Surely they would only blind someone off if they were expecting them to show, and even then, depending on the rules for being late, he might get ‘picked up’ at the first blind raise.
Where are the other 8 competitors from (or based)?
News I read here was that he was not granted a visa due to EU countries blocking Chinese visitors still due to COVID, so I’m not sure it was a case of him not wanting to travel as not being allowed to.