In late May of 2021, WePlay Esports updated the Dota 2 community about the unfortunate travel situation of Chinese teams via Twitter. While WePlay Esports had booked return tickets that were attached to the Chinese team’s visa applications, due to changes in European airspace, those return tickets were void.
WePlay Esports informed the community that they were looking for new tickets to get the Chinese teams home after the Kyiv AniMajor. Finally, a month later, a solution was found.
The Chinese Dota teams have made it back home from the Ukraine.
Chinese teams had had return tickets in the first place which were attached to their visa applications. However due to the recent changes in the (European) airspace, these tickets are voided.#WePlayAniMajor
1/2
— WePlay Studios (@WePlay_Studios) May 27, 2021
Chinese teams are home safe and sound
First, WePlay Esports devised a plan to charter private flights so that the Chinese government could issue visas to the teams. However, this time, it was the Chinese government that introduced new restrictions on international travel, voiding the tickets yet again. All the while, the teams resided in a hotel in Kyiv.
WePlay Esports then attempted to reach out to the Chinese embassy to find a solution. The organization even proposed an option where teams would fly directly to The International 10 in Stockholm, Sweden. However, this turned out to be impossible due to difficulty in getting Schengen visas for Chinese nationals. Additionally, the International 10 has yet to determine a location; Valve announced it would not take place in its original location: Stockholm, Sweden.
After much help from the Chinese Dota community, the players were able to secure return tickets back home to China. WePlay Esports covered all expenses for the flights. And, a fan named Lisa was able to secure the tickets, sending them home for much needed rest before the International 10.
After a long long journey, our iG.Dota bois are finally back to Shanghai.
Time to rest (quarantine) and prepare for Ti. Yay🙌Welcome home!❤️ pic.twitter.com/QjRzWvSPNV
— Invictus Gaming (@invgaming) June 21, 2021
WePlay Esports shared a reddit post on the matter, stating, “We are pleased to announce that all of the Chinese Dota teams have been able to return home safe and sound.”
The reddit post also included Invictus Gaming Manager Zhao “DayDream” Yinqing’s Weibo post of appreciation after securing their return tickets.
“The community has worked hard to get the Chinese players back as soon as possible…I also sincerely thank the fans who supported us, thank you! CN DOTA!”
