Elisa Esports has forbidden Russian-owned organizations from taking part in CS:GO tournaments organized by the company.
The Finnish tournament organizer is well-known in the CS:GO scene, where it has been responsible for numerous events including the Elisa Invitational. These events have frequently featured teams like FURIA, ENCE, BIG, and Entropiq. For the foreseeable future, Russian-based organizations won’t be allowed to participate. This decision is to support Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last week.
This means that teams like Gambit Esports, semifinalists in the Elisa Invitational Fall in 2021, won’t be allowed to participate in any Elisa Esports tournaments.
Elisa Esports isn’t the first esports tournament organizer to take this stance. On March 1, BLAST Premier announced that Russian-based teams are banned from attending its tournaments as well. The CIS qualifier was also canceled.
The two tournament organizers are the first in esports to take this stance. They join the movement of sanctions for the country and its teams. FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian clubs and the national team from all competition on Feb. 28.
