Politician helps CSGO team secure visas for IEM Rio Major

Declan Mclaughlin
Bad News Eagles

The Kosovar Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Hajrulla Çeku, helped local CSGO team Bad News Eagles get their visas to compete at the IEM Rio Major.

On October 28, Bad News Eagles player Sener ‘SENER1’ Mahmuti, publically thanked the minister on Twitter for helping his team secure visas to compete at the Rio Major. A Kosovar squad, Bad News Eagles qualified for the Major by placing sixth in the IEM Road to Rio 2022 European RMR A event.

Bad News Eagles will travel to Brazil in the coming days to compete in the CSGO Major and represent their country. In response to SENER1’s tweet, Çeku wished the team luck at the event.

“Best of luck to Bad News Eagles boys. Nothing can prevent our talented youth from realizing their potential,” the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport said.

The squad has been on the rise since early 2022, when it was formed as a free-agent team after they were dropped by their previous organization, Team BLINK. Bad New Eagles then qualified for PGL Major Antwerp and reached the Legends Stage.

The team hoped to sign with an esports organization after their success but decided to continue as Bad News Eagles, with famous on-air talent James Banks joining as team manager.

Bad News Eagles continue their 2022 run

The Kosovar team built on their PGL Antwerp run over the summer with top finishes in a few European tournaments, including Elisa Invitational Spring 2022 and Tipsport Cup Prague 2022. At the RMR event, Bad News Eagles qualified for the Challengers Stage with wins over Eternal Fire, Astralis and forZe.

The first stage of the Rio Major starts on October 31 with Bad News Eagles facing off against Brazilian squad 00 Nation in their first match of the Challengers Stage.

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About The Author

Based in Indiana, Declan McLaughlin is an esports reporter for Dexerto Esports covering Valorant, LoL and anything else that pops up. Previously an editor and reporter at Upcomer, Declan is often found reading investigative stories or trying to do investigations himself. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University. You can contact him at declan.mclaughlin@dexerto.com.