AVANGAR will field Rustem "⁠mou⁠" Telepov instead of Sanjar "⁠SANJI⁠" Kuliev during the group stage of CS:GO Asia Championships due to a passport issue, HLTV.org has learned.

The Uzbek player is currently waiting for his passport to return from an application for a visa to the United States, where AVANGAR will travel shortly after the Chinese tournament for ECS Season 8 Finals, running from November 28 to December 1.

The team hopes to have their full lineup back by the end of the group stage, which will run from Wednesday to Thursday, with mou filling the gap for the time being, before the competition moves on to the playoffs on Saturday.

mou will be back in action temporarily in the group stage of CAC

The 28-year-old has been out of action for the majority of the year following the dissolution of Gambit in March, which saw the organization put the main lineup on hold. The AWPer was last seen standing in for Se7en and Winstrike in October.

AVANGAR are in a group with ENCE, mousesports, and ViCi, with their first matchup pitting them against the Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen-led side. To advance to the playoffs, the Kazakhstani squad need to win at least one match in the GSL group stage. Should they win their group and lock a spot in the semi-finals, SANJI would have until Sunday to arrive in Shanghai.