Players have expressed their displeasure with events as we draw closer to the start of the 2022 Apex Legends Global Series Championship. The championship was supposed to be the highest point in the season but has troubled players so far.
Apex Legends has been denied a tournament of this magnitude for three years. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed several Apex plans, making this one of the most anticipated events.
Sadly, the build up to the event has been riddled with issues for the players. Although the fans are planning to come to watch their favorite players in action, many might be disappointed.
The tournament, which will be happening in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, might see teams fielding several substitute players.
Element 6’s player Ali “Naghz” Naghawi has revealed that he will miss the tournament due to failure to secure a visa. He faulted EA for announcing the date late.
“As some of you may know I was having troubles with getting the US VISA expedited on time for Champs and know this has resulted in me not having enough time to obtain the VISA because London is fully booked out till November,” he said.
“If the tourney was announced months before like it should have been I would not have this problem with the US VISA. I have no more options as I have tried everything and from what I have gathered EA & PGL doesn’t truly have any power in this situation once the expedited procedure has been denied.”
Although the 21-year-old is a UK citizen, he revealed that the office in London is fully booked till November. He pointed out that a visit to Iran in 2013 made him ineligible to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
However, it is worth pointing out that UK citizens are eligible for ESTA, which is essentially a visa waiver program. With ESTA, UK citizens can travel to the US for up to 90 days without needing to get a visa.
Naghz played a crucial role in helping Element 6 secure a spot in the ALGS Championship. Unfortunately, he will not be participating in the tournament.
In the past, players have had issues traveling to ALGS events. Acend’s Ameer “VJEIX” Hassan failed to secure a visa to the ALGS Split 2 playoffs in Stockholm, Sweden.
While securing visas has been a problem, players have also complained about not practicing. TSM’s Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen has taken to social media to complain about the lack of practice.
“Less than a month till the Biggest Apex tournament ever and still no practice to be done since Customs are still not fixed 🙂 Nice”
Players will have to participate without getting a feel of the tournament setting. Meanwhile, some players have resolved to play ranked mode to stay frosty.
The global championship will commence on July 7 and run through to July 10. 40 teams will compete for a piece of the $2,000,000 prize pool.
The group stage will be played to a conclusion on July 7, while the next stage (bracket) will happen on July 8 and 9. Some 20 teams will participate in the finals on July 10, with the first team to win a match after being “match point eligible” wins the tournament.
To be declared “match point eligible,” a team needs to reach a minimum total points of 50 in the finals.