Two teams have apparently been denied US visas for Valve’s upcoming DotA 2 tournament, The International 2014.
Chinese team CIS-Game and Malaysian team Arrow Gaming are both reported as missing out on the visas, which could potentially mean missing out on a $10 million dollar prize pool. Bummer.
The news was originally sourced via Chinese social media platform Weibo, but was subsequently translated by a member of the LiquidDota forums. Though some members managed to secure the visa, at least five members of the CIS-Game team have been denied. They are said to be in the process of appealing the decision.
Arrow Gaming, meanwhile, has issued the following statement to OnGamers.
”With the help from the Minister our chances to receive the visa is higher. Me and Johnny received our visas. However, the other 4 were not so lucky. Valve will also provide us with a stronger letter of invitation to the embassy. So yes, we are hopeful about the second interview. We haven’t talked about what will happen if our applications were denied a second time. Valve pretty much guaranteed to help us the best they can to bring our team to Seattle.”
It’s not the first time that foreign eSports players have had trouble entering the US, but a ruling last year that recognised them as professional athletes was meant to stop incidents like this.
The DotA 2 International 2014 takes place from July 18 to 21 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. Both teams will be crossing every conceivable body part in the hope that their appeals are successful.
