Yet another team has been hit with visa-related roster issues ahead of the Arlington Dota Pro Circuit Major. Royal Never Give Up confirmed today former that OG legend ana will be playing with the team in place of Daniel “Ghost” Chan Kok Hong.
This news comes after the organization made “a number of efforts and attempts”, it says, to secure travel visas for its entire Dota 2 team, which it succeeded in doing for everyone but Ghost.
Due to the sudden nature of the problem, RNG agreed to terms with retired Dota pro and two-time International Champion ana, who will join the team for the duration of the Major to fill in for Ghost at position one. This continues ana’s recent return to the competitive side of the game, following his recent stint with Team Liquid at Riyadh Masters 2022.
While ana is an accomplished player who can hold his own and even shine against other top teams, Ghost’s absence is a distinct loss for RNG after having finally broken out of the shadow of other Chinese teams and winning the Spring Tour regional league.
RNG isn’t the only team dealing with such a problem either; Fnatic will be playing with three stand-ins, and OG has once again had to call in Ceb to replace Misha. The team’s Chinese rivals Xtreme Gaming also pulled out of the Major entirely due to similar visa issues for one of its players.
With this being RNG’s first Major of the last two years, there’s a lot of pressure on the team to perform, especially as a high placement could push the team above the DPC point threshold to claim a direct invite to The International 2022 in October.
