spectrum 2 case2025-04-20 03:30:0852469

Teams in doubt arrive with complete rosters in time for Europe RMRs

After some Russian players' attendance at the IEM Rio Major-qualifying event was thrown into question over possible visa complications, the three teams in doubt have arrived in Malta with their complete rosters.

In late September, multiple reports came out saying several teams were in danger of missing the Europe Regional Major Ranking tournament in Malta following the European Commission's decision to tighten visa guidelines for Russian citizens traveling to EU countries.

K23, 1WIN, Aurora, and Benched Heroes were the four teams linked with issues with obtaining visas for some of their players and staff.

1WIN's star AWPer deko was among the players facing visa issues

On Thursday it was announced that the mix-team around Owen "⁠smooya⁠" Butterfield would be unable to attend with a complete lineup after Eugene "⁠Aunkere⁠" Karyat and Buğra "⁠Calyx⁠" Arkın were denied visas to travel to Malta. The British AWPer stated that it was a result of "something sadly easily preventable" and a "mistake on our players' ends." Illuminar took their place after finishing seventh in the final European open qualifier.

Read more Benched Heroes miss out on RMR

The other three teams in question — K23, 1WIN, and Aurora, who boast five, four, and three Russian players, respectively — have all arrived in Malta with their full rosters in time for the start of the tournament on Tuesday, HLTV.org has learned.

Most other teams featuring Russian players, including Cloud9, Natus Vincere, Spirit, G2, and Outsiders, had already obtained visas before they participated in ESL Pro League in the weeks leading up to the RMRs. FORZE arrived on the scene in Malta last week and OG's Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov is also already on location.

The European Regional Major Ranking event is split into two 16-team Swiss groups, each of which will have eight spots at the IEM Rio Major on offer. The tournament will take place from October 4-9.