BOOM Esports players have all secured visas for their journey to the United States (US) to compete in the PGL Arlington Major, the final Major of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22. Dota 2 manager Zac Alfon of the Southeast Asian (SEA) squad stated that all seven members including coach Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung, and himself, would be coming Arlington. While BOOM has been confirmed, the other two SEA teams which qualified, Talon Esports and Fnatic, have apparently been experiencing visa issues.
In reality, PGL just stated that due to complications with securing US visas for its players, Fnatic will be allowed to compete in the Arlington Major with three replacements.
BOOM Esports has received visas for all five of its Dota 2 players to compete in the PGL Arlington Major.
Aside from Alfon, BOOM Esports general manager Marzarian Sahita said that all of the organization’s players had secured visas for the PGL Arlington Major after a two-month procedure. Furthermore, he requested recommendations for a cameraman in Dallas/Texas to serve as a replacement for the team’s own videographer, who was the sole one denied the visa.
As Alfon had previously stated in Twitter, Mushi and Saieful “Fbz” Ilham were the first to receive visas for BOOM Esports, followed by Timothy “Tims” Randrup, Rolen “skem” Ong and himself. Erin “Yopaj” Ferrer & Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong were the eventual winners.
Due to visa concerns, Fnatic will most probably play with three stand-ins there at PGL Arlington Major.
PGL confirmed on July 26th that Fnatic would be permitted to use three stand-ins there at Major. Pao Bago, Team Director of Fnatic Dota 2, thanked PGL for allowing the team to participate in the competition. As a result, the teams are unlikely to lose DPC points for utilising substitutes.
While the identity of the players who have been allowed to use stand-ins have not been revealed, it is probable that Armel “Armel” Tabios, Marc “Raven” Fausto and Jaunuel “Jaunuel” Arcilla are one of those who have been denied a US visa. Only Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong & Djardel “DJ” Mampusti have US visas, according to a recent Bago tweet.
Furthermore, Fnatic’s position five player Jaunuel tweeted on July 25th that it was his “visa day,” but then afterwards tweeted that it was the saddest day of his life.
What is Talon Esports’ visa situation?
Meanwhile, Alfon shared details on Talon Esports’ visa status in a tweet about July 25th. Worawit “Q” Mekchai of Talon Esports had his visas denied yet again, according to him.
The Arlington Major is a vital tournament for all three SEA teams, as Talon, Fnatic, & BOOM Esports all have a chance to win a direct entry to The International 11 (TI11) based on their performances.
While BOOM and Fnatic are likely to need a top eight finish to qualify for TI11, Talon will need to go all the way and win the Major to have a shot.
The PGL Arlington Major occurs from August 4th to 14th.