Several top players have been unable to participate, bringing legal issues surrounding their attendance at tournaments to the fore
As this year’s LCS season kicks off, the various League of Legends top dogs engage in battle and prepare for the long war of attrition ahead.
However, increasingly there is another war being waged: a war that plays out behind the scenes but has a huge impact on eSports tournaments.
Things have come to something of a head at LCS as a number of top players have been unable to participate thanks to visa woes.
This has changed the tournament landscape and brought the legal issues surrounding players’ attendance at tournaments to the fore.
What’s the problem?
If you’re travelling for ‘work’ to another country, you need a work visa. Simple, right? Not in the world of eSports.
Because it is still in relative infancy, many countries don’t legally recognise participating in eSports tournaments as actual work – including Germany, the host of this season’s EU LCS.
This means that Unicorns of Love have lost their Russian Jungler Danil ‘Diamondprox’ Reshetnikov because he couldn’t get a long enough visa and the same applies to ROCCAT’s Edward ‘Edward’ Abgaryan and H2K’s Yoo ‘Ryu’ Sang-ook.
There have been similar issues in the NA LCS, with Echo Fox actually forfeiting a game because it simply couldn’t field a full team.
In the US, eSports players can, since 2013, play in tournaments in the US on the same visa that international athletes use. An important moment for eSports.
With that in mind, it doesn’t seem credible that Echo Fox was unaware of the law and didn’t take preventative steps.
The situation in the EU is a little stickier due to the complex web of national and EU laws that haven’t recognised eSports in the same way that US law has. This is exemplified in Germany.
While EU citizens are free to roam, any players from outside the EU will have a harder time.
This is precisely what happened with the Unicorns of Love, ROCCAT and other LoL teams, forcing them to make last minute roster substitutions.
Riot Games has also played its part. While it is now cracking down on the issue, it has long been an open secret in the industry that some players used incorrect visas.
After years of having a ‘spot check’ system that was clearly ineffective, the timing of this latest spate of visa issues seems particularly unfortunate.
So what happened?
In eSports, rosters are hugely important. Line-ups and player swaps generate a lot of commentary and speculation.
Therefore, when a team’s roster is forcibly changed right before – or even during – a tournament, it can have far-reaching consequences for that team’s prospects.
What’s more, it can also make your usually safe betting pick – whether in an accumulator or on its own – much harder to predict.
Much of Unicorn of Love’s success has often been attributed to Diamondprox, making his inability to compete alarming. His substitute, Charly ‘Djoko’ Guillard, must have been feeling the pressure, but performed admirably, following Diamondprox’s game tactics in order to make the change easier for his team.
Unicorn’s match against Elements saw Djoko secure objectives and carry out ganks, just as you’d expect from a pro Jungler, but Diamondprox’s experience and knowledge was sorely missed.
H2K’s Ryu was replaced by Mid-Laner Marcin ‘Selfie’ Wolski, who was a little shaky in comparison to Djoko. This was exemplified in H2K’s match against an impressive Vitality, featuring two former H2K players: kaSing and Hjärnan.
Despite playing a competent game, Selfie slipped up a couple of times, being killed by a solo Nukeduck. It wasn’t enough to derail an increasingly dominant H2K though, whose exemplary teamwork meant that they still won their two matches last week.
ROCCAT, on the other hand, haven’t been doing so well. Just three weeks into the spring split and we’re already seeing their bottom lane be completely revamped.
With only the Giant possessing a lower score so far, ROCCAT (1-5) have opted to drop AD Carry Mohammed ‘Safir’ Tokkhi after the team lost Edward ‘Edward’ Abgaryan due to visa issues and have replaced him with veteran Erik ‘Tabzz’ Van Helvert.
Riot are still to approve this change. Here’s hoping they can break their five-game losing streak.
Across the Atlantic, the news for Echo Fox is anything but positive. The team went into the season with promise, but the loss of star player Froggen last week has meant that GoldenGlue has had to step in since their disqualification.
It hasn’t gone well. Counter Logic Gaming managed seven kills in the first 37 minutes of their match, easily beating a limp Echo Fox.
This was followed by another defeat to a well performing Immortals. It is fair to say that Echo Fox’s prospects don’t look too good.
What’s next?
Riot said: “We’ll enter the mid-season break with a stricter process that guarantees each starting roster is fully eligible for the LCS.”
The biggest factor in the favour of the eSports industry is its own success. eSports is set to become a billion-dollar industry and countries will no doubt be increasingly concerned with ensuring this economic activity benefits them.
Despite the furore at LCS this year, the future looks bright – the visa war is one that won’t last forever.
