Following Ghost’s VISA problem, RNG announces ana as substitute for the Arlington Major. This would be ana’s first Major appearance in 3 years.
In the midst of the Dota 2 Major VISA chaos that is ensnaring multiple teams, the Dota 2 community is caught with another surprise. The retired two-time TI champion, Anathan "ana" Pham will be standing in for Royal Never Give Up (RNG) at the PGL Arlington Major, making it his first Major appearance since 2019. He will be filling in carry player, Daniel "Ghost" Chan Kok Hong's position as he couldn’t get his VISA approved.
It is dampening to see another team fall to the inexplicable VISA problem. Due to this issue, China’s top seed, RNG, will not be going to the Arlington Major in full strength. Their carry player, Ghost who only joined the team in May 2022, showed great chemistry with the veteran lineup but the brilliant result sees a dim end to the season. He will be missing his first ever Major due to the frustrating VISA hurdle.
Today, RNG revealed on Weibo that ana will fill in Ghost’s position at the Arlington Major. This news is a pleasant surprise but this isn’t ana’s first time standing in for a team after 2 years of retirement. He only recently marked his return after standing in for Team Liquid at the Gamers8 Riyadh Masters. But this would be ana's first appearance at a Dota 2 Major since 2019, which is when he attended the EPICENTER Major with OG.
According to Google Translate, the post on RNG eSports Club DOTA2 Division reads:
"I am very sorry to inform you that although we have made a lot of efforts and attempt, the No. 1 Ghost (Chen Guokan) has the visa is still not approved, and he cannot go to Arlington to participate in the Major game. So this time, the player Ana (Anathan) will be the substitute for the No. 1 position of the Major."
Source: Weibo
Here is the full roster for Royal Never Give Up (RNG) that will attend the PGL Arlington Major:
- Anathan "ana" Pham
- Lu "Somnus" Yao
- Yang "Chalice" Shenyi
- Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi
- Yap "xNova" Jian Wei
- Xie "Super" Junhao (Coach)
More teams to unveil updated rosters
As for now, the VISA issues have affected 6 teams. Xtreme Gaming pulled out from the tournament, meanwhile, other teams - Fnatic, Talon Esports, Entity, Thunder Awaken, and RNG, will be playing with a stand-in. This will definitely jeopardize these teams' performances coming into the most important Dota 2 Major of the year. We can only hope that they are able to adjust quickly as the Arlington Major will soon begin on August 4th, 2022.
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