Fnatic to Reportedly Play With Timado and Other TSM Players at the Arlington Major
Due to visa issues for three of Fnatic's Dota 2 players – midlaner Armel "Armel" Tabios, carry player Marc "Raven" Fausto, and position five player Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla – the team has been granted permission to compete with three substitutes at the upcoming PGL Arlington Major. While the names of the replacements have not been officially announced yet, Entity's Dzmitry "Fishman" Palishchuk stated in a remark for cybersports.ru that TSM's carry player Enzo "Timado" O'Connor will fill in for Fnatic. Furthermore, Fishman stated that the other two Fnatic stand-ins will also be TSM players.
Three TSM players, including Timado to reportedly fill in for Fnatic at the PGL Arlington Major
Unfortunately, after many attempts, Fnatic was unable to get United States (US) visas for three of its players, prompting PGL to allow it to field three replacements. The two players on Fnatic who hold visas to the US are Djardel "DJ" Mampusti and Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong.
Fishman’s own squad is in need of a stand-in for the Major as carry player Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko was not able to obtain a US visa. Fishman stated that they were contemplating Timado as a substitute carry, but he will be playing for Fnatic alongside two of his teammates.
Since Fnatic requires a midlaner, a carry player, and a position five player, TSM's midlaner Jonathan "Bryle" Guia and position five player Kim "DuBu" Doo-young will most likely step in for Fnatic along with Timado.
SabeRLight- will stand in for Entity at the Arlington Major
Meanwhile, Fishman confirmed speculations that TSM's offlaner Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek will compete as Entity's stand-in carry in the PGL Arlington Major. He stated that they would try to get Pure to the playoffs by applying for a visa at the embassy again, but Entity will almost certainly play the entire event with SabeRLight-.
“We'll play with SabeRLighT-. We will also talk to Vanya [Pure] and maybe try to do another interview at the embassy, so that he will arrive in time for the playoffs. But with 90% probability we'll play the whole tournament with SabeRLighT- on carry. With SabeRLighT- we didn't train with him, and we still have quals (qualifiers) at ESL One Malaysia ahead of us, it looks like we'll only have 1-2 days to play with him in scrims.”
In addition to approaching Timado, Fishman stated that they looked at other choices but were unable to get those players to compete with Entity.
“[Were there other options?] There was Timado, but he will play for Fnatic with his two teammates. We had another list of players [for the stand-in role], but someone was not let go by the organization, and someone just ignored us.”
So far, three teams - Talon Esports, Entity, and Fnatic - will participate in the Major with stand-ins. The PGL Arlington Major takes place from 4th to 14th August.
