Wolves Esports’ ArFeng just confirmed that the team has been denied the visas necessary to enter the United States for the upcoming BLAST R6 Salt Lake City Major. The squad, which is entirely from China, has been prevented from flying to the US to participate in the upcoming $600,000 tournament, set to start on May 8.
It hasn’t been explained what happens now, as neither Wolves Esports nor Ubisoft has proffered a statement about the situation.
Wolves Might Not Make Salt Lake City
Wolves Esports, which boasts an entirely Chinese squad makeup despite being founded by and representing a British soccer team, will most likely miss the Salt Lake City Major. This is the next top-tier event in the Rainbow Six calendar, and it’s welcoming the attendance of the best R6 teams in the business – but Wolves probably won’t be one of them.
In a video uploaded to China’s Bilibili platform, Huang ‘ArFeng’ Zifeng confirmed that the necessary visas to travel had not been secured by the team.
He wrote:
Unfortunately, I got kicked to death by the visa officer. Maybe next time!
(Thanks to Siege.gg for the spot)
Wolves were recently one of four teams to qualify for the Salt Lake City Major from the CN League, finishing in third place during the qualifying round and beating the likes of TYLOO, KINGZERO, and Titan Esports to the spot. It joined All Gamers, Four Angry Men, and EDward Gaming, which makes its way to its first Rainbow Six event since joining the scene.
International events are always fraught with issues like this in the esports space. It doesn’t matter what game you’re playing; you’re always at risk of visa-related issues. We’re seeing them crop up more commonly in North America, but it’s a global concern at all times and one of the risks of being a world-trotting esports pro player.
Ubisoft will have a contingency in place, but for now, there’s radio silence about what happens next.
Are you looking forward to the Salt Lake City Major? Let us know your predictions on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out why Spacestation didn’t enter the Call of Duty League
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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