Teams like 100Thieves and BC.Game may have an advantage by playing through the qualifier instead of a direct invite to the imminent Esports World Cup.
The Esports World Cup (EWC) qualifier is set to start tomorrow, the 7th of August, and may have surprises in store for those teams left outside of the tournament invite “bubble”.
The Valve Regional Standings (VRS) system was put into effect in 2025 with the goal of returning the CS esports scene back into an open circuit. Prior to that, tournament organizers (TOs) spent years creating private deals with teams that would guarantee their attendance at events as part of a deal.
VRS was partially intended to remove the “bubble” of teams that could repeatedly qualify for big events no matter their form, due to the financial deals made with the teams. However, the VRS has created a bubble of its own through its rules.
The VRS invite bubble
For a VRS-ranked event like EWC or a Major, the organizer is not allowed to invite just any teams they want. Instead, they are obligated to invite the top VRS teams in order of their ranking.
While intended to prize teams for their consistent top form, it ends up rewarding the teams that have already qualified to events with more VRS points, as long as they perform well. This creates a virtuous circle of points for the top teams while the lower ones are excluded out of that bubble.
The rest of the teams starting with a roster from scratch with no VRS points, like BC.Game and 100Thieves, are left to farm VRS points in lesser tournaments, hoping they can make it in.
The opportunity the EWC qualifier presents
Since their re-entry into CS, 100Thieves have not been able to penetrate the Tier-one bubble. They have had positive strings of results in lesser tournaments, but not enough for Major qualification.
BC.Game, boasting Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, has had more chances at Tier-one tournaments, but failed to take advantage of those opportunities and has now been left out.
Despite being an Americas team, Team Liquid does not benefit as their Global VRS ranking took a massive hit after their fruitless first season of 2026. They are predicted to miss multiple VRS invites.
All three of these teams will be at the EWC qualifier, and predictions from experts seem to point that the extra matches may actually benefit these teams. The VRS points they will get from potentially winning these matches may be the difference between qualifying to the Singapore Major or not.
