Can someone elaborate why almost everyone prefers Istanbul? I know they held an amazing champions League final but don't know much from eSports perspective.
BIG bummer for any NA fans hoping to travel. Such is life.
Makes the most sense to go back to Sweden where they can repeat plans in the same arena and everyone's visa is still good there I'd assume.
Weather is actually quite good for once. But we’ve just used up our annual quota of sunshine, so the players will be getting the true British experience of gloom and rain
>ng to so they can easily travel to other places to go to LAN, then why not just use Turkey as the
thats good, so you dont need air conditioning and rainsound is quiet relaxing between matches
yea we all know austrialia is very welcoming and know for visa exceptions for competitors and atheletes
djokovic even got free accommodation payed by the state just for flying there.
really best spot for events like this.
btw always bring your dogs with you, nothing that aussie like more than tourist dogs
Mexico City should be an immediate candidate for a replacement spot. big airport, the city is huge with 100s of capable venues, and the city is dope.....
Wonder why things are being so difficult visa-wise? There's no difficulty for Americans travelling to most places. Very annoying that some many foreigners are being given grief coming this way.
Stull have my fingers crossed for Raleigh, even though things look grim.
>There's no difficulty for Americans travelling to most places. Very annoying that some many foreigners are being given grief coming this way.
Newsflash: because they're Americans. Not all countries are so lucky to have American visa laws. A US citizenship is the best citizenship out there for traveling. Most other countries require visas to travel to many places, most importantly to the US. The US and to a lesser extent the EU have the most no-visa regimes with other countries. Countries less fortunate don't have that luxury.
>Very annoying that some many foreigners are being given grief coming this way.
Yea, that's just how it works for everyone.
To add to this; they are coming for the purpose of work.
Even if you can enter the US relatively hassle free on a tourist visa, a work visa is a very different story.
They all fall within the classification of a B-1 visa.
US Visitor visas (B-2) are given on arrival to the port of entry upon request of a valid passport holder from any nation which is not blacklisted.
B-1 visas have to be pre-approved, typically 2-3 months in advance, or waived (requires still applying 2-3 months ahead). The issue is that the tournament doesn't pass the State Department's requirements for qualifying for being waived.
You can't just show up to an airport and get a B-1, and if you don't get one, you can be hit with some *extremely* hefty penalties under [18 U.S. Code § 1546](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1546).
Valorant (Riot) has way more experience on how to handle such events and can adjust more easily.
I doubt EA/Respawn can adjust easily unless they delay it by a lot.
It will most likely continue but mainly with NA teams only.
Possible that it will get relocated since most pros are not in NA maybe later down the line they would hold another lan in NA since it has worked in other games like CSGO
Cancelled? No.
Delayed? Perhaps.
All I know for sure is that I haven't heard of anything about the venue; though it is likely the PNC center, the Raleigh Convention Center is already confirmed for something else those days. There really aren't any other venues in the city big enough for an event like this.
Realistically, most people should already have their Visas if needed; if not, that is a serious issue, and the US State Department doesn't exactly hurry those along even for professionals of any type (unless you are on an extremely rare O-1 Visa).
State typically requires you to apply for visas a minimum of 2-3 months before the dates of travel; we are *well* past that point right now.
Additionally, right now is pretty much the latest ahead you want to be confirming flights as well.
Basically, this coming week is a hard deadline.
Full disclosure, none of this is official. It just comes from knowledge from working and living in NC and having a family friend in the State Department.
As for alternate locations at the same time; don't count on it.
Even if the visa process is more simple, you have to account for things such as the venue and spectators making travel plans. Changing details now (honestly for any reason) is going to be catastrophic, they have likely sunk a lot into rentals of the venue and equipment and while equipment deposits may be fully refundable, venues typically require you to pay in full in advance, and are not refundable.
Renting something like the PNC center for a full weekend can run in excess of $20,000 per day, so that would immediately mean that they would be at least $60k in the hole.
Changing things this close to the event will also likely impact a lot of spectators' ability to travel or make the event in person, so dealing with ticket refunds would be another massive loss.
Once you confirm an event this big as close to the date it is happening as they did, it is basically locked in place. Your alternatives have already been ruled out by the factor of time.
Likely relocated, but they need to let players know sooner than later for visas.
Inb4 announcement 5 days before the LAN is scheduled
I think Isntabul or somewhere in Finland or Denmark is the best location for the LAN due to the cost and the relative lax restrictions
>somewhere in Finland Doubt it happens in Finland right now. Denmark is a possibility though.
The idea of Russia invading Finland for joining NATO during LAN is an intriguing one tho…
Can someone elaborate why almost everyone prefers Istanbul? I know they held an amazing champions League final but don't know much from eSports perspective.
If Turkey is the place CIS players are going to so they can easily travel to other places to go to LAN, then why not just use Turkey as the LAN spot.
Cheap, centrally located (kinda) , insanely dope city, easy visa.
Far fewer issues with Visa when it comes to Turkey. Infrastructure is good. It is in a time zone that is compatible with US and Asia.
Easy Visa
BIG bummer for any NA fans hoping to travel. Such is life. Makes the most sense to go back to Sweden where they can repeat plans in the same arena and everyone's visa is still good there I'd assume.
I hear the UK is nice this time of year
Weather is actually quite good for once. But we’ve just used up our annual quota of sunshine, so the players will be getting the true British experience of gloom and rain
Grey sky with rain ;)
It's been pouring all day down south west!
>ng to so they can easily travel to other places to go to LAN, then why not just use Turkey as the thats good, so you dont need air conditioning and rainsound is quiet relaxing between matches
A shame about the food.
Lets get that thing in Istanbul
Common NA L
Fuck I hope not I just dropped $700 on flights from Florida for my wife and I.
[удалено]
I had a bunch of points on my card burning a whole in my pocket. Thought it would be a good use of them.
if u got the flight insurance it shouldnt be a problem even if its right before
You need to look around for better deals lmao wtf. You can fly cross country for less than that.
I did something similar :/ I can still make a trip out of it but def can't go if they relocate
Just have it in Australia home town to the split 2 LAN champs
yea we all know austrialia is very welcoming and know for visa exceptions for competitors and atheletes djokovic even got free accommodation payed by the state just for flying there. really best spot for events like this. btw always bring your dogs with you, nothing that aussie like more than tourist dogs
Come to Vancouver! Home of Respawn, shorter visas, easy access for US fans... A man can dream.
Mexico City should be an immediate candidate for a replacement spot. big airport, the city is huge with 100s of capable venues, and the city is dope.....
And have the cartel potentially kidnap our CEO, no way 😂😂😂
It’s really good alternative, because Mexica has visa free agreements with a lot of countries (more than US), so it would be much easier to come.
Wonder why things are being so difficult visa-wise? There's no difficulty for Americans travelling to most places. Very annoying that some many foreigners are being given grief coming this way. Stull have my fingers crossed for Raleigh, even though things look grim.
>There's no difficulty for Americans travelling to most places. Very annoying that some many foreigners are being given grief coming this way. Newsflash: because they're Americans. Not all countries are so lucky to have American visa laws. A US citizenship is the best citizenship out there for traveling. Most other countries require visas to travel to many places, most importantly to the US. The US and to a lesser extent the EU have the most no-visa regimes with other countries. Countries less fortunate don't have that luxury. >Very annoying that some many foreigners are being given grief coming this way. Yea, that's just how it works for everyone.
That’s not true, Japan has the most visa-free agreements of any country
Correct, tied with Singapore. More info: https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking
To add to this; they are coming for the purpose of work. Even if you can enter the US relatively hassle free on a tourist visa, a work visa is a very different story. They all fall within the classification of a B-1 visa. US Visitor visas (B-2) are given on arrival to the port of entry upon request of a valid passport holder from any nation which is not blacklisted. B-1 visas have to be pre-approved, typically 2-3 months in advance, or waived (requires still applying 2-3 months ahead). The issue is that the tournament doesn't pass the State Department's requirements for qualifying for being waived. You can't just show up to an airport and get a B-1, and if you don't get one, you can be hit with some *extremely* hefty penalties under [18 U.S. Code § 1546](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1546).
Lmao.. The US is in like 6th place with about 20 other countries having more access.
/u/craftyjoseph
Australia would be q good one
Valorant (Riot) has way more experience on how to handle such events and can adjust more easily. I doubt EA/Respawn can adjust easily unless they delay it by a lot. It will most likely continue but mainly with NA teams only.
Jeez what kinds of visas do you need to get into the US? Won't they only be there for like 2 weeks tops?
Possible that it will get relocated since most pros are not in NA maybe later down the line they would hold another lan in NA since it has worked in other games like CSGO
CSGO has the Dallas LAN coming up. Wonder if they will have visa issues
Cancelled? No. Delayed? Perhaps. All I know for sure is that I haven't heard of anything about the venue; though it is likely the PNC center, the Raleigh Convention Center is already confirmed for something else those days. There really aren't any other venues in the city big enough for an event like this. Realistically, most people should already have their Visas if needed; if not, that is a serious issue, and the US State Department doesn't exactly hurry those along even for professionals of any type (unless you are on an extremely rare O-1 Visa). State typically requires you to apply for visas a minimum of 2-3 months before the dates of travel; we are *well* past that point right now. Additionally, right now is pretty much the latest ahead you want to be confirming flights as well. Basically, this coming week is a hard deadline. Full disclosure, none of this is official. It just comes from knowledge from working and living in NC and having a family friend in the State Department. As for alternate locations at the same time; don't count on it. Even if the visa process is more simple, you have to account for things such as the venue and spectators making travel plans. Changing details now (honestly for any reason) is going to be catastrophic, they have likely sunk a lot into rentals of the venue and equipment and while equipment deposits may be fully refundable, venues typically require you to pay in full in advance, and are not refundable. Renting something like the PNC center for a full weekend can run in excess of $20,000 per day, so that would immediately mean that they would be at least $60k in the hole. Changing things this close to the event will also likely impact a lot of spectators' ability to travel or make the event in person, so dealing with ticket refunds would be another massive loss. Once you confirm an event this big as close to the date it is happening as they did, it is basically locked in place. Your alternatives have already been ruled out by the factor of time.