Team Liquid pull out of DreamHack Winter
Team Liquid won’t take part at DreamHack ASTRO Open Winter 2017 due to visa issues. A substitute will be announced shortly.
Team Liquid are one of the CS:GO teams that got a direct invite to DreamHack Winter. Today, the organization released a long statement, explaining that they decided to withdraw from the tournament due to two main factors:
The visa problems of their coach Wilton “zews” Prado. They are already working on a reliable solution, but meanwhile the team agreed to not attend the tournament because they wouldn’t be able to show a satisfactory performance without their coach.
Their calendar is quite full. Liquid is participating in multiple leagues, and the players really need a rest to preserve their health.
“Firstly, our coach, Wilton “zews” Prado has experienced difficulties with his VISAs when returning from international events. In light of these persistent complications, we would like to try and resolve zews’ VISA issues before we attend our next international tournament.
zews is an important part of our team, and we believe it would be detrimental to our team to practice for and participate in a tournament of DreamHack’s caliber without him. We have already taken the necessary steps towards a solution, and we hope that we will be able to remedy the situation as soon as possible.
Due to his VISA issues, zews will have to settle them before helping us practice for DreamHack Winter 2017. We are already unsatisfied with our current level of performance, and we believe that our team requires a period of dedicated planning and practice in order to recover our form. Attending the tournament without preparation will not benefit our fans, DreamHack, or our team in any way.
Last but not the least, our calendar is already quite full, and several leagues will reach their peaks in the coming weeks. We would like to balance our practice time while ensuring qualification, and we must make sacrifices for the long-term health of our team.
While it is unfortunate that the cost is our participation in a tournament that we thoroughly enjoy, we would like to take this opportunity to resolve the above mentioned issues.”
DreamHack Winter will feature eight teams fighting at Elmia Convention Center, in Jönköping, Sweden for a total prize of $100,000. Six team received a direct invite, while two more will join throught the European and North American qualifiers. The event starts on December 1st.
Teams at DreamHack Winter
fnatic
Natus Vincere
mousesports
Gambit
Heroic
Invite #6
EU qualifier winner
NA qualifier winner
Header Image: EPICENTER
