After missing deadlines for confirming Visa acquisition, the Argentine Counter-Strike team BESTIA has had its right to compete in the upcoming Austin Major revoked by tournament organisers BLAST. In retaliation, BESTIA now publicly claimed to be pursuing legal action.
The decision by BLAST has triggered backlash from both competitors and fans, including other participants in the Austin Major.
BLAST’s initial announcement – May 21st
On May 21st, BLAST released a statement announcing that BESTIA would no longer be competing at the Austin Major tournament, which is slated to begin on June 3rd 2025. Instead, the runner-up of the South American Major Regional Qualifiers, Legacy, has taken the slot. BLAST justified the decision, explaining that “the team was unable to secure the required U.S. visas for a sufficient number of eligible players.”
BESTIA founder and CEO, Argentinian poker player and rapper Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo, was quick to respond online. Acting as a spokesperson for his organisation, he immediately claimed, “I publicly commit, as I already did privately, that on Monday my team will have all its documentation to play.” Two minutes later, he added, “Blast is ignoring us; we have visas. Let’s not let this injustice happen.”
Later clarification revealed that they had three of the five visas required for the players on this date, with the additional two pending visas allegedly confirmed and approved by Friday, May 23rd.
Community Backlash
Counter-Strike’s competitive community were quick to respond to the news from BLAST. Many teams and players who are qualified and confirmed to be competing in the Austin Major posted their support for BESTIA online, with the hashtag “#ArgentiniaAlMundial” circulating in protest. Prominent organisations, such as IEM Dallas winners Team Vitality, brought more attention to the issue through their participation.
Papo MC’s post on May 23rd, showing images of the player’s newly acquired visas, revealed that they have obtained B1-B2 US visas. Some individuals have questioned whether players can participate as paid esports athletes in a paid, ticketed tournament, as B1-B2 permits tourism and certain business activities only.
According to US government guidelines, it is forbidden to participate in “any professional performance before a paying audience” or work in “information media” under a B1-B2 visa. However, the rules seem less defined in the area of competition or tournament. In other esports scenes, such as Apex Legends, players and coaches have been permitted to travel and compete for prize pool money on a B1-B2 visa. However, by definition, a P1A-Athlete visa more closely aligns with the actions and roles of esports competitors.
The visa images also confirmed that the two outstanding visas were issued on May 23rd, two days after BLAST’s deadline of May 21st.
Clarification on BLAST’s decision – May 24th
Following continued pressure to allow BESTIA to compete, BLAST released a more detailed statement to the public clarifying their decision.
In this statement, BLAST revealed that the final deadline for visa acquisition was communicated “to all teams with outstanding visa issues” on Friday, May 16th. This deadline was set for Wednesday, May 21st, at 5:00pm CEST.
“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).”
BLAST.tv
The Tournament Participation Agreement has not been released to the public, so it is currently not possible to verify whether a hard deadline for visa acquisition has been set in writing or outlined in the contract.
However, visa deadlines are not clarified in any area of the Austin Major 2025 Rulebook, which is publicly available on BLAST’s website. A timeline is set for qualification periods and roster lock, not visa acquisition. Additionally, BLAST’s statement that the deadline was communicated on the 16th suggests that a hard deadline was not agreed upon until this date.
Notably, BLAST released the Austin Major 2025 sticker cosmetics, revenue-generating items in the Counter-Strike economy, on May 23rd. The release date for Austin-specific products may have been a driving factor in the timing of visa deadlines to confirm which teams are in attendance. Each attending team has a corresponding sticker, so all teams must be confirmed for sticker release. Legacy, who replaced BESTIA, had their sticker included on May 23rd.
BESTIA threatens legal action
Less than 30 minutes after BLAST’s clarifying statement on the decision to replace BESTIA in the Austin Major, Papo MC replied to their post, stating, “You know you’re doing the wrong thing. We wanted to resolve this fairly. See you in court.” BLAST has yet to respond or address the legal threat directly.
Legal involvement has also elicited more criticism of BESTIA’s position, with confusion over what they gain from this endeavour.
It is unclear how a legal case would be tried in this instance, as it involves the acquisition of US visas for Argentinian nationals regarding an event held by a European company. The parties span three separate continents, each with its unique legal structure. BESTIA has held firm with its decision at this time.
As the teams have been confirmed and sticker merchandise released, BESTIA is unlikely to receive any change in decision from BLAST.
The Austin Major begins on June 3rd with a 16-team Swiss format. The playoffs will take place between June 19th and 22nd, with the Major title winners crowned on the 22nd.
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for outlets such as Dot Esports, Esports Insider, and of course ENUK, she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
