ESL has put out an announcement regarding Renegades' decision to prioritize the Asia Minor over the Pro League LAN finals and added new information regarding the visa situation for players from USA and Canada.

Renegades are currently sixth in the ESL Pro League standings, with 24 maps played and 15 wins - one more than the seventh-placed Liquid, and with only two maps against Winterfox to play before the end of the season.

Even though the Australians had a strong chance to remain in the top six of the NA division and secure a spot for the LAN in Sao Paolo, the team informed ESL that they would rather go to the Asia Minor that overlaps with ESL's tournament.

ESL clarified that if Renegades actually place 6th or higher in the end, they are going to be treated as they reached the 7th place, earning $18,000, while the 7th placed team will move up to 6th and participate in the LAN finals.



Renegades are forced to skip ESL Pro League in favor of qualifying for the Major

Adding to that, ESL revealed that the problematic visa situation for North American players - affecting teams such as Cloud9, NRG and OpTic, is being additionally prolonged due to a recent strike at major consulates, but should be resolved in time to get all the teams to the LAN finals.

Teams from the European division of ESL Pro League are not affected by the visa issues, as Brazil does not require a visa for visitors from most of the European countries.

The final list of teams from both the EU and NA regions of ESL Pro League Season 4 will be found out today after the online part of the competition is brought to an end.

Professeur writes for HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter.