Pinoy teams finally get US visas for P890M DOTA 2 event

MANILA, Philippines – The road to Aegis continues.

Two Filipino teams finally secured visas on Friday, one day before their flight to Seattle for The International 6 DOTA2 championships next month.

TNC Pro Team and Execration will represent the Philippines in the annual eSports tournament presented by Valve that stakes a running prize pool of $18,881,732 (approximately P890 million) as of posting time

The teams' dream to play at the world stage was initially in peril after their visa application was denied due to classification problems.

READ: DOTA 2 – Manila Major kicks off at MOA Arena

After qualifying, TNC and Execration applied for a B-1 (business) and B-2 for pleasure/medical treatment) visa, but the US Embassy in Manila advised them to apply instead for a P1 (athlete), which will take months to be approved.

A known supporter of Philippine eSports, Sen. Benigno "Bam" Aquino helped the Pinoy teams coordinate with the embassy to expedite their US visa applications.

Aquino announced on his official Facebook account this morning that TNC and Execration already secured their visas.

“Our prayers for TNC Pro Team - Dota2 and Execration have been answered. Matutuloy sila sa The International DOTA2 Championships at tuloy rin ang ating pagsuporta!” the photo caption read.

“I would like to wish our Philippine teams good luck as they represent our country in the world stage! We are very proud of you!”

TNC earned the ticket to the The International after winning the Southeast Asian qualifiers,the first Filipino squad in history to qualify. Meanwhile, Execration made their way to the world stage via a wild card.

Eighteen teams will vie up for the Aegis, including defending champion Evil Geniuses, Shanghai Major champion Team Secret, and Frankfurt and Manila Major champion Team OG .

One of the three DOTA2 major events was held in Mall of Asia Arena last month where another Pinoy team, Mineski, competed.