Apex Legends pro Maksym ‘Max-Strafe’ Stadniuk was dropped from Pioneers due to his inability to travel out of Ukraine because of the current Russian invasion of the country.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing for over one year at this point as has impacted multiple esports as players from both countries try to compete online or travel to international tournaments.
Max-Strafe has not been able to leave his home country for some time, missing out on ALGS Split 2 Playoffs and the ALGS 2022 Championship. In all of those instances he was replaced by a substitute player.
He was hopeful that he might be able to travel and compete when he signed to Pioneers in September 2022 after a successful year under GMT Esports. However, that does not appear to be the case.
Apex Legends pro dropped due to inability to leave Ukraine
Pioneers announced a change to its Apex Legends roster on March 3, bringing in Zaine ‘Zaine’ Kazi in from JLINGZ Esports and dropping veteran Max-Strafe. He will continue to be on the Pioneers squad as a substitute.
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Max-Strafe put out his own statement on Twitter following the announcement from Pioneers, saying that he was dropped due to his inability to leave his home country of Ukraine because of the ongoing war with Russia.
The Apex Legends player was unable to leave Ukraine for the most recent LAN event, ALGS Split 1 Playoffs, in London. Several players and an entire team were unable to complete at the same event due to visa complications.
Im not a part of main roster anymore, i couldn't manage find options and permission to leave country for LAN's (upcoming as well) because of russian invasion and thats the only reason, why im not in team anymore. Thank's to team for time together and wins. Wishing you all luck.🫡 https://t.co/XHThm1iKJV
— KCP Max-Strafe. 🇺🇦 (@MaxStrafe) March 3, 2023
“I couldn’t manage to find options and permission to leave the country for LAN’s (upcoming as well) because of the Russian invasion and that’s the only reason, why I’m not in the team anymore,” Max-Strafe said.
Max-Strafe’s inability to play comes as a double blow as he is no longer going to be competing with Matthew ‘SirDel’ Biggins and Casper ‘Gnaske’ Præstensgaard. The three had a long history together, playing on GnaskeStrafeDel back in 2020.