It’s GAME before it even started for this Russian team.

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate European Smash Ball Team Cup comes this May 4th but there’s already one team who will we know will not be participating.

Nintendo of Europe has announced that, due to “visa issues”, Ye Old Guard team from Russia will not be participating in the Amsterdam finals on June 8th.

The Russian division of Nintendo, Nintendo RU, released a statement on its site:

Due to bureaucratic reasons Nintendo has no control over, it takes longer than usual to issue visas in the run-up to the Russian national holidays. Due to that, Russian team won’t be able to attend the event in Amsterdam. The scope of the event and logistical issues do not allow postponing the event or letting Ye Olde Guard play online with teams in Amsterdam.

The mentioned holidays start on May 1st. Russian government offices will only have three work days between then and May 13th, so the visa offices will be overwhelmed with visa applications during that time.

Why weren’t the documents prepared in advance?Because of Nintendo RU according to Ye Olde Guard.

In a post on GameMag forums, Ye Olde Guard’s David Oganesyan describes Nintendo’s local office as a “bunch of incompetent folks” with these details of the situation:

They decided to process visas by themselves. Eventually, they decided to file an application at the very latest moment before the May holidays. Before that, we’ve been sending them all required documents and forms almost daily. As a result, it’s no longer reasonable to visit the embassy, and the closest time one can book an appointment to the visa office is April 26th.

Later, he followed by saying Nintendo RU and Ye Olde Guard have settled on compensation prizes: a Nintendo Switch for each member of a team.

In a conversation with Nintendo Life, Oganesyan said that his team is on good terms with Nintendo RU despite “the huge blunder on their part.”

How do you feel about Ye Old Guard’s situation? Let us know in the comments.