While the Apex Legends Global Series is only a day away and many of the best Apex teams in the world have already gathered in London to participate, it seems that not everyone slated to compete in the event is going to make it. And unfortunately for ALGS fans, it’s an all-too familiar reason keeping those players out.
Multiple teams from different regions have reported that they cannot attend the Split One Playoffs because their players weren’t approved for visas to travel to the U.K. This includes Thai team DEWA United, as well as players from Fire Beavers, a Russian and Belarusian squad that figured to be one of the favorites in the tournament.
Rumors have swirled for several days now that ALGS organizers would need to look for a replacement for DEWA United, who had previously announced that two of its players were denied visas. The org still hoped that its last remaining player would be able to travel to London and play with substitutes, but it seems like that possibility is no longer feasible.
It is currently unclear if ALGS organizers will be able to find replacement teams to compete at the London LAN on short notice, or if the tournament will move forward with less than the 40 teams originally slated to compete.
Related: All 2023 ALGS Split One Playoff teams, ranked
In addition to the aforementioned teams, there’s also uncertainty surrounding two more big European contenders: Aurora and Alliance. Aurora, the all-Russian squad that previously played for Team Empire, competed in Stockholm at last year’s Split Two Playoffs but were denied visas to travel to the U.S. for the ALGS Championship a few months later. Their visa status still isn’t confirmed, however. The visa troubles look like they’ll also hit Alliance, whose Russian member Miron “Effect” Novikov may or may not be able to travel for the LAN. If Effect is unable to attend, the remaining members will likely rely once again on newly-minted TSM content creator Mikkel “Mande” Hestbek as a substitute, as the team did earlier in the Pro League split.
Assuming replacement teams can quickly get visa issues sorted, the replacement for DEWA United from APAC South would be DreamFire, while the EMEA teams that just missed the cut that could be possible replacements for squads like Fire Beavers and Aurora would be Forge and Horizon Union. But without any announcements from ALGS organizers on the topic, it’s impossible to know just who will replace who or if any replacements are coming at all.
