EHOME Visas Approved, Na’Vi and Vega Squadron Seeks Help From Washington Senator

Chen ‘Cty‘ Tianyu of EHOME finally got his visa approved and will be able to participate in The International 5 (TI5) with the rest of his teammates. Valve was able to take action, after the invitation letter got disregarded by the Shanghai Embassy, and talked with the embassy regarding the matter.

Everyone from @EHOMECN just had their visas approved!!!

— Orrin Xu (@LGDnite) July 14, 2015

 However things are looking bleak for two of the European Teams qualified for the main event of TI5 as one of their members still haven’t got their visa approval. Akbar ‘SoNNeikO‘ Butaev, support player of Team Na’Vi got his visa denied for the third time along with Semion ‘CemaTheSlayer‘ Krivulya of Vega Squadron and with only a few weeks left before the TI5 main event on August 3-8, 2015. Valve is looking into the matter and is seeking help from Washington Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington).

We want to see @natusvincere and @VegaSquadron at The International! Come on US embassy officers, its fucking #TI5! — Vega Squadron (@VegaSquadron) July 13, 2015

Even with the US government recognizing  professional eSports players as an athlete, making them eligible to get a P1 (Athlete’s Visa) visa, players are still finding some difficulties in getting their visas approved since there is still no concrete definition to what a professional eSports player is or what grounds are set for a player to be called ‘professional’. Players from League of Legends (LoL) are also experiencing the same dilemmas during overseas tournaments.

There is still no action announced as to what will happen if SoNNeikO‘s visa get denied for the fourth time, it is either replace him with a stand-in or Na’Vi will not be able to participate in the tournament. But Valve has high hopes for the issue to be resolved.

Don't miss out on the latest news and information.

For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.