Two Asian teams denied US visas for Dota 2 International championships

Two teams appear to have been denied US visas for next month's Dota 2 International tournament. China-based CIS-Game and Southeast Asian team Arrow Gaming are both facing the possibility that they'll lose their place in the tournament, which takes place July 18-21 and offers a prize pool of nearly $10 million dollars.

According to posts on the LiquidDota forums , using Chinese social media platform Weibo as a source, CIS-Game was offered no reason for the denial except an apology. Translated by a member of the LiquidDota forums, a spokesperson from CIS-Game reportedly said the team will reapply for the visa. “The 4 Chinese players as well as [the] manager of CIS have been denied American visas, they're currently preparing for their second try.”

While at least five members of CIS-Game have been denied visas, other veteran representatives from the team have had success. In addition to applying a second time, the team will also appeal to Valve for support.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian team Arrow Gaming has also had problems securing visas, prompting them to apply a second time. A spokesperson for the team provided the following statement to OnGamers .

"With the help from the Minister our chances to receive the visa is higher. Me and Johnny received our visas. However, the other 4 were not so lucky. Valve will also provide us with a stronger letter of invitation to the embassy. So yes, we are hopeful about the second interview. We haven't talked about what will happen if our applications were denied a second time. Valve pretty much guaranteed to help us the best they can to bring our team to Seattle."

eSports competitors have had a hard time being recognised by the US government. League of Legends was last year deemed a professional sport by the US government , meaning international competitors can now travel to the US as professional athletes.

The Dota 2 International championships commence July 18 at KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.

(via PCGamesN )

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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.