Some players will be missing the Apex Legends Global Series Championship in Birmingham, U.K. due to outside circumstances that prevented their travel, an issue that has spanned the entire competitive year.
EMEA’s Alliance and Aurora Gaming will be missing some of their starting players due to visa issues that prevented players from traveling to the U.K. Both teams are still allowed to compete at the event, but will have to use substitutes for some or all of the Championship. Alliance’s Miron “Effect” Novikov will be missing the event, with substitute player Mikkel “Mande” Hestbek taking his place.
Aurora will be missing two members of its starting roster, as team captain Kiryl “9impulse” Kostsiu and Lev “taskmast33r” Grigoriev did not receive their visas, with Syvatoslav “ojrein” Korochinsky as the only player who received his in time for the event. Standing in for the event are Jose “Uxako” Llosa, from Entropiq, and Keenan “Tax” Mackey, from Myztro Gaming.
This is unfortunately not the first time both of these teams have been missing players due to visa issues, as the Split One Playoffs in February featured the exact same issues, with a total of six teams facing roster problems during the event. Alliance fared well despite the problems, having already played with Mande instead of Effect at past ALGS events.
The same can’t be said for Fire Beavers, Aurora’s current roster, who had to drop out of the event due to none of their members receiving visas in time. Ironically, Aurora’s old roster also encountered the same problems, and according to the ALGS rulebook, both teams had to withdraw from the event, as none of their registered starting players were able to attend. They would be replaced by EMEA’s Horizon Union and Passion for the Playoffs, but still received Playoff Points for qualifying to the event, eventually leading to their Championship invite.
Despite the bad news, both teams have noted that if any of the missing players get their visas before or during the Championship, they will be allowed to switch back in and play on the starting roster. For Alliance, Effect will only come if he receives his visa before Friday, Aug. 8, but will be receiving a prize cut split between himself and Mande, regardless of who plays, mirroring the exact same agreement made back in Split One.
The ALGS Championship starts on Wednesday, Aug. 6, with Group B’s Aurora competing in the first block of matches against Group A at 4am CT. Group C’s Alliance follows immediately afterwards against Group D at 8am CT. Fans can watch the main broadcast on Twitch, including each team’s direct perspective by using Command Center.
Update Sept. 5, 6:37pm CT: Aurora has announced the arrival of 9impulse to Birmingham, pictured alongside ojrein at their hotel room. Further posts have clarified that 9impulse will be allowed to play in the starting lineup.
Currently, there is no statement on the state of taskmast33r’s visa, or which substitute player will be in the starting lineup following 9impulse’s arrival.
