OG is the latest team to have to make some last-minute changes to its lineup ahead of the Berlin Major, with three members of its team encountering visa issues.
OG forced to make lineup changes at Berlin Major
OG shared the news via its Twitter account, revealing that three members of its roster - Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin, Evgenii "Chu" Makarov, and Mikhail "Misha" Agatov - will all miss out on the Berlin Major due to their visa applications being denied just a week before the Major was due to begin.
To hear OG tell it, nobody was more surprised about the sudden visa issues than they were.
"We felt good about the process, especially being supported by ESL, to obtain visas," said OG. "DM returned to Moscow and his application was accepted almost instantly; and Misha/Chu were able to obtain appointments in Serbia. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction, until last week we found out that all three applications had been denied."
The team is currently going through the appeals process, however since the Berlin Major officially begins today, they have successfully borrowed two players from other teams in order to be able to compete in the Major. OLD G's Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi will be standing in for Chu, while Nigma Galaxy's Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov will be filling in for DM.
While OG hopes that the visa issues will be resolved in time for their players to compete later in the event, they note that they are "grateful for both Kitrak and MC coming to our aid."
But for now, OG's Berlin Major lineup consists of Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev, Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov, Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov, Tommy "Taiga" Le and Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi.
They're not the only ones to have run into visa nightmares at the Berlin Major either. Both Team Aster and BetBoom Team have run into similar issues, with Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko and Zhai "Xwy" Jingkai running into issues shortly before the Major.
Still, visa issues or not, the Berlin Major is due to kick off in a matter of hours. The ESL One Berlin Major 2023 is due to take place from April 26 to May 7. And you'll be able to watch Dota 2 live via our handy upcoming Dota 2 Berlin Major match schedule. And if you're looking to bet on Dota 2, just claim your free 100% bonus before checking out our upcoming Dota 2 match schedule!
