Last week it was revealed that 100 Thieves Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team was unable to compete at the ELEAGUE Major: Boston due to issues with visas.
Instead of drafting in a team to compete, ELEAGUE has now decided that a ninth team will qualify for the newly named Legends Stage from the Challengers Stage. The 100 Thieves roster that did not make it to Boston is comprised, in the bulk, of the Immortals roster previously involved in controversy resulting in their departure from the organisation.
Vito “kNg” Giuseppe, Henrique “HEN1” TEles, Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles were joined following their Immortals departure by Lincoln “fnx” Lau and Bruno “BIT” Fukuda in mid-December, and as a result maintained their major spot due to having the majority of a previous legend roster.
We are disappointed to share that due to immigration issues, the 100 Thieves CS:GO team will not be attending the upcoming Boston major. It goes without saying that this is devastating for the players and for us. We are truly sorry for them and their fans.
— 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) January 13, 2018
The organisation tweeted their apology to fans, and will be hoping that visa issues do not persist going into future tournaments. G2 and Cloud9 are the two organisations that have already cemented their place in the next stage of the major and will join the seven existing legends that remain. There’s still a whopping seven spots up for grabs so it’s all to play for in the coming days of qualification.
FaZe, Natus Vincere, mousesports, Space Soldiers, Team Liquid and Vega Squadron are all just one win away from making the main event, whilst Quantum Bellator Fire, EnVyUs, Misfits, AVANGAR, Renegades and Sprout are all just one defeat away from complete elimination.
Normally, teams that reach three wins will qualify for the next stage of the event but this time around one team that finishes 2-3 will qualify, too. The process for qualification is that the teams that finish 2-3 will be ranked further by looking at head-to-head results if possible, and ultimately a random draw.
Esports Insider says: A random draw would draw some very interesting criticism from the community but given time constraints it could be all that’s available. Here’s hoping it doesn’t go down to the RNG of a coin flip, but you never know.