PGL DOTA 2 Arlington Major 2022: ana, Ceb and other roster changes due to visa issues

The PGL DOTA 2 Arlington Major 2022 is just around the corner and the best players from around the world are gearing up for the big event. The event will be the final Major of this year's DOTA Pro Circuit (DPC) season before The International 11 (TI11), and is the last stop for teams collecting DPC points to score a berth at the annual extravaganza.

With a DOTA 2 Major making a return to North American soil after more than half a decade, the Arlington Major 2022 is set to be a gala event for electric displays of strategy, synergy, and all-out action. Yet, the mood has been dampened a bit by the string of visa issues that have resulted in a number of players not being able to participate.

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A string of visa issues affect player participation at PGL DOTA 2 Arlington Major 2022

Visa issues have resulted in some teams scampering to find substitutes for the affected players, while others have been setting up further interviews to secure a visa for entry. The DOTA 2 community has been fuming at the problem for some time now as more and more teams have revealed their changes.

As of now, the following teams are affected:

Beastcoast

The team manager for the North American esports organization announced that all the DOTA 2 players on the team have their visas secured. But their coach, Valquiria, has not been able to procure his visa yet "and might not get one in time for the event."

Valquiria will be helping the team with its preparation online while Accel from Infamous will be beastcoast's coach, standing in for the Major.

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Entity

Even after several attempts, Pure has been unable to obtain a US visa to participate in the PGL DOTA 2 Arlington Major. Instead, Entity will have TSM's offlaner SabeRLight- as a stand-in carry for the event.

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Fnatic

Fnatic will have to participate in the Major without three of their players as Raven, Armel, and Jaunuel have failed to secure US visas. However, PGL has allowed the team to participate with three substitutes due to this unfortunate situation.

It is yet to be confirmed who will be brought in as substitutes, with rumors suggesting other well-known DOTA 2 players like Fishman, Timado, and DuBu.

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OG

For better or worse, Ceb will once again be stepping into the limelight with OG in the second DOTA 2 Major of the year. He has had a number of exceptional performances with Windranger in the ESL One Stockholm Major, where OG eventually won the tournament. The updated outfit will look to replicate its success in Texas.

Ceb will be substituting OG's captain Misha, who was not able to secure a visa for the event.

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Royal Never Give Up

After appearing at the Riyadh Masters 2022 with Team Liquid, the two-time DOTA 2 TI champion ana will now be joining the roster of Royal Never Give Up for the Arlington Major 2022. He will be replacing the team's carry player Ghost, who despite several attempts, has failed to get a visa for the trip.

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Talon Esports

Talon Esports' Q has been denied a visa to compete at the upcoming Major. The organization has decided to substitute the player with T1's Xepher, who will be a stand-in for the team in Texas.

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Thunder Awaken

Thunder Awaken revealed through a tweet that their player Darkmago was unable to secure a visa to enter the US and will therefore be unable to play in the group stage of the Arlington Major. The organization is trying to manage a second interview and is hoping for a favorable result so that the player can participate in the later stages.

Furthermore, the post stated that three other team members, Sacred, Vintage and Pakazs will need until August 4 to get their visas sorted out, which has led to Thunder Awaken forfeiting all their matches on the first day of the tournament.

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Xtreme Gaming

Xtreme is the only team on the list that has decided to skip the event altogether rather than look for a stand-in. Xtreme Gaming's carry player lou was denied a US visa multiple times. Instead of participating without their carry, the outfit chose to rather focus on The International 11 qualifications.

Despite being a rather drastic step, the decision makes sense because Xtreme Gaming would have needed to win the Major to secure a direct invite to TI11, which would have been extremely difficult without their carry.