Valorant esports EMEA made an announcement today, regarding the restrictions surrounding Russian and Ukrainian players’. They confirmed that due to travel restrictions and sanctions, Russian players will not be able to travel to Iceland for the first International LAN of 2022 – VCT Masters 1 Reykjavik.
To travel to Iceland, teams and TOs need to secure Visas so the players can travel from their respective countries to Iceland. But due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multiple sanctions have been imposed on Russia and the players have to face the brunt of this when it comes to travel.
FunPlus Phoenix, the winners of VCT Challengers 1 EMEA, who qualified for VCT Masters Reykjavik will not be attending the international LAN as a result of these sanctions.
FPX has 2 Russian players Shao and SUYGETSU, and one Ukrainian player, ANGE1. They will not be able to field a complete roster for VCT Masters 1 and are hence, rendered unable to attend.
FunPlus Phoenix’s place will be taken by Team Liquid, who placed 4th at VCT Challengers 1 EMEA. In regular circumstances, the top 3 from the event would qualify for VCT Masters but as FPX were unable to field a full roster due to travel restrictions, their place was awarded to Team Liquid.
“Team Liquid will be invited to participate at Masters Reykjavík as representatives of the EMEA region. This will ensure that all three EMEA slots are occupied by teams from the region,” said riot.
The statement from Valorant esports EMEA read “Travel restrictions in Ukraine and Russia, as well as existing COVID-19 regulations, continue to create numerous challenges for international travel,” Riot said. “Our events, competitive operations, and mobility teams worked to find solutions to ensure the FunPlus Phoenix roster could attend Masters Reykjavík. These options included extending the roster lock window, relaxing emergency substitute rules, and liaising with the relevant government officials to secure visas and travel permissions. Unfortunately, and through no fault of their own, FunPlus Phoenix will not be able to field a complete roster in Reykjavík.”
Previously, OpTic and The Guard qualified from NA, while G2 and fnatic were able to book their berth at Iceland from EMEA.
The full list of teams that will be attending VCT Masters 1 Reykjavik are:
- G2 esports
- Team Liquid
- fnatic
- DRX
- The Guard
- OpTic Gaming
- Paper Rex
- XERXIA
- ZETA Division
- KRU Esports
- LOUD
- LATAM vs BR Playoffs Winner