Virtus.pro will be absent from ESL Pro League Season 22 after being turned away at the Swedish border, and their hopes of attending the StarLadder Budapest Major may now be at risk.

In a statement posted by Virtus.pro, they said that “border control raised concerns regarding the medical insurance of three players. Notably, the same insurance policies had previously been accepted without issue in other Schengen countries”

They later said that despite sorting out the issue regarding the medical insurance, it was already too late, and that visas had already been revoked. The organization is now in contact with a “local attorney specializing in migration law” but that the process is expected to take “some time.”

Virtus.рro will miss ESL Pro League in Stockholm.

Unfortunately, our team will be unable to participate in the upcoming ESL Pro League in CS2, set to take place in Stockholm in the coming days.

Upon entering Sweden, border control raised concerns regarding the medical insurance… pic.twitter.com/o0NsmkQwuZ

— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) September 27, 2025

Virtus.pro were set to enter ESL Pro League Season 22 in Stage 1 of the competition, where they would have North American team M80 in their opening game.

This presented a solid opportunity for them to get more game practice with Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy’s system as their new IGL, and to further bed in their new signing Vadim “tO0RO” Arkov after his promotion for their academy team, they will now be without an event to play in until after the StarLadder Budapest Major invite cut off date on October 6.

VP Could Miss Major?

However, due to their inability to play in ESL Pro League, Virtus.Pro’s qualification to said Major is now also in doubt. Former NAVI and Gambit coach kane said “I’ll drop an interesting inside: Virtus.pro most likely won’t make it to the Major.”

😑 No VirtusPro at Major? Kane knows something we don’t. pic.twitter.com/xpVCy7ZSJl

— CS2 NEWS (@CS2News_EN) September 27, 2025

It’s currently unclear as to whether this will also be due to a travel-related issue as it has been with ESL Pro League, but VRS wizard MischiefCS2 is already reporting that the loss of VRS points may be catastrophic.

As a result of missing out on the tournament in Stockholm, Sweden, VP will fall to 18th in the European standings, two ranks below the required 16th place to qualify for Budapest.

Well, the EU major race just got exciting.

Updated EU 🇪🇺 Major VRS predictions after the EPL changes.

This has handed a lifeline to contending teams, its gonna be a very interesting next 10 days. pic.twitter.com/U7YHBWRgkO

— Finn (@MischiefCS2) September 27, 2025

 

ENCE to Replace Virtus.Pro

ESL has given ENCE the opportunity to replace Virtus.pro at the tournament, due to them being the next eligible team for qualification.

As per their rules: “Any withdrawal occurring less than two weeks prior to the event’s start date will result in the invitation being granted to the highest-ranked team on the Valve Regional Standings from the host region of the event. Only teams with valid visas for the region or country where the tournament is being held will be considered.”

As a result, ENCE have had to pull out of the Birch Cup, to be replaced by Team Liquid.

We're through to Birch Cup Playoffs. Goodluck ENCE at EPL👊

See you tomorrow. https://t.co/UGmGKWenYl

— Team Liquid CS (@TeamLiquidCS) September 27, 2025

More Visa Issues

Virtus.pro aren’t the only team facing visa issues ahead of ESL Pro League – Chinese team Lynn Vision also had to drop out due to their inability to field a complete roster during the event.

They are to be replaced by Spanish team Gentle Mates, who had to forfeit matches at the ongoing Birch Cup 2025 in order to travel to Stockholm for the event.

Those forfeitures, and the lack of VRS points available in Stage 1 of ESL Pro League, means that Gentle Mates will also now most likely miss out on the Major, although their chances of qualification were already slim.