Visa issues
continue to disrupt the start of the upcoming LCS season, which will officially begin on January 24. Last week,
Sheep Esports reported that Canadian Frankie “Zamudo” Lin
would be unable to compete under LYON’s banner this season, prompting the team to replace him with Niship “Dhokla” Doshi. As reported on Monday,
Dignitas were also forced to adjust their plans: AD Carry David “Mobility” Rigley and support Brindon “Breezy” Keesey will play at least the first week of the Lock In in place of Victor “FBI” Huang and Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun. According to our information, a third team is now facing a similar scenario:
Team Liquid.
As with LYON, the issue for the 2025 Cross-Conference champions lies at the toplane. Liquid are awaiting
the arrival of South Korean Park "Morgan" Ru-han, who spent the past three years competing in the LCK with BRION. However, Morgan is currently experiencing delays in obtaining his visa, prompting the team to prepare for the start of the season with two alternative toplaners: Philip "
Philip" Zeng and Chris "
Horder" Feng.
Morgan’s visa could still be processed in time, allowing him to claim his starting spot for Liquid’s season opener against Cloud9 this Saturday.
Philip has spent the bulk of his career in the NACL, North America’s Tier 2, though he received a first LCS opportunity with FlyQuest during the Summer 2022 split. At this time, he played with Brandon "Josedeodo" Villegas, who has also joined Liquid this offseason. The duo experienced a modest split, exiting in the first round of the playoffs and finishing in 7th–8th place. Horder has a comparable profile in NA Tier2 but has yet to compete at the top level since the beginning of his professional career in March 2023.
A different champion pool
In Season 15, Horder distinguished himself
with a carry-oriented champion pool, including nine Jax games, eight Jayce, and seven Ambessa. Philip, by contrast,
played only 15 competitive games last year, including four Sion and four Rumble. His most-played champion in his career remains Renekton, with 36 games since his professional debut in Season 11. Team Liquid could thus be seeking a form of versatility from these two players, whereas Morgan predominantly relied on Ambessa, Rumble, and Renekton throughout 2025. Horder has played only one game on Renekton, while Philip did not play Ambessa at all last season.
Visa delays are largely due to slower U.S. immigration processing for foreign competitors entering the LCS. In recent years, application reviews have taken longer than before, with response times now counted in business days instead of calendar days. This slowdown is further exacerbated by the cluster of U.S. public holidays falling between free agency and the start of the season, which reduces the number of working days available to process requests. Limited availability of required consular appointments in players’ home countries, followed by additional delays to retrieve passports once visas are approved, adds another layer of complexity.
