As a result of the sudden nature of the situation, RNG came to an agreement with the famous retired Dota 2 player and two-time champion of The International Champion, ana. He would join the team for the period of the Major to cover in for Ghost at position one.

Ana, who has been absent from the competitive scene ever since he announced his retirement in June 2021, has recently given hints about returning to the professional scene, following his most recent participation with Team Liquid in place of Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen at the Riyadh Masters 2022.

At the Riyadh Masters, Team Liquid may not have had the best performance, but ana performed impressively in several of the team’s games, exhibiting his mastery of heroes like Spectre and Juggernaut. Although ana is a skilled player who can compete and even excel against other elite teams, RNG’s lack of Ghost is a significant loss for the team, especially considering that they have finally emerged from the shadow of other Chinese teams by winning the Spring Tour regional league.

There is a lot of pressure on RNG’s team to put up a great performance because this is the organization’s first Major competition in the past two years. RNG is presently positioned 15th on the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) with a total of 738.42 points, so this event is of considerable importance to them. Obtaining a high position could move the team above the DPC point threshold, allowing them to receive a direct invite in October to The International 2022.

According to reports, the current threshold to clear in order to receive a direct invite to The International is 1296 points; hence, the team will need to place in the top four in the event in order to accumulate 590 points for themselves. This criterion, on the other hand, is subject to change as the event progresses.

RNG is not the only team with visa challenges, although the team went arm’s length to make sure no shortcoming will affect players in this regard, their plight failed. Nonetheless, Ghost was the only player with visa problems; hence, there are no additional stand-ins on the RNG roster.

Other teams had more than just a player denied visa, Fnatic will be using three substitute players, OG will be playing without its captain and coach, Mikhail “Misha” Agatov and Evgenii “Chuvash” Makarov, on the other hand, Xtreme Gaming, have completely withdrawn from the Major.

The PGL Major Arlington will begin on August 4 and continue through August 8 with the group stage. After that, the playoffs will run from August 9 through August 14. There will be a total prize pool of $500,000 and 4,570 Pro Circuit points to be competed for by 17 different teams.

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The esports organization made the announcement via its Twitter page. The post read, “It’s with heavy hearts that we will attend another event without them. Misha and Chu have been denied their visas to the US and won’t be able to attend the Major. They will work with the team remotely. We’ll do everything in our power to make them proud once again.”

Both Chu and Misha are Russian nationals, and due to the current conflict in Ukraine, citizens from both countries are experiencing issues obtaining US visas. This is the second time in a row this issue has arisen, and to make up for the lack, Sebastian “Ceb” Debs will rejoin the team’s lineup, hoping to lead them to another victory.

Ceb previously played with OG in the ESL One Stockholm 2022 campaign, which the team won. His play at the time enabled the team to earn its fifth Major win despite the event being several teammates’ first time at a major LAN event. At the time, he also replaced Misha, who had visa issues. GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 also saw the absence of the team’s captain, who was replaced by Chuvash.

The head of OG’s esports, Mike Schwartz, revealed that the organization had already made plans and gotten the visas for the other teammates before the competition; however, Misha and Chu’s arrangements could not be completed.

The OG head explained, “Although we completed and received both B and P visa approvals for the entire team in a timely manner, we were unable to secure the required appointments to finalize the process with Misha and Chu.”

Schwartz continued, “Unfortunately, this was an issue facing many of the teams that are having stand-ins at the event due to the current immigration climate and USCIS backlog. We are grateful, however, that Ceb can once again step into the roster and hopefully guide the team once more to a Major victory.”

Whether or not OG wins the Arlington Major, the team is already qualified to carry on to The International 2022. By October, they will head to Singapore due to their position as one of the favorites from Europe.

OG is not the only team that has faced issues preparing for the Arlington event. Earlier, Fnatic announced that three of their players, Marc “Raven” Fausto, Jaunuel “Jaunuel” Arcilla, and Armel “Armel” Tabios, would not be joining them for the tournament due to their inability to secure US visas in time.

The team is now down to two players, Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong and Djardeo “DJ” Mampusti. Fnatic will reportedly participate with three stand-ins. This could deal a huge blow to the team’s hopes of giving an outstanding performance at the Major because they would most likely be unable to practice with their three new teammates before then.

Xtreme Gaming is another team affected by an incomplete US visa process. Unlike others who brought in stand-ins, the team decided to entirely withdraw from the competition after a player had their application declined several times. Some more roster changes could still be in the works before August 4, when the Major will start.

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