When Russia invaded Ukraine, it started a series of very unfortunate events for Russians themselves, the exclusion from a lot of spheres, including e-sports.

Shooters against the War?

We won’t tell you anything new when we say that every human that is conscious enough and has developed critical thinking skills could tell right from wrong, war from a special operation. The war that Russia has started against Ukraine has put the oppressing country in a very well-deserved corner through sanctions. Also, currently, it’s not particularly good for business if your company has ties to Russia or, let’s say, you allow Russian teams to compete. So, it was just logical that a lot of e-sports championships and companies decided that they don’t want to see the teams from the said country competing ever at their championships. So, in this article, we’ll briefly cover those championships that Russia is excluded from and game companies that raised money for donating to organisations that provide help to Ukraine.

Shooters

It might be a bit counterintuitive that shooters support integrity and peace in Ukraine, despite that the game’s aim is basically to kill your opponent in many ways. But, if we look deeper, we find that there are people on the other side of the game, developers, who have their points of view and certain positions. And, well, they can tell the game from the actual murders of innocent civilians.

Rainbow’s 6 Siege, Apex Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2 is just the beginning of the list of the championships that no longer welcome any Russian teams at all. Specifically, Esports tournament organiser ESL said that the certain 2 teams couldn’t compete under the Russian flag, but they may still be welcome in the tournament if they choose to stay neutral.

FIFA and NHL

Not only shooters but FIFA and NHL followed the global backlash against Russia and as teams from this country were excluded from football and hockey, EA Games didn’t stay aside and no longer welcomed any e-sport teams from Russia and Belarus. The players from the aforementioned countries are no longer able to buy games at any digital storefront. The company’s representative expressed his shock about the situation in Ukraine and stressed that the decision was immediate.

Betting at many ventures also became impossible – for instance, new AUS bookmakers have publicly said that they will no longer publish any Russian teams, and all Russian users should take away all money that they have on their accounts. Thus, the door to the electronic sports were closed.

Fundraisers

Actually, the list of the companies that have raised money to help Ukraine or to support major organisations like Doctors without Borders or the Red Cross is almost endless. You can find a lot of well-known names such as Ubisoft, EA Games, Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Wargaming, Riot Games, Nintendo, Playstation, and Plarium.

Esports community stands united in its anti-war position and gamers stand under the same notion that no innocent human should die. In the end, it’s important to remember who you are and what exactly you’re standing for.