Dota 2 teams facing travel issues due to Berlin airport strike

The launch of the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 could be affected by the airport strike in Germany. According to media reports, local workers have called for a full-day strike on Monday, April 24, 2023. Some teams had planned their flights for that day.

Initially, only the departing aircraft were affected. However, the airport warns of possible delays. In addition, Berliners know exactly how great the capital’s new BER airport is (not). 

Strike affects Berlin Major

“Due to the announced warning strike at the security checkpoints, no departures are possible on Monday” — that is the official statement on the BER website. The strike might also affect arrivals, causing even more cancellations and flight schedule changes. 

The Berlin Major starts in two days and some teams have planned to fly today — the day of the announced strike. Maria “Inverno” Gunina, Chief Strategy Officer of 9 Pandas, reacted to the news on Telegram: 

“You can guess three times at which airport there will be a strike tomorrow and 300 flights have been canceled…” 

Trouble seems to be piling up for 9 Pandas as Aleksey “Solo” Berezin could also miss the early stages of the event. Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosian will fly as a possible replacement should that happen.

The ESL One Berlin Major 2023 will take place from April 26th to May 7th, with 18 participating teams. The tournament prize pool is $500,000. Aside from 9 Pandas, several teams are coming to Germany with substitutes: Aster, BetBoom, and OG.

Lots of substitutes at the major

OG player and ex-coach Evgenii “Chu” Makarov has announced that he will not be taking the team to the ESL One Berlin Dota Major 2023. The reason for this is visa problems. He explained that on the KD ALL IN podcast.