Bren Esports won’t make it to the VCT Masters Berlin event, the circuit announced today. The No. 1 seeded SEA VALORANT team were unable to secure the mandatory visas to leave the Philippines and travel to Europe to compete in the international LAN tournament that’s set to run from Sept. 10 to 19.
With Bren Esports out of the tournament, Riot Games will organize the event with just 15 teams. The format for the tournament will be modified and Group D, where Bren Esports were placed, will change to a double round-robin, with the two top teams advancing to the elimination stage. Bren Esports will be awarded 175 VCT points and prize money for qualifying for VCT Masters Berlin. The other groups in the competition will remain the same and won’t be impacted.
The travel restrictions in the Philippines have been tightened as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the Delta variant. Alex Francois, the head of competitive operations for VALORANT esports, said in an official statement that Riot worked to find a solution and engaged with relevant governmental agencies in the Philippines and Germany, but a solution couldn’t be found before the final deadline.
“This was a tough decision and we share in the disappointment of our players and fans,” Francois said. “Despite this setback, we are proud of Bren Esports’ achievements in VCT so far and look forward to their participation in future events.”
Bren Esports weren’t the only SEA team having travel issues, though. Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee, one of Paper Rex’s players, secured his travel pass to leave Malaysia basically at the last minute after sharing the problem on social media.
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