Fingers are crossed for the VCS teams headed to the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, after reports suggest that visas have been declined for multiple teams from the region.
GAM Esports, VCS Summer 2022 champions and Vietnam’s top seed, reportedly had their application for U.S. visas declined, according to news site Bongdaplus. They do, however, still have a chance to re-apply for the visa in two weeks. It is cutting a bit close to the tournament, and with Saigon Buffalo reportedly not having secured a visa for Mexico, the region is at risk of not attend Worlds once again.
Riot Games’ global esports head Naz Aletaha also responded to the reports on social media, saying that the team is “working with the government reps to do whatever [they] can to get GAM to Worlds.” However, there is still a good chance that the visa is declined and both teams aren’t able to compete at the biggest tournament of the year.
The VCS hasn’t been able to attend a World Championship since 2019, and has missed multiple international events since the start of the COVID-19. The only international event that the VCS has been able to play in is the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, where Saigon Buffalo were able to reach the Rumble stage of the tournament.
If the VCS isn’t able to attend Worlds this year, it isn’t known which teams will take their place, or if the tournament will take on a re-adjusted schedule due to the missing teams. We could see other major regions receive an extra slot, or other minor region teams get an extra slot before the start of the tournament.
Worlds 2022 will start on Thursday, Sept. 29 with the play-in stage.
