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Singapore Major: Quincy Crew's MSS tests positive for COVID-19

Quincy Crew's Arif
Quincy Crew's Arif "MSS" Anwar. (Photo: Dota 2 TI Flickr)

UPDATE (27 March): Quincy Crew initially enlisted Milan "MiLAN" Kozomara as MSS' substitute, but his flight to Singapore was unfortunately canceled. Wilson "Poloson" Koh Chin Wei is now MSS' substitute.

North American team Quincy Crew announced on Monday (22 March) that their position 4 support player, Arif "MSS" Anwar, has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be unable to travel with the team to the upcoming ONE Esports Dota 2 Singapore Major.

Quincy Crew manager Jack "KBBQ" Chen said in a post on his personal Twitter account that MSS' symptoms are mild and his condition is stable, though the team has yet to find a substitute for him.

"We regretfully announce that [MSS] has tested positive for covid and will be unable to make it to Singapore. His symptoms have been mild so far and he is doing well. We’re trying to secure a sub who can get processed in time to travel to the Major," said KBBQ.

Quincy Crew only have a few days left to find a suitable substitute that can take over MSS' role in the lineup and secure entry into Singapore.

They are one of the two representatives for North America, alongside Evil Geniuses, in the Singapore Major. The team finished second in their regional league, which earned them a direct seed to the Major group stage which start on 29 March.

MSS is now the third player who has qualified to the Singapore Major to be infected by the coronavirus shortly before the tournament. Natus Vincere's Bogdan "Iceberg" Vasilenko and Andrii "ALWAYSWANNAFLY" Bondarenko were also announced to have tested positive for the virus on Saturday (20 March).

Virtus.pro's Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko also fell ill but did not produce a positive test. His team has called up a substitute as a precaution but still intends to participate in the Major with him in the lineup.

Meanwhile, Neon Esports' John Anthony "Natsumi" Vargas will also be missing out on the Major as his team declared him unfit to travel. However, they have not confirmed whether the reason behind his absence is a positive coronavirus test or not.

The Singapore Major's rules state that players who have tested positive for the coronavirus prior to the event, even if they were able to recover shortly before the team's departure to Singapore, will be unable to play in order to minimise risk of exposure for other players.

Teams participating in the Singapore Major are expected to depart for Singapore in the coming days, if they have not already departed. Foreign teams coming to the republic will not need to quarantine for 14 days, instead being required to take a COVID-19 test and undergo a 48-hour isolation period upon their arrival to the country, and follow a strictly-controlled itinerary during their stay.

In addition, teams that have been eliminated from the Singapore Major are required to leave immediately in order to minimise the risk of further exposure to them and the remaining teams in the tournament.

The Singapore Major is scheduled to start on 27 March and will run until 4 April. The event will feature 18 teams from the DPC's six regional leagues competing for the lion's share of a US$500,000 prize pool and 2,700 DPC point pool.

For everything you need to know about the ONE Esports Singapore Major, check here.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.

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