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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Fans of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) are dismayed to learn that ‘Kurd Squad’, one of the Middle East’s top competitive gaming teams, will likely miss the PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) when the tournament opens in Berlin on July 20 pointing to visa delays.
“There is no good news. We tried a lot, in lots of places, with many officials. There is very little time left,” Ari Khaleel, a top Kurd Squad player, told Rudaw English on Wednesday.
They have even knocked on the door of the newly-appointed Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Khaleel said.
Initially, they didn’t ask for help from officials when applying for visa interviews because they didn’t think they would be required.
“If things remain as they are, we won’t be able to travel,” Khaleel said.
They eventually applied at the German Consulate General in Erbil. Using invitation letters of the Gamestars Production GmbH, based in Berlin, Kurd Squad asked for urgent visa interviews..
This is despite the German company promising to cover all costs related to travel and transportation for Kurd Squad, revealing the Kurd Squad players would leave the Schengen area days after July 30, 2019.
However, they were denied an urgent interview at the consulate as it saw no urgency in their request.
"It is nearly impossible for a chance like this to come again. It is true that we are a strong team, but it is very difficult to be the second among five to six thousand teams. I don't believe there will be a second time," Khaleel said.
The company that sent the invitation has emailed the German consulate in Erbil more than once, but to no avail, Khaleel lamented.
PUBG mobile, on its Facebook page, has posted the logo of the teams which will participate in the prelims. The Kurd Squad's logo is still included in the announcements.
"The company doesn't expect that we will be prevented from participating due to visa [issues]," Khaleel explained when asked why the company hasn't removed their logo.
His team carried out its responsibility of coming at the top among thousands of teams. Now it is the duty of government officials to get Kurd Squad visas, Khaleel asserted.
The company hasn't made many suggestions to them, and there is no way to participate here from Kurdistan through the internet. It has suggested changing their destination, to a country like France, Khaleel added.
They also tried to try France, but a Kurdish manager in VFS Global, a partner of the French consulate in Erbil, told them they won't be able to secure a visa.
"There is no time left. Only Germany is possible," Khaleel said when asked if they would try another route.
Another option could be for Kurdish players in Europe to take their mantle and participate in their stead, Khaleel said.
"However, this will be a huge blow as our loss will be guaranteed because they haven't played in difficult tournament games," added Khalel.
PUBG Mobile Club Open Spring Split finals are planned to last from July 26-28.
But before that, the PMCO Prelims are planned to be held July 20-21.
The Kurd Squad would have to first secure a Top 5 spot from the prelims among Asian, North American and other regional teams before advancing to the Spring Split finals.
PUBG has an enormous following in the Region and Iraq despite an Iraqi parliament ban in April and a fatwa (religious ruling) from Sulaimani’s religious authorities banning the game.
In the middle of 2018, PUBG Corp., the developer of PUBG, announced that the game, across all its platforms, from PC, gaming consoles, and mobile devices has reached over 400 million players. This number could have potentially increased in 2019.
Strict visa policies are nothing new for people in Iraq — particularly for non-emergency visas like those granted for health issues. Jubrail Abubakir, a filmmaker from the Kurdistan Region, was recently denied a US visa to compete in three separate film festivals for ‘Ailan’, a film named after the 3-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned off the coast of Turkey in 2015.
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