WePlay AniMajor Chinese Teams Finally Head Back Home

The Chinese teams that competed at the WePlay AniMajor - PSG.LGD, Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, and Team Aster - have finally returned home after spending two additional weeks in Kyiv, Ukraine. WePlay Esports, the organizer behind the Major, took to Reddit to detail what the hindrances were regarding their travel and how they were finally resolved. Earlier reports by WePlay Esports said that they had arranged exclusive return flights for these four Chinese teams, but the organizer now explained that subsequent changes in Chinese travel regulations had rendered the option inaccessible. However, with the “efforts of Chinese Dota fans,” PSG.LGD, Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, and Team Aster were able to finally book return tickets, WePlay said.

Background on the travel issues of the WePlay AniMajor Chinese teams

As a result of changes in the European airspace in late May 2021, the four Chinese teams had their return tickets invalidated one week before WePlay Major kicked off in Kyiv. WePlay Esports soon announced a private return flight for the teams, allowing them to easily arrive and be part of the Major.

Everything seemed well and PSG.LGD went on to win the Major, but reports then surfaced that the Chinese teams were unable to return home, resulting in questions about the organization of the private flight.

PSG.LGD, Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, and Team Aster return to China two weeks after WePlay AniMajor’s conclusion

WePlay Esports reports now that all four teams - PSG.LGD, Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, and Team Aster - have returned to China. Concerning the private return flights, the organizer informed that the flights were set up, however, the Chinese government introduced a new set of travel rules while the tournament was underway, which meant the teams were unable to return using this method of travel.

While efforts were being made to find alternatives following this, the teams stayed in a hotel in Kyiv, WePlay said. Afterward, they proposed that the four Chinese teams stay in Kyiv for the next one and a half months, and then head straight for Stockholm, Sweden to compete at TI10. There were difficulties in getting Schengen visas for Chinese citizens who were outside their country, so this proposal was dropped.

As it turned out, hosting TI10 in Sweden also had its own issues as reported by Valve.

In the end, the organizer said that with the help from Chinese fans, the teams had finally been able to book return flights, and currently, all four had safely reached back home.

An alleged statement from Invictus Gaming's manager, expressing his thanks, was also attached in this Reddit post.

“The organizer [WePlay] is responsible for all travel expenses. In this case, the organizer did everything possible to help us return home, but to no avail, although the team only needed to find return tickets. Thank you Lisa for your help in purchasing all the tickets. She promised us that she did not receive any personal benefit from this ticket purchase. Nowadays plane tickets are very limited during special times and different agencies and channels will definitely create price differentials. It wasn't easy to go back, but we got all six tickets in one go within a short time after we made the flight request, which allowed us to spend the last few days in Kyiv quite at ease. The community has worked hard to get the Chinese players back as soon as possible and hopefully no one will hate others if you don't know the full story. I also sincerely thank the fans who supported us, thank you! CN DOTA!”

Having begun on June 2, 2021, the WePlay AniMajor had crowned PSG.LGD as champions with a thumping 3-0 win over Evil Geniuses in the grand final on June 13.