Valve has rolled out a new rule update to the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) system, closing what many in the scene have called a long-standing loophole in how teams qualify for Majors.
Effective immediately, teams will no longer be allowed to appear across multiple regional rankings. From now on, each team will only be tied to one region in the VRS model.
– Updating regional representation so teams only appear on a single VRS list. In the case of a tie, the team is assigned to the stronger of the two regions, the update reads.
This means teams can no longer build lineups across multiple continents to increase their chances of reaching Majors via weaker regions.
Instead, every team will be locked into one ranking list based on the majority of its roster. If the lineup is evenly split across two regions, it will automatically be placed in the stronger of the two, based on current VRS strength.
The rule change also shuts down loopholes used by lineups like DRILLAS, who entered the Asian RMR with little regional connection. The team was led by the popular Counter-Strike personality Mark ‘ohnePixel’ Zimmermann.
The move sparked criticism about how easily teams could bypass regional integrity.
