Ukrainian teams withdraw from IESF World Esports Championship 2023 after removal of ban on Russian teams

Yesterday we shared the news that the Russian Federation had issued a communiqué in which it confirmed that a meeting together with the International Esports Federation (IESF).and that the IESF voted in favor of to allow Russian players to compete again under their country’s name after the ban imposed in 2022.

The Ukrainian Dota 2 team was the first to announce that it was leaving the competition.by refusing to participate in the first round match against Indonesia. Following the news and the fact that the decision to lift the ban on Russia is final, they refuse to compete.

On X (Twitter), the Ukrainian e-sports organization. IKLAwhose CS:GO team was to face Serbia on September 1 in the quarterfinals of the IESF CS:GO competition, announced that the roster was withdrawing also.

Due to the shameful decision of the IESF on the re-entry of members of a terrorist country to future competitions, the Ukrainian Esports Federation refuses to continue the participation of our national team in the LAN tournament in Romania. We condemn the harmful policy of the International eSports Federation.

Tolerating terrorists=becoming a terrorist.

Embrace Russia=abandon the democratic world.

Hoisting the Russian flag=supporting the genocide of the Ukrainian people..

IKLA, Ukraine National Team

The IESF has not yet commented On the lifting of the Russian ban. The UESF has vowed to challenge this decision in court. and has accused the delegates of taking bribes.. Through the Telegram channel, the UESF communicated, that the international federation is already embroiled in corruption scandals, referring to a report published in July through a Romanian media outlet, ReporterIS, which detailed the organization’s murky finances.

The IESF WEC 2023 features CS:GO, Dota 2, FIFA, Tekken 7, Mobile Legends and PUBG Mobile tournaments. It is the 15th world championship organized by the IESF, and. brings together 140 esports federations from all over the world.