In response to mounting community scrutiny regarding the exclusion of South American team BESTIA from the upcoming Counter-Strike 2 Austin Major, BLAST.tv has issued a detailed explanation to The Esports Radar, outlining the timeline and reasoning behind the decision.
Since February, BLAST has proactively communicated with teams about the US visa process required for the Austin Major. Teams were contacted on 14 February following the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) ranking update, including BESTIA. This initial outreach included guidance for teams who had qualified or were likely to qualify, allowing ample time to prepare for the visa process.
According to BLAST, follow-ups were made on 23 and 24 April, with a full update received on 1 May indicating that BESTIA was in the process of securing visas for four players. Throughout the process, BLAST says it provided continued support, including updated invitation letters upon request.
However, following failed initial visa applications, BLAST states that BESTIA became unresponsive. A final deadline was set for Wednesday, 21 May at 17:00 CEST for teams to confirm approved visas. As of the deadline, BESTIA was still missing visas for two players.
At 13:20 CEST on 21 May, BESTIA informed BLAST they expected players Tomazin and Luchov to obtain visas via emergency interviews on 22 and 23 May, with approvals possibly arriving on Monday 26 or Tuesday 27 May. However, BLAST clarified these were appointments, not approved visas, and therefore did not meet the criteria communicated to teams.
Due to the lack of confirmed visas, BLAST reassigned the South American slot to Legacy, the next eligible team, which has secured the necessary documentation and is confirmed to attend the event. The decision, BLAST notes, has been validated by Valve.
Furthermore, BESTIA’s current legal representative has confirmed to BLAST that the team initially began the visa process incorrectly and without proper legal support.
“All other teams have received their visas for the event,” BLAST stated, adding that FlyQuest is currently missing one visa, but has a substitute with the required documentation in place.
The Esports Radar contacted BESTIA asking for comments on BLAST’s allegations, but got no response at the time of this publication. To the Brazilian branch of CS2 news website Dust2, a manager from BESTIA claimed that deadlines were not in the rulebook, and that the date of 21 May was established later.
At the official BESTIA profile on X, a message claiming that the situation is an “injustice” is fixed on top, and the organisation’s CEO Alejandro “Papo MC“ Lococo posted on 22 May, at 20:09 CEST, that the two players got their visas, and community pressure continued for BLAST to revert its decision. This news will be updated following new developments on the story.
Austin will also host the inaugural Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW), hosted by The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), in collaboration with The Esports Radar and BLAST itself, set to take place during the Major from 18 to 22 June 2025.
