Astralis' appearance in the million dollar Eleague Counter-Strike tournament hit a significant obstacle on Sunday, as it turned out that team captain Finn "Karrigan" Andersen wouldn't be able to travel to the US on the Visa Waiver Program. New rules meant that travelers who had visited Iran within five years aren't eligible for the program, and Karrigan had been to Iran in 2012.
There's good news for Astralis fans, though. As he has confirmed on Twitter, Karrigan has been able to secure a visa to the US, and will be flying out today. Given that the team's first game is scheduled to begin at 18:00 CEST tonight, he won't make it over in time for the first day of matches.
In the meantime, Astralis coach Danny "zonic" Sørensen will be filling in for Karrigan. Though zonic has, by his own admission, only played around 700 hours of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, he was a legend in the days of Counter-Strike 1.6 and one of the most successful players in that game.
Astralis are playing four matches in the round-robin stage of Eleague tonight, against NRG and Counter Logic Gaming, both US squads. Rounding out the group is fellow Danish team SK Gaming. The round-robin stage of Eleague lasts until Thursday, so even if Karrigan won't make it over in time for the first round of games, he'll still be able to play with his team tomorrow and Thursday.