After dealing with process delays and budget issues, Visa applications for Ukraine have been approved for IAP.Execration (XCTN).

As the first team from the Philippines to represent the South East Asian (SEA) Region in the StarLadder X LAN Grand Finals in Kiev, Ukraine on Oct. 23-26, XCTN faced hurdles upon hurdles to secure their spot.

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After winning the StarLadder X SEA qualifiers last September, the team went on to secure funding support for their travel documents, tickets and accommodations to the event.

With the mounting costs of logistics pressuring the team, however, it seemed that they would bow down from the event.

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In a message sent to Esports Inquirer, manager Arvin Risos confirmed that their Visa applications have been approved after being delayed by three days.

As there is no Ukrainian embassy in the Philippines, the team had to fly back and forth to Vietnam to process their documents.

According to Risos, their applications were supposed to be approved by Wednesday this week. They were released early Saturday morning.

Irymarc “Tryke” Gutierrez, Executive Director of PeSO and Alex Lim from International eSports Federation

Securing Help

The team approached the Philippine eSports Organization (PeSO) for help in securing their Visa approval in time for the event.

PeSO is a member of the umbrella organization, International eSports Federation (IeSF). IeSF is an organized body that pushes for eSports to be recognized as a legitimate sporting activity worthy of inclusion in events such as the South East Asian Games and the Olympics.

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Currently, IeSF has more than 50 member nations recognized by the government of their respective countries. Their members include Vietnam and Ukraine — both were instrumental in helping the team in getting their Visas approved on time.

Through PeSO and IeSF’s network in eSports, they were able to help XCTN in processing their Visas. Supposedly, the five players of XCTN were required to stay in Vietnam for a week during the processing period, which was too costly for the team. PeSO then sought help from its co-IeSF members from Ukraine and Vietnam.

In a letter sent by PeSO to the Ukrainian Embassy in Vietnam, the organization requested that only manager Arvin Risos be present to process the documents to which they acquiesced.

In the future, PeSO hopes that with the help of IeSF, more Filipino players can have their Visas approved — allowing them to compete in the grandest stages of the industry.

Struggles Ahead

Despite the good news, Risos said that the team’s passports are still in Vietnam.

“We aren’t sure if they will arrive in the Philippines on time. The flight is on Monday,” Risos told Esports Inquirer. “We will fly to Vietnam on Sunday, flight availability permitting.”

XCTN was recently supported by the fan community as well as SteelSeries’ social media community management arm, outfitting them with gaming peripherals for the event in Ukraine. The community feedback also attracted the attention of eclubmalaysia and gaming peripherals manufacturer Roccat, who offered to shoulder some of the travel costs for the team.

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