Russian players free to attend IEM Katowice next year
Speculations about the attendance of Russian players for the upcoming event have ended.
In a mail to HLTV, tournament organizer ESL confirmed, that there is "no local law indicating that any given team or player cannot enter the premises of Poland".
The statement was given after Poland earlier this year banned all travelers from Russia to enter the country. The ban came as a result of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine from Russia, which prompted neighboring countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to close their borders to Russians.
That ban is still in effect, but if a Russian citizen has obtained a visa from another EU country, they can still travel to Poland and participate in the tournament.
At the moment teams such as Outsiders, NAVI, Cloud9, Spirit, and OG have players from Russia on their roster.
IEM Katowice is set to start January 31st next year.