Chaos temporary bench smooya due to visa issues

Owen “smooya” Butterfield stepped down from Chaos’ active CS:GO lineup today because he had to return to the United Kingdom due to visa issues.

Smooya said in a TwitLonger that he had no days left on his Eletronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), but he’s already been approved for a P1 visa. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, smooya’s interview to secure his P1 was canceled since the embassy in the U.K. is closed.

With smooya out of action, Chaos will have to urgently find a stand-in so they can keep playing in Flashpoint season one. They might have to play some matches with their coach, Matthew “mCe” Elmore, because their next game is scheduled for tomorrow against Gen.G.

This is a hard hit to Chaos because smooya has become their best player since joining in January. The British sniper has an outstanding 1.32 rating during this stint with Chaos, according to HLTV’s statistics.

Chaos, however, isn’t the only team in Flashpoint affected by visa issues. Envy’s Kaleb “moose” Jayne is also unable to play because he’s waiting for his P1 visa. Envy is using head coach and former pro Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić as his substitute.

Flashpoint season one is set to resume today with Envy vs. MIBR starting at 12pm CT and Dignitas vs. Cloud9 coming right after. The league delayed its schedule on March 16 to transition the competition from its studio in Los Angeles to online play due to coronavirus concerns.