COVID-19 and visa issues hamper the ALGS Championship.
The Apex Legends Global Series Championship is happening right now with day one already completed. With 40 teams from around the world competing for the two million USD prize pool, it’s no surprise that nobody will want to miss the biggest LAN in the game’s short existence. Sadly, that is the unfortunate case for the ALGS Championship with 30 players unable to play due to either visa issues or contracting COVID-19.
30 players and one coach have been unable to attend the first LAN with a live audience with many teams having to come up with last-minute substitutions. 15 players couldn’t make it because of visa issues and the other 15 players and one coach tested positive for COVID-19. While having a stand-in could sometimes work out (Reignite won the Split 2 Playoffs with a stand-in), most times, the substitute(s) would not have trained with the main squad. This will to miss-communication as well as having to accommodate different playstyles on-the-fly.
With the tournament still ongoing, there have also been several occurrences of the substitutes testing positive for COVID. Other pros who are also at the world championship have taken to Twitter to promote themselves as a last-minute stand-in if a team is short-handed. What’s more, this has rendered some teams to play as a duo, making it that much harder for them to make it through the tournament.
As a result, 17 teams have directly suffered because of this with some having to compete on the second day with a duo instead. And to make matters worse, with fans being allowed in attendance with masks not required, it makes it that much harder for the participating players who are at risk of catching COVID. This is because there are no isolated areas for players who are COVID-positive to still compete.
With the games still going on, it remains to be seen how many more teams and players will suffer for the ALGS Championship.
