compLexity gaming secure P1 athletes visas

compLexity Gaming has secured the first Dota 2 P1 athletes visas for their three Swedish players – Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin, Linus “Limmp” Blomdin and Simon “Handsken” Haag. Visa issues have been plaguing Dota 2 and esports for several years now, making travel difficult for some players at times.

compLexity Gaming have once again shown they are ahead of the curve in taking care of their players and moving towards a more athletic club culture and approach to esports. Earlier in May, the organization had become the first esports organization to train at IMG academy – a world renowned training haven and school for traditional sports.

Now, Swedish brothers Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin and Linus “Limmp” Blomdin, along with Swedish teammate Simon “Handsken” Haag have successfully obtained the much coveted United States P1 athletes visas.

compLexity’s visas will be in effect for two years and allow the Swedish players to temporarily live, play and earn salary in the United States as Internationally recognized athletes.

All three members joined compLexity Gaming at the end of November and moved to the team house in Florida.

P1 athletes visas

P1 athletes visas gained much attention recently. In May, official petition was filed with the US White House requesting a policy change allowing international competitors ease in obtaining the visas.

The required 100,000 signatures was obtained and submitted requesting that the White House review and revise P1 athletes visas to include the recognition of esports competitors.

P1 athletes visas applies to athletes are filed:

if you are coming to the U.S. temporarily to perform at a specific athletic competition as an athlete, individually or as part of a group or team, at an internationally recognized level of performance.

However, according to the proponents of the petition, “esports players are often denied these visas because they’re deemed to not meet P-1A standards. Adding esports to the category would make it much easier for a foreign competitor to meet the standards of the visa”

In June, The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) declined to make any changes to the process.

The White House’s official response stated that the current policy and process did not prohibit players from receiving P1 athletes visas:

According to USCIS, the agency responsible for processing P-1 visa applications, there is no current policy categorically precluding an eSport from being recognized as a qualifying athletic competition. In fact, USCIS has approved P-1 visa petitions for athletes seeking to enter the United States to compete in eSport events.

compLexity Gaming

compLexity at ESL One Manila

compLexity Gaming is a North American organization founded in 2003.

In November 2015 the Dota 2 team underwent roster changes – welcoming Swedish brothers Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin and Linus “Limmp” Blomdin for the new season, reviving most of the HoN StayGreen roster from 2013-2014. Simon “Handsken” Haag also joined the mix.

Since then, they have had powerful and compelling victories and performances.

The North American/European mix overpowered Shazam, 3:2, in the Americas Qualifiers for EPICENTER Moscow, eventually taking fourth place in the main event.

The NA based squad took 9th-12th place at the Manila Major. Before the Major, coL were given a run for their money when Digital Chaos overpowered them in the SL i-League StarSeries Season 2 American Qualifier and the The Summit 5 American Qualifiers.

Most recently compLexity Gaming took 5-6th in ESL One Frankfurt 2016 and the TI6 wild card spot for The International 6 when they came in third place behind Evil Geniuses and Digital Chaos.

compLexity Gaming roster:

Kyle “swindlemelonzz” Freedman
Zakari “Zfreek” Freedman
Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin
Linus “Limmp” Blomdin
Simon “Handsken” Haag