Team Adroit has announced that Team Captain, Marvin “Boombacs” Rushton, will miss the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 Major. The four-position player, also known as Boomy, won’t attend the tournament, instead replaced by an as yet unknown stand-in. The announcement was made early Monday morning in a post on Adroit’s Twitter account.
Adroit’s team captain will miss the entire Major after visa issues halted his travel plans. (Photo courtesy Team Androit)
https://twitter.com/AdroitDota/status/1236887017104896000
The news broke under a week before the start of ESL One Los Angeles, which would have seen Boomy along with the rest of this team compete for a share of $1,000,000 and 15,000 DPC points. The squad will still compete with their captain in the ESL SEA Championship 2020, an ongoing $20,000 tournament that will see the winner invited to the ESL One Birmingham 2020 SEA Closed Qualifier.
https://twitter.com/AdroitDota/status/1236887021429248000
Visa issues are nothing new in Dota 2 or the wider esports scene. South America’s beastcoast has battled with visa issues for multiple events. Notably, last year CIS squad Team Empire found themselves denied entry to France for the MDL Disneyland Paris Major.
Recently, however, travel to the United States for esports has become increasingly difficult. US-based team Evil Geniuses experienced issues with bringing a pair of foreign nationals in to compete in their Academy team. These two players ultimately had their Sports Immigration Visa denied.
What’s more, the application process from the Philippines, where Boomy and the rest of Team Adroit reside, can be even more complicated. On top of gathering documentation, a fee, and forms, visa candidates must attend an interview at the US Embassy in Manila, which requires booking an appointment with limited time and slots. In some exceptional circumstances, Visa applications from the Philippines will also need a Letter of Invitation written by a US resident.
The visa issues now leave Team Adroit without their captain for one of the most significant events of the year. The LA Major will see the squad walk away with a minimum of $12,500 and 100 points, but realistically, the stack would have been hoping for much more.
