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Yet another team have revealed their struggles with getting visas to the US for the 2022 Apex Legends Global Series Championship. It has become somewhat of a regular occurrence, as more teams might announce their difficulty in securing visas for the event.
The latest team to share their experience on their path to the 2022 ALGS Championship is Luminosity Gaming. The North America-based team took to Twitter to announce that they will have to field replacements for the event.
Two of their players were unable to secure visas for the tournament, despite the efforts of PGL, RESPAWN Entertainment, and the host city.
“Due to issues securing visas, YanYa (Ghanja) and Neazul will not be able to attend the upcoming ALGS Championship. We would like to thank the City of Raleigh, PGL, and RESPAWN for their assistance throughout the process and working with us to try to secure the visas in time for the event.
“As temporary substitutes, we will have Monsoon and Shiny joining us from Complexity for next weekend’s event.”
The tournament is scheduled to be held at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina USA. Action will commence on July 7 with group stage bouts and will run through to July 10.
During the second split of the Pro League, LG were one of the teams with an incredible campaign in NA. It will be a shame to not witness them operate at full strength on the world stage.
The Mexican trio of Jacobo “NMEgo” Rios, Luis Enrique “Neazul” Ramos Suarez, and Saul “YanYa” Ocampo (also known as GhanjaMen) qualified for the Stockholm LAN despite competing as free agents, thanks to YanYa’s enthralling display.
In April, they were signed by LG just before the ALGS Split 2 playoffs, and have since flown the banner of the organization. They ended up finishing fifth in Sweden, which earned them a prize of $60,000 and a spot in the ALGS Championship.
Unfortunately, they will have to compete in the upcoming event without YanYa and Neazul. YanYa’s absence will prove to be a devastating loss for LG.
The talented team has taken a significant hit as a result of losing YanYa, in particular. The 18-year-old finished fifth overall after the conclusion of North America’s Pro League Split 2 in terms of the number of total kills. Added to that was a third-place finish in the Split Two Playoffs for most total damage registered.
One area where Luminosity Gaming could be thankful for, compared to other teams, is the ease of finding substitutes because they are based in the region. As stated in the press release, Complexity’s Bowen “Monsoon” Fuller and Bryan “iShiny” McCarthy will be the stand-ins.
Complexity’s failure to qualify for the event made it a lot easier for LG to attract both players. Although they failed to lead complexity to the LAN event, Monsoon and iShiny are two skilled veterans who have built chemistry over the years.
While they are undoubtedly not LG’s first choice, one could argue that they are the best available.
Recall that pros have expressed their displeasure with how events have unfolded in the past. Element 6’s Ali “Naghz” Naghawi will not be participating as the UK-based player failed to secure a visa early enough. He blamed the organizers for the late announcement of the schedule.
Team Empire also announced their withdrawal from the event after all three players were denied visas to the US. As things stand, only 39 teams will be competing as EA and Respawn have not announced a replacement for Empire.
LG is the first NA team to use substitutes for the tournament, which promises a prize pool of $2 million.
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