HEROIC join Elisa Masters Espoo 2024: A change in policy towards Russian players?

HEROIC has become the latest team to be invited to the prestigious Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 tournament. The organizers have officially confirmed the participation of one of the strongest teams in the world in the tournament with a prize pool of $200,000. The tournament will take place from October 16 to 20 in Espoo, Finland, where eight teams will compete for the main trophy and a substantial cash prize.

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List of participants

The invited teams also include:

• 9z Team
• ENCE
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• The MongolZ
• B8 Esports
• Rebels Gaming
• JANO Esports

HEROIC is among the favorites

HEROIC, known for their consistent performances at international tournaments and victories in major events such as BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022, is one of the tournament favorites. With the addition of this team, the list of participants becomes even stronger and more interesting for the audience.

Issues with Russian players

However, the presence of HEROIC at Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 caused mixed reactions due to the presence of Russian player Abdul “degster” Hasanov in their lineup. The fact is that Elisa, the organizers of the tournament, had previously announced a ban on the participation of Russian players in their events due to the war in Ukraine. This policy came into effect after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

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The ban on the participation of Russian players

The rules of the Elisa Invitational qualifying tournaments held earlier this year clearly stated that players from Russia were banned. One of these qualifiers, the Elisa Invitational Winter 2023, stated that “players from Russia are not eligible to participate in the tournament.” Moreover, even in the selection rules for the 2024 tournaments, the organizers confirmed the ban. However, it seems that by the time the Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 started, the organizers decided to make adjustments to their policy.

Community reaction

Social media has already begun discussing this situation, as the community remembers Elisa's clear position on players from Russia. Users wonder whether the organizers' previous policy has been “forgotten”. It's worth noting that Russian player degster has been a member of HEROIC since he joined the team after the end of his contract with OG.

Expectations from the tournament

The presence of such strong teams as HEROIC and other invited teams promises to make the Espoo tournament one of the main esports events of the fall of 2024. However, the question of the policy of participation of Russian players remains open and may affect further decisions of the organizers and other tournaments held by Elisa.