Think you know it all when it comes to the kooky world of gaming? Think again! There’s a lot of drama behind the scenes in the realm of competitive gaming. Here’s a look into some of the pressing issues and updates that are affecting competitive gamers worldwide.
Competitive Gamer “Magisk” Got Benched By North
Counter-Strike player Emil “Magisk” Reif has been officially benched for the Danish team North “after weeks of speculation and declining performance.”
On the morning of August 1, 2017, Magisk took to Twitter to reflect on his departure from his team. “As of today, I’m officially benched from North. I’m looking for new opportunities where I can continue my journal as a player. I will be back!”
The Crackdowns On Visa Violation Are Not Making Competitive Gaming Great Again
TSA agents in the United States are currently cracking down on visa violations. Apparently, this new focus on visa enforcement isn’t making the world of gaming great again. Swedish player and commentator Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg was invited to America to act as a commentator for a Valve tournament. When Ahnberg arrived in the states, he was soon confronted by TSA agents. AdmiralBulldog informed the agents of his commitment to commentate for an upcoming Valve tournament. Six hours later, this gamer found himself booted back to Sweden.
AdmiralBulldog posted the entire story online and told the internet all about what happened when he tried coming to America. Several coaches and commentators on Dota 2 claimed that “this happens to people in Esports all the time.”
One Dota 2 coach by the name of Anthony Hodgson wrote on Twitter, “Lol. I’m sad for Bulldog but it’s hardly a secret that basically all players and staff who attend Valve events are doing so illegally.”
Hodgson added, “Hopefully this will draw more attention to the face and pressure Valve to finally sort this out because it really is totally ridiculous.”
The manager of Evil Geniuses quickly rebutted Hodgson’s statements, assuring that “Valve isn’t doing anything illegal. They handle all compensation carefully. Truth is, one off esports travel is a grey area.”
The Evil Geniuses manager also said, “If you get the wrong agent who misunderstands or you phrase the specifics of your arrangement incorrectly, you will get bounced because they’re cracking down on visa violations which means, yes, more mistakes get made on TSA’s end trying to be thorough.”
The Evil Geniuses manager gave an example, in which he showed selective enforcement on part of the TSA. The manager wrote on Twitter that, “Cr1t- came in and out of the US multiple times saying the same exact thing without issue. Last trip back he got bounced out of the blue,” but “zai and Arteezy were both in the exact same situation saying the exact same thing and they were clear. It’s a scary time to travel here.”
Okay. Maybe not that scary.
