Ukraine’s New Wartime Policy Sidelines Monte Coach From Paris Major
| Tags: CS:GO
| Author The News One
Sergey ‘lmbt' Bezhanov will be watching from home as his team plays in the last CSGO Major
Monte coach Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanov has announced that he will not attend the Paris Major due to new travel restrictions in his home country, Ukraine. Therefore, the CCT West Europe Series #3 champions will play without a coach in France.
So we was fighting till the end but war times – war laws. I’m 100% not visiting the @BLASTtv major due to new regulations and can’t back up my Boyz in this journey but they are as rdy as it’s possible. Got get em @kRaSNaLkox @woro2k @demqqqq @somedieyoungCS @boroscs @krizzencsgo
— Sergey LMBT Bezhanov (@LMBT_CSGO) May 5, 2023
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February, the Ukrainian government has restricted travel restrictions on men belonging to the 18-60 age bracket. The Ukrainian border guard services explain that the travel ban on adult men intends to maintain sufficient reserve manpower for emergency drafting. Earlier, the restrictions were more relaxed and the authorities often granted exceptions. In recent months, however, the law has become stricter.
The news came as a major setback for Monte, who are set to face FaZe in their Paris Major Challengers Stage opener at the Accor Arena in three days.
Despite being the number one seed in the first stage of the event, the Ukrainian-majority squad faces a tough challenge in their first match against one of the heavyweights, FaZe, who left it late to qualify for the Challengers Stage.
Despite being considered underdogs, Monte surprised many during their run at the Europe RMR B, securing fourth place with a 3-1 record and impressive victories over ENCE, Cloud9, and FORZE. They lost only once in the group stage to Heroic, before falling to another top team, Vitality, in the Legends Stage decider.
Heading into the BLAST TV Paris Major:
Team: @Monte_Esports
Excitement scale 1-6 stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/ypi3KqlhYi
— Jacob “Pimp” Winneche (@PimpCS2) May 5, 2023
After their successful run in the RMRs, Monte has continued to impress, winning their fifth tier two online tournament title at the CCT West Europe Series 3 and placing second in the CCT Central Europe Series 6. The Ukrainians will undoubtedly be one of the dark horses at the Paris Major 2023.