The Ninjas in Pyjamas roster has been partially gutted after a few core players were denied visas on the day the team was set to travel to Japan for the Rainbow Six Pro League Finals.
NiP will have to find two replacements and compete without a coach. João “Kamikaze” Gomes and Julio “JULIO” Giacomelli were denied visas on the morning the squad was set to head to Japan. NiP coach Arthur “Ar7thur” Schubert also faced visa issues that will prevent him from fulfilling his coaching duties.
NiP aren’t the first Latin American team qualified for the Tokoname Finals to suffer from visa woes. Last week, FaZe’s Ronaldo “ion” Osawa was denied a visa after a last-ditch effort to remedy an alleged ESL mistake. The organizer was allegedly in charge of securing player visas until it shed responsibility and left teams in charge of applying for visas mere days before they had to begin traveling to Japan for the finals.
Apparently, there’s still a small chance that JULIO and Kamikaze will be able to make the finals by visiting the consulate in Curitiba, according to team manager Bob. The manager has also requested that ESL accommodate the team’s change in travel itinerary.
If Bob’s last-ditch effort fails, then the Latin American division’s presence at the Japan Finals will be lessened a considerable amount. With only two representatives from each division, LATAM’s champions have been handicapped.
Talks of unionization began following ESL’s alleged failure to secure ion’s visa for the Japan Finals. DarkZero Esports coach Jordan “BKN” Soojian had some strong words to say on the matter. This development will likely only add fuel to that fire.
NiP earned their spot in the Japan Finals by grinding out an impressive 10-3-1 record. Should the visa issues go unresolved, it’ll be a huge blow to NiP fans who were hoping to see a Latin American team take an international LAN.
The season 10 Rainbow Six Pro League Finals take place this weekend, Nov. 9 to 10. Fans can catch the official stream here.
