Today, ESL issued an official statement that 3DMAX will play in the play-in stage instead of the Russian team that failed to secure a visa in time for the start of the competition.
Russian players and teams continue to struggle with issues when it comes to participating in CS2 competitions, with BetBoom being the latest victim of the slow visa regime for Russian residents. This was also supposed to be the first tournament for the Russian team after the break, because they withdrew from the Skyesports Championship at the start of the competition due to "poor organizational conditions".
3DMAX who won the Skyesports Championship will have another great opportunity to continue to push their way to the top. The French managed to break into the top 20 teams in the world on the HLTV list this week, and a passage to the main stage of Cologne could further push them towards the top 15, maybe even the top 10.
They will play against 9z, that is, there will be no additional changes in the draw.
