Sorting out the path to TI5, the scariest situation to happen is to not be allowed to participate. Such was the case for Natus Vincere player Sonneiko who had apparently been denied visa entry into the US twice now. Revealed by Vitalii Volochai, an Ukranian e-sports caster who went onto to twitter to inform the crowd that being unable to get the visa could very well spell the end for Na’Vi’s participation in TI5. A couple of days later and good news came through.
Sonneiko visa got denied for the 2nd time. @natusvincere are risking to miss the #TI5 #visas #valvehelpplz
— Vitalii Volochai (@v1lat) July 2, 2015
JoinDOTA’s founder; Moritz Zimmerman had taken to Twitter two days later to inform everyone that Sonneiko’s as well as Na’Vi’s entry into the TI5 can still be saved as he claims that Valve has heard the plea for help and has stepped in to pull “all their strings and contacts”. In the next week, Sonneiko would be heading into his appointment and hopefully succeed this time. Third time’s a charm right?
Short update on Sonneiko's visa: Valve is pulling all their strings and contacts. His next appointment is next week. Finger's crossed!
— Moritz Zimmermann (@MooseWD) July 4, 2015
Visas are a finicky thing, especially for situations like these where players from across the globe need to travel abroad. This isn’t the only time a team was forced to forfeit due to denied visa entries: such was the case for Team Empire who had to forfeit their place in DreamLeague Season 3 due to not receiving their visas and it being too late.
I’m gunning for Na’Vi in TI5, so I’m really hoping they aren’t forced to forfeit due to the messed up Visa systems!