ViCi Gaming have lost their place at the IEM Katowice 2020 finals. An unnamed member of the Chinese squad has failed to secure a Polish visa which cost the organization’s entire participation in the tournament. Tyloo will play in Katowice instead.
Visa issues strike again
We couldn’t even begin to count how many times visa problems have caused players to miss out on big events but it’s a rarity for an entire team to miss out as a result. ESL’s official statement doesn’t clarify whether they made the executive decision to remove ViCi from IEM Katowice 2020 or if the esports organization conceded the spot willingly.
Regardless, ViCi will not be playing in Poland this month. In their stead ESL have invited Tyloo – ViCi’s runner-up in the Asian qualifier for IEM Katowice 2020. Tyloo’s new acquisition Seon-Ho "xeta" Son will make his official debut for the team in their opening group match vs. mousesports. The South Korean has big shoes to fill as he replaced star player Hansel "BnTeT" Ferdinand on the roster.
In other IEM Katowice 2020 related news, ESL also announced the crew that is going to cover the live event. These include:
- OJ Borg - Stage Host
- Frankie Ward - Sideline Reporter
- Tres "stunna" Saranthus - Desk Host
- Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill - Analyst
- Jacob "Pimp" Winneche - Analyst
- Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez - Analyst
- Henry "HenryG" Greer - Commentator
- Alex "Machine" Richardson - Commentator
- Anders “Anders” Blume - Commentator
- Jason "moses" O'Toole - Commentator
- Jason Kaplan - Commentator
- Tom "Tombizz" Bissmire – Commentator
The IEM Katowice 2020 finals will fill a whole week between February 24 and March 1. It holds a massive $500,000 prize pool, with $250,000 going to the winner.
