Singapore Major: Team Nigma's MinD_ControL out due to COVID-19
Team Nigma announced on Wednesday (24 March) that offlaner Ivan "MinD_ControL" Ivanov has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be unable to play in the upcoming ONE Esports Dota 2 Singapore Major.
Nigma said MinD_ControL did not travel with the team to Jordan to participate in their bootcamp for the Singapore Major as he was "feeling unwell," with a subsequent COVID-19 test confirming that his apparent illness was caused by the virus.
"Before our current bootcamp, [MinD_ControL] was feeling unwell and did not join the team in Jordan. Earlier today [MinD_ControL's] test results came back and he tested positive for COVID-19. He is doing much better, but he will not be joining the team in Singapore," Nigma said in a statement on its official Twitter account.
Nigma added that team coach Roman "rmN-" Paley will move to the active roster to fill in for MinD_ControL and that they are "making the necessary adjustments" for the Singapore Major.
MinD_ControL is now the fourth player who has qualified for the Singapore Major to test positive for the coronavirus shortly before the tournament.
Natus Vincere was the first team to announce a positive test on Saturday (20 March), with Bogdan "Iceberg" Vasilenko and Andrii "ALWAYSWANNAFLY" Bondarenko contracting the virus. Quincy Crew then announced on Monday (22 March) that Arif "MSS" Anwar also tested positive for COVID-19.
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.
Meanwhile, 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.
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 Major have already begun to arrive in Singapore. 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.
Check out esports videos from Yahoo TV:
