Team Liquid has been without its new jungler for the first two weeks of the LCS and has been forced to use a substitute.
The organization has had difficulties securing a visa for Denmark’s Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen and has yet to reveal the former Fnatic player’s circumstances. In a recent League podcast, however, Liquid’s co-owner Steve “LiQuiD112” Arhancet gave an update on the situation.
“I know we have been pretty quiet on the visa for Broxah, mostly in part because so much is out of our control,” he wrote. “This Thursday is an important date—we will hear a response back by then (approved or denied).”
It’s difficult to predict what will happen at this early stage, but it looks like there may be a possibility that Broxah’s visa has been denied for the season. This could have big implications for the team, previously considered the favorites in the region. In Broxah’s stead, Australian Liquid Academy jungler Shern “Shernfire” Tai has taken his position—a far less capable and mechanically intensive player.
Since 2013, League of Legends has been defined as a “professional sport” by the U.S. Immigration Office. This means LCS players may apply for either P-1A or P-1S visas in a similar fashion to athletes. The problem, though, is that the visas are limited to 25,000 per year and collecting the required legal documents can often lead to complications. The time it takes for the visas to be accepted varies and can lead to potentially months of delay.
If Broxah’s visa is delayed, or even denied, Liquid will be on the backfoot for the Spring Split. The season is less important than it was last year due to the new Championship Point system, but the team could miss out on the Mid-Season Invitational and lose precious playing time with their new jungler.
Broxah may be back for the Summer Split, but by then, it could be too late for the team.
Liquid’s co-owner could just be fooling around and deliberately creating suspense, however. Good news for Liquid fans may be unveiled later this week.
