Apex pro Max-Strafe dropped from Pioneers due to inability to leave Ukraine

The armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, which seems to be going on for a long time. But unfortunately, none of the countries is giving up, and the battles in Ukraine are getting more intense every day.

This situation has dramatically affected esports because, as we all know, many of the most promising talents come from this pair of countries. As a result, many players and organizations have opted to leave their countries, play under another name or move to be able to attend tournaments and events at the highest competitive level.

This situation has recently affected the European team Pioneers, who had to bench their Ukrainian player Maksym “Max-Strafe” Stadniuk because he could not travel outside Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of his country.

Max-Strafe benched Pioneers for not being able to travel out of Ukraine

As we already know, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing for over a year, negatively affecting many esports. Players from both countries who try to play online or travel to international tournaments are excluded by the organizers or their own countries.

That is the case of Max-Strafe, the 26-year-old Ukrainian Apex Legends player playing for Pioneers, who have not been able to leave Ukraine for a long time. Due to this, the player missed the playoffs of ALGS Split 2 and the ALGS 2022 Championship. On these occasions, the player was replaced by a substitute.

Max-Strafe had all his hopes pinned on traveling to different international competitions since signing for Pioneers in September 2022. However, this is unlikely to happen, at least shortly.

Last March 3, Pioneers announced a new signing to its Apex Legends lineup, Zaine “Zaine” Kazi. Zaine arrived from JLINGZ Esports and would replace veteran Max-Strafe in the starting lineup. However, the Ukrainian is still part of the team as a substitute.

Max-Strafe explains what happened

The player has taken the trouble to explain his current situation on his Twitter account. Following the Pioneer’s release, Max-Strafe wrote in a Tweet that he had been ruled out of the lineup because he was unable to leave Ukraine due to the invasion by Russia. The player said:

“Im, not a part of main roster anymore, i couldn’t manage to find options and permission to leave country for LAN’s (upcoming as well) because of russian invasion and thats the only reason, why im not in team anymore. Thank’s to team for time together and wins. Wishing you all luck.🫡”

As mentioned above, the player could not attend the LAN event held in Londers because of this same problem. In addition, players from other teams, and even a whole squad, could not participate in the tournament due to visa problems.

There is no doubt that this is a big blow for this lineup that has been playing at the highest competitive level since 2020 when they played under the GnaskeStrafeDel banner.

The Pioneers’ lineup is as follows:

• Casper “Gnaske” Præstensgaard
• Matthew “SirDel” Biggins
• Zaine “Zaine” Kazi
• Maksym “Max-Strafe” Stadniuk (Substitute)

Header: ALGS