Virtus.pro, a Russian esports organisation that is famed for its teams that compete in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has called out "cancel culture" as the reason that it and other Russian esports organisations have been banned from tournaments.
Both BLAST and ESL have shown support for those affected by the crisis in eastern Europe following Ukraine deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov's plea that video game companies and esports organisations enact "everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe and finally the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression."
“We are all shocked and saddened by the Russian invasion into Ukraine and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution. After monitoring the situation, we are now putting an initial set of actions in place... We made the decision that organizations with ties to the Russian government, including individuals or organizations under EU sanctions related to the conflict, will not be allowed to be represented," said ESL in its statement. It added that players are able to compete in tournaments as long as they do not represent their country of origin, organisation or sponsors visibly.
However, in Virtus.pro's eyes, the ban is unjust and unnecessary. "On March 2nd, ESL notified us that Virtus.pro and Gambit Esports have been withdrawn from ESL Pro League Season 15. It was shortly after ESL requested our club to share the legal and financial information with them: country of registration, ownership and partners details, and whether or not our affiliates are subjected to sanctions. We replied with a full and comprehensive response, backed up by all the necessary paperwork," said the organisation in its own statement on the events. "That inquiry was a mere formality."
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Continuing on, the organisation acknowledges players' opportunity to participate without the visibility of their team but expressed aggravation that ESL is apparently ignoring communication channels with Virtus.pro management. "We are facing a prime example of 'the cancel culture,' However, in this case, there are no ultimatums that are supposed to push us towards certain actions. That's why we won't respond to this aggression with aggression of our own by forbidding our players to play in this tournament. They spend lots of time to become pro players, and unlike some tournament operators, we are not ready to invalidate someone else's efforts." Virtus.pro concluded with a show of support for players who choose to enter the tournament "under a neutral flag."