Unlucky Friday: Rave US Visas Delayed; Asked to Disembark From Korean Flight

It has been an unlucky series of events for the Philippine Dota 2 team, Rave.

Korea-based professional Dota 2 team Rave will not be able to compete in the joinDOTA Major League Gaming (MLG) Pro League at the MLG.tv Arena in Columbus, Ohio this April 10 to 12.

According to Hoffman Sacobo, a member of the management team for Rave, Ryo “ryOyr-” Hasegawa, Mark “Cast” Pilar and Djardel “Chrissy” Mampusti were not able to acquire Visas to United States in time for the MLG Pro League event.

In a post on their Facebook page, Sacobo explained that their request for an expedited process of their Visas were denied by the US embassy. The earliest appointment given to their players was scheduled on April 17, a full five days after the MLG event in Columbus, Ohio.

Barred from flight

In an even stranger turn of events, the team was asked to disembark from their return flight to Incheon, Korea this morning by immigration officials who demanded that the team produce exit pass documents meant for Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW).

In an interview, Sacobo told eSports Inquirer that ryOyr-, Cast and Chrissy boarded their return flight to Incheon to resume training.

Once boarded however, the three were asked to disembark from the plane as immigration demanded that they produce their Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC).

The OEC, sometimes also called the “exit pass”, is required to be presented when exiting the Philippines as proof that the holder is a bonafide OFW.

Sacobo explained however that the document did not apply to their team members as they were traveling and working in Korea under an E6 Visa, otherwise known as an Entertainer’s Visa.

“This is the first time that this has happened to our team. They’ve been going back and forth between Korea and the Philippines on three separate occasions and this is the first time that they were asked to produce such papers,” he told eSports Inquirer.

“We processed the necessary requirements with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The issue should be sorted out soon,” he added.

But the mix-up at the country’s port of exit has disrupted the training activities of the team.

In a post on his own Facebook page, Jio “Jeyo” Madayag asked the public to share the plight of the team on their social networks to spread awareness.

Khatie Santos, a member of the management team for Rave, told eSports Inquirer that the three players were returning to Korea as they needed to compete in two online qualifers: ESL and Redbull.

“Our players secured round-trip tickets, as they wanted to compete as a full-team for these two tournaments. After the two qualifiers, they were scheduled to return to the country for their Visa interview,” she told eSports Inquirer.

“It is very unfortunate because their decision to come back here to properly process their documentation was paid out of their own pockets,”Santos added. “Now, their P48,000 round-trip tickets have been wasted.”

Asked whether their travel expenses will be compensated by the immigration bureau, Santos explained that only their travel taxes will be refunded.

“Regarding compensation for our flight, the immigration officials told them that they should negotiate the issue with AirAsia.”

eSports Inquirer reached out to POEA for a statement but were unable to get a response as of press time.

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