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BLAST tv Austin Major Update 📌 We are aware that the decision to replace BESTIA at the BLAST tv Austin Major 2025 has led to a number of questions about the decision making process. In the interests of transparency, we are more than happy to provide further clarity regarding the factors which have led to this unfortunate outcome. As is the case for any of our events, all participating teams are subject to the visa requirements of the host country. Since February, BLAST has been in consistent communication with all teams regarding the US visa process required to attend the event. This outreach began well ahead of qualification to ensure that any issues or delays could be addressed before the event. In total, we have seen 31 teams and 158 players successfully secure the required visas, following the application process put in place for the tournament; all within the published deadlines. BESTIA qualified for the tournament on Thursday, 17th April. Each team is ultimately responsible for securing its players’ visas and they are always at the discretion of the host country. We shared all relevant visa information and stayed in regular contact to support their process. During this time BESTIA had appointments where they failed to secure all player visas. On Friday, 16th May we issued a clear and final deadline to all teams with outstanding visa issues: Wednesday, 21st May at 5:00 PM CEST. By this time, all teams were expected to have secured visas for enough of their submitted roster in order to compete in Austin. This deadline was put in place to help maintain competitive integrity and logistical event planning. As of the deadline, two of BESTIA’s players had not obtained the required visas and as a result, we proceeded to confirm they had not met the requirements to participate in the tournament and had to be replaced. This decision was made in line with the tournament participation agreement (TPA). While the relevant players subsequently did receive visas, there is no dispute that they were not in place in time to meet the required deadline. Accordingly, we had no choice but to uphold the rules of the tournament, which all teams were aware of. It is a matter of huge regret for everyone involved that this has resulted in BESTIA not being able to compete at the Austin Major. We recognise the disappointment this news brings to their fans and wider esports community.

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