FPX unable to attend VCT Masters Reykjavík

VCT Stage-1 Masters Reykjavik will not feature FunPlus Phoenix due to the team’s inability to fill a complete roster at the LAN event. The fourth-placed team in the EMEA Stage-1 Challengers, Team Liquid, has been invited to compete in the Reykjavik Masters in place of FPX.

FPX defeated G2 in the EMEA Stage-1 Challengers Final to become the EMEA champions Just hours after winning the EMEA Stage-1 Challengers Phoenix received the terrible news. In a Twitter post, Riot confirmed that the team would not attend the LAN event and that Team Liquid will take their place. The team was facing travel restrictions because of the  Russia-Ukraine conflict along with COVID-19 restrictions.

Their In-Game Leader, Kirill “Ange1” Karasiow, is Ukrainian, while Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin and Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky are Russian. Traveling to Europe from Russia remains difficult and complicated due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the numerous sanctions put on Russian airlines.
As a result, these players are unable to travel to Iceland, while a fourth player, Ardis ‘ardiis’ Svarenieks, is unable to travel due to contracting COVID-19.

“Our teams worked to find solutions to ensure the FunPlus Phoenix roster could attend Masters Reykjavík. These options included extending the roster lock window, relaxing emergency substitute rules, and liaising with the relevant government officials to secure visas and travel permissions.” – Riot

Riot did everything it could to prolong the roster lock window, but FPX was unable to find a substitute roster. As a result, the team decided not to play in the event that would have been the squad’s first appearance in an international tournament.

What’s Next?

FPX will be replaced in Iceland by Team Liquid, which finished fourth in the EMEA Stage 1 Challengers. It’s uncertain whether Team Liquid will win any prize money or VCT points in Masters 1. The three teams representing EMEA at Masters will be G2, Fnatic, and Team Liquid and they will be competing against

⚪DRX (Korea Challengers)
⚪The Guard (NA Challengers)
⚪OpTic Gaming (NA Challenger
⚪Paper Rex (APAC Challengers)
⚪XERXIA (APAC Challengers)
⚪ZETA DIVISION (Japan Challengers)
⚪KRÜ Esports (LATAM Challengers)
⚪ LOUD (Brazil Challengers )

After their great performance at the EMEA challenges, fans will find it difficult to enjoy the Masters without the presence of team FPX. The EMEA Champions were set to make their maiden appearance at the Internations, but they’ll have to wait a while. The news is especially disheartening to the FPX roster because every Esports player shares a common desire of representing their region on a worldwide stage.