Tournament organizer ESL announced a ban on eSports organizations “with ties to the Russian government” from participating in the upcoming season. They will be able to enter their teams into competitions, but they will have to compete under a neutral name.
In a joint statement, the organizers and partner teams of the ESL Pro League say that the decision will affect Virtus.pro and Gambit. They will not be able to take part in the upcoming 15th season, which will run from March 9 to April 10. The organizers justify their actions by the fact that Virtus.pro belongs to the SOGAZ Insurance Group, which is among the companies subject to sanctions. Gambit is owned by the mobile operator MTS.
Organizers emphasize that players representing the organizations mentioned are not involved in this conflict, so they will be able to participate, but their clothing or other materials should not mention the country, organization or team sponsors. Earlier, on Tuesday, Virtus.pro already faced the threat of disqualification from Dota2 competitions for a similar reason. Virtus.pro has already announced its refusal to comply with these demands, but at the same time emphasized that it does not support the war.
