Apeks will replace the East Europe squad in the online qualifiers starting on May 2.

Outsiders will not take part in the European qualifiers for IEM Dallas 2022 after withdrawing from the event following problems in acquiring the necessary visas, ESL announced on Twitter. Apeks will take their spot, being the highest-ranked team from the European open qualifiers.

The news comes as a blow to Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali's team as they were considered among the favorites to take one of the two available qualifying spots from the tournament.

This is not the first development in the Outsiders/Virtus.pro camp to come to light recently as reports of Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis' possible departure after the PGL Major in Antwerp were released earlier today.

After their roster overhaul at the start of 2022 which saw names such as Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk and Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad join the organization, Apeks have not had the results they might have hoped for. This qualifier presents itself as the perfect chance for the squad to attend a tier-one LAN, but they will face an uphill battle, facing an in-form BIG on the opening match, and only two out of eight teams advancing.

The first round of matchups for the Closed Qualifiers is:

Opening round - May 2

12:30 - Copenhagen Flames vs EC Kyiv | BO3
12:30 - Entropiq vs fnatic | BO3
16:00 - Movistar Riders vs MOUZ | BO3
16:00 - Apeks vs BIG | BO3

IEM Dallas is supposed to take place between May 30 - June 5, and will see 16 teams battle it out for the lion's share of $250,000 in the heart of Texas.

Teams attending the North American LAN include some of the world's best such as Natus Vincere, FaZe, and Cloud9 as well as some up-and-coming squads looking to leave their mark on the international stage such as ENCE as FURIA.

The list of teams attending IEM Dallas 2022 is: