Astralis Names Replacement for ELEAGUE Matches Due to Visa Issue
Due to a visa issue that prevented the team captain from entering the United States, Astralis has had to find a replacement for their first ELEAGUE matches.
Coach Danny “Zonic” Sørensen will stand in for captain Finn “karrigan” Andersen during the team’s initial day of group play in Turner’s Counter-Strike competition.
Karrigan was denied entry to the US under the visa waiver program, likely because of his recent trip to Iran. As a result, he had to apply for an entry visa from the embassy, which delayed his travel to join the team. Karrigan is expected to fly out later today and hopefully join his team for their final group match and any other matches in the US in the next decade.
Zonic will play with Astralis today against North American side NRG Esports and their main group rivals, Counter Logic Gaming. Astralis will then finish their group games against SK Gaming on Wednesday before participating in the semifinals on Thursday.
Zonic may not have competed in Counter-Strike since 2012, but he was a prominent figure in Counter-Strike 1.6, winning titles at IEM, DreamHack, and the World Cyber Games.
Astralis will not be the only team in Group C using a stand-in. Counter Logic Gaming will also have their coach, Faruk “pita” Pita, in the lineup after parting ways with Jacob “FugLy” Medina last month. FugLy, who is now signed to NRG Esports, will face his old team tomorrow.
Team SoloMid will also have a substitute in next week’s games as Casper “cadiaN” Møller replaces Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, who is underage and does not meet the minimum age requirement of 17 to participate in ELEAGUE.