[Update] BOOM Esports Skem Secures Visa For The Stockholm Major 2022

Update: It looks like BOOM Esports will be playing at full strength at the ESL One Stockholm Major 2022, after all. Skem has confirmed that everything is now "okay" with regards to the visa situation, presumably meaning that he will be able to travel to Sweden to compete at the Stockholm Major 2022. "Visa okay nice letsgo," Skem announced, earlier this morning.

Original article: Southeast Asian favorites BOOM Esports may be forced to play with a stand-in at the upcoming ESL One Stockholm Major 2022. The organization’s founder Gary “Natshuba” Ongko confirmed that BOOM Esports' position 5 player Andrei "skem" Ong has been unable to secure a visa, with the major scheduled to kick off in two days (May 12th).

Natshuba also confirmed that the other four players of BOOM Esports: Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong, Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer, Saieful "Fbz" Ilham, and Timothy John "Tims" Randrup have obtained their visas for the tournament.

Will visa issues plague ESL One Stockholm Major 2022?

This is not the first instance of visa troubles at the upcoming major. Eastern European team Mind Games will be playing with two stand-ins because of visa issues. The team’s support players’ Danil "Bignum" Shekhovtsov and Semion "CemaTheSlayer" Krivulya will miss out on the major. As a result, Andrey "Dukalis" Kuropatkin and Genadiy "Astral" Motuz from PuckChamp will be standing-in at this event.

Russian-language commentator Alexey "STORM" Tumanov has also speculated that Sébastien "Ceb" Debs may stand-in for OG in the upcoming ESL One Stockholm 2022 Major, since the team’s captain Mikhail "Misha" Agatov, is having problems with obtaining a visa to compete at Stockholm.

With Natshuba indicating that there are more “unlucky people out there,” we may see even more teams competing with stand-ins or replacements in this tournament.

It is not just players who are facing visa troubles. Dota 2 talent Mira "Ephey" Riad had earlier confirmed that she would be unable to attend the major due to the same reasons. Hopefully, these issues can be resolved before May 12 and we see teams compete at full strength in the upcoming ESL One Stockholm Major 2022.