EA made a move today that has big implications for multiple esports scenes. It has banned teams and players from Russia and Belarus from competing in both the Apex Legends Global Series and EA Sports FIFA 22 Global Series. The move took place during Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine, and many Western companies are on track to remove their services from the two countries.
Important in the wording of EA's statement is the fact that both teams and players from Russia and Belarus will be banned. This means that there is currently no way to compete for the best players from the two Eastern European countries. This is different from Riot's approach to VALORANT and the VCT program where Russian teams like Gambit are allowed to play under a different name and neutral flag.
So far, only one competitor who has qualified for the top 22 in the FIFA 16 Global Series will be affected by this decision: Ufenok from FC Lokomotiv Moscow.
ALGS is a different story. Russian teams dominate the EMEA region. Thirty-three of the 120 players in the Pro League, the biggest competition in professional Apex, hail from Russia. This means that the format of the competition will likely have to change completely, as 40 of the 12 teams in the Pro League are Russian. The groups will need to be shuffled and the competition will most likely be reduced from a round of four groups of 10 teams to three groups.
The move also directly affects some players who have been actively displaced by the war. Gambit, which has one of the best Apex teams in the world, is a Russian team with Ukrainian player Artur “Artyco” Tishchenko. Artyco hails from Kharkiv, one of the most affected cities in Ukraine. Belarusian actor Kirill “9impulse” Kostiv had recently moved to Kiev to access higher quality internet and had to leave the country after the Russian invasion. However, he was unable to return to Belarus for fear of being drafted, forced into the war, or imprisoned. According to her social media accounts, she is currently in Poland.
There is no word yet on when the ALGS competition will resume in EMEA, and most Ukrainian players will not be able to participate anytime soon due to the occupation. The tournament was delayed for two weeks worldwide before resuming in all regions outside of EMEA last weekend.
Many professional players from non-conflict EMEA countries expressed their dissatisfaction with this move following EA's announcement.
As a result, EA's punishment will fall the most on players who depend on the game and competitions for their income, and it will also affect players who are unintentionally active refugees from war. The company's intentions may be for the better, but for now, many players who were not involved in the conflict, and even those who were vocally opposed to the war, have been banned from tournaments.
March 16 Update 17:37: ALGS administrators emailed all participants in the tournament series residing in Russia or Belarus, according to ALGS players. This email says that players residing in those countries are not eligible to play on ALGS. However, the tournament will allow competitors to compete if they reside in a different country than the two banned countries. Contestants to be relocated must confirm that they are moving outside of Russia or Belarus by March 20.