BLAST confirms Legacy to replace BESTIA at Austin Major despite CEO pleas

BLAST has confirmed that Legacy will be replacing BESTIA at the upcoming BLAST.tv Austin Major after the Argentinian team failed to obtain visas in time for the tournament organizer’s deadline.

The news comes despite pleas from BESTIA CEO Alejandro “PapoMC” Lococo for BLAST to extend the deadline in exceptional circumstances, who took to X to share his frustration at the situation. The Argentinian BESTIA squad fought their way through the South American MRQs, qualifying for the BLAST.tv Austin Major at the final opportunity.

In his post on X, PapoMC said:

“I’ve just received confirmation from people who are giving their all to help us that we’ll have visas for Lucho and Tomi by Monday. At the same time, we received an email from @BLASTtv saying we’d be replaced by Legacy, whom we easily beat in the MRQ final, and that they’d announce it in a few minutes. I’m asking everyone to make one last effort. Help me stop this injustice, and next week, Bestia will be representing Argentina at the Major.”

Prior to BLAST’s official confirmation, BESTIA had confirmed that the visas had eventually been confirmed after great difficulty, although it wasn’t enough for the TO to change its stance on the previously confirmed deadline.

OFICIAL: VISAS CONFIRMADAS EL LUNES, SOLO FALTA APROBACIÓN DE @BLASTtv y ARGENTINA 🇦🇷 ESTÁ EN EL MAJOR #ArgentinaAlMundial https://t.co/lZse27KIDQ

— BESTIA (@bestia_corp) May 21, 2025

The news is a financial blow to BESTIA. It’s no secret that the sticker money from reaching a CS Major is quite a windfall for teams and players alike, which is why this situation will be equally frustrating for the Argentinian team.

Counter-Strike Majors are no strangers to visa issues. Notably, 9 Pandas were replaced by GamerLegion at the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, while plenty of discussion is happening in the community surrounding the current difficulty of obtaining visas in North America.