posted by Abelle,
As the teams go through media days and practice hard for the upcoming games, and the broadcast talents begin to arrive, two important people have been left behind with very little time remaining before the start of TI7. The two stranded would-be TI-goers are ru Vladimir 'Chappie' Kuzmenko and se Henrik 'AdmiralBulldog' Ahnberg. Chappie is travelling to Seattle as a player while Bulldog was invited as a member of the English broadcast team.


❗️Update on the situation with Chappie.
At the moment he didn't got his passport back from embassy. We hope that he will receive it today.
1️⃣ If Vladimir has time to arrive before the start of matches, then the team will play in regular squad.
2️⃣ If Vladimir does not manage to arrive before the start of matches, then Resolution will be substituted. This replacement is approved by Valve.
3️⃣ It is possible that Chappie will arrive on the following days and he will be able to continue to play with the team in the other days.

Image and quote source: Team Empire's post on Instagram


Chappie is Team Empire's carry and an integral part of their roster. The team fought through the CIS Qualifier with him, and he's been playing with the squad since January. As explained by Empire in their post, a backup plan is in place should Chappie's passport not arrive in time.

ua Roman 'Resolut1on' Fominok is already on-site in Seattle as a member of the Russian broadcast team, and has been accepted by Valve as a substitute. Chappie will fly to Seattle as soon as he receives his passport, and will resume playing with his team even if they have already played some games with Reso.

Denied entrance to US and have to go back. GG— Henrik Ahnberg (@AdmiralBulldog) July 31, 2017


After the initial tweets from Bulldog, his girlfriend Sinneddonut said that Bulldog's entry to the country had been denied, so they were both travelling back to Europe together.

Haha nah I honestly don't want to be here without him so I'm on the flight home with him now.— Sinneddonut (@sinneddonut) August 1, 2017


Bulldog has made a lengthy post on Twitter explaining the situation. He says that he was honest with the US customs officials about the purpose of his trip, but they told him that Valve was doing something wrong by not having him get a business visa.

The officers told me that what valve was doing is not okay, if valve are bringing in people to work for them they need to make sure everyone has working visa. I find it hard to believe valve is doing something wrong but at the same time I don't know what i was doing wrong.


Thankfully, Bulldog says customs officials took mercy on him for his honesty, and told him that they will not ban him from entering the US for the next five years, which is apparently the usual consequence in this situation. He plans to travel to Stockholm to apply for a new visa in order to attend Twitch con, but has no hopes to attend TI.

There's one small positive note in all this for Bulldog - 2GD has reached out to offer his place in Stockholm for Bulldog to crash while he sorts out his visa issues.

I have a few spare bedrooms here in Stockholm if you need a place to crash with @AdmiralBulldog - Double bed with lots of gaming pcs about.— 2GD (@follow2GD) August 1, 2017


If what the customs officers told Bulldog was correct and Valve are having talent enter the USA to work illegally, this revelation could have a serious impact on how talent are brought in for future events.

  • Abelle
    Abelle

    Abelle

    Annabelle Fischer
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