Which Dota 2 Teams Have Visa Issues for the PGL Arlington Major?

The PGL Arlington Major is will the final Dota 2 Major of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22, but also the most valuable, with invites to The International 11 (TI11) on the line. As a result, teams in desperate need of DPC points, such as Entity, Royal Never Give Up (RNG), and Xtreme Gaming, have a lot riding on this tournament, but it appears that travel issues may be a hindrance to them. According to communication from these teams, one player from each team has been unable to clear the visa interview. Attempts were being made to re-conduct the interview, which the teams hoped would be successful.

Entity, RNG, and Xtreme Gaming may not be able to field their full rosters at the Arlington Major

After Entity’s captain Dzmitry "Fishman" Palishchuk noted a few days ago the problems the Russian players were facing in traveling to the Arlington Major, Entity’s manager Noah “Th3RealJP” Eigenheer, in a comment to dota2.ru, explained in detail the situation with the team’s position four player Vladislav "Kataomi`" Semenov.

According to dota2.ru's report, the visa applications were approved but Kataomi encountered difficulties during the interview stage. He stated that the results of the interviews were based on personal opinion rather than logic because their trainer, who is from Russia, received visa confirmation in 10 minutes while Kataomi's was denied.

Th3RealJP stated that Kataomi was denied a second time as well because they believed he would seek refuge in the United States, despite the fact that he had an invitation from the Mayor of Arlington, a letter from PGL, and a contract from Entity stating that his salary was contingent on him playing from Europe and that he would also be returned to Europe or Russia after the event.

Th3RealJP went on to say that they were able to apply for a third interview and that they were hoping for the best this time around with even stronger documentation.

According to Chinese esports website uuu9, Chinese teams RNG and Xtreme Gaming, on the other hand, have had issues with the visas of their carry players Daniel "Ghost" Chan Kok Hong and Lou "lou" Zhen, respectively.

Ghost, who was supposed to skip the Riyadh Masters 2022 in order to focus on obtaining a US visa, eventually joined the team at the event that begins on 20th July, but his participation in the Major remains uncertain.

Lou and Ding "Dy" Cong recently appeared for a visa interview for Xtreme Gaming, and while the latter was approved, Xtreme Gaming stated that Lou was rejected for no reason. He will, however, return for another round, which the team hopes he will pass.

Doing well at the Major is critical for Xtreme and RNG in terms of TI11 qualification. RNG is ranked 15th in DPC points, while Xtreme is ranked 18th. It will need to finish in the top 12 in order to receive a direct invitation to TI11. On the other side, even winning the Major will most likely not be enough for Entity, but for the five first-time Major participants, this is a crucial event to learn and gain experience before the regional qualifier.

The PGL Arlington Major takes place from 4th to 14th August.