UPDATE: Patsi arrives in time to play at Pro League

Liquid have just received some of the best news they possibly could have as Robert "Patsi" Isyanov has landed in Malta just before 08:00AM. The player was looking receive a visa to the United States, which was taking longer than expected. The player requested his passport back from the US consulate, but delays unfortunately put the player and Liquid in a bind.

On Twitter, Patsi spoke with Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill and said that his flight was landing around 14:00, or 2:00 PM local time, less than an hour before the start of the match against Virtus.pro. The player will need to retrieve his luggage and go through customs, however SPUNJ says that the venue is only 15 to 20 minutes away depending on traffic. It will be close, but Patsi might just have minutes to spare if he shows up before the match which begins at 10:00 AM EST.

Initially, it was rumored that Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis would be the one to miss out on the start of ESL Pro League Season 18, however Dust2.us clarified that it would, in fact, be Patsi due to US visa concerns that appear to plague so many players. Liquid was initially wary of Patsi making it to even the opening three games given the delays in the visa process, especially as the passport had to be mailed to his home address and could not be picked up at the consulate.

At the time, Liquid had looked to several different options for substitutes, one of which included bringing back Jake "Stewie2k" Yip, who had played for the organization in 2019. However, the squad settled on using coach Damien "daps" Steele.

Right now, Liquid is hopeful that Patsi will be able to make it to the first game, but for now, the perfect conditions need to be met for him to make it to his chair at least 45 minutes ahead of game time in order to be eligible to play.

UPDATE: Liquid have informed Dust2.us that Patsi has arrived at the venue and is currently setting up to play. Liquid will be playing with their normal lineup against Virtus.pro.