to be enforced by 23^rd August, according to PGL.

2. 15^th September

   This is the second deadline that affects the live audience numbers for the CS:GO Major. PGL is hoping that the indoor restrictions for this tournament will be lifted by this date and that they would be able to fill Avicii Arena to its full capacity.

The first of the two deadlines have now been met by Swedish authorities as esports has been included in the list of international elite sports competitions, allowing esports athletes to travel to Sweden.

This exception will go into affect from 23^rd August onwards. However, the players travelling into the country still need to produce a negative COVID-19 result upon entry.

Now all that remains is for the Swedish government to try and meet the second deadline, as PGL hopes that the indoor restrictions for the CS:GO Major Stockholm are lifted by 15^th September.