Mauisnake compared the PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 to the last RMR due to the postponement of the VRS cutoff.

Mauisnake: It’s a minor topic, but I’m glad they moved the VRS cut-off. In past seasons, it took place about two months before the Major, and by the end of the season there were too many tournaments that had absolutely no impact on invitations. I like that this season everything comes down to the wire: the Major is in November, and the cut-off is on November 2, so all these tournaments now carry more weight. In my opinion, this is definitely a positive change: there’s less of a “dead” period in the season. I’m almost certain that it used to last six or seven weeks, and during that entire time there were a bunch of tournaments that simply didn’t matter. ...> But now there’s still something at stake, so even the current Thunderpick World Championship 2026 is, in a sense, important for the VRS ranking.

Mauisnake: Oddly enough, for some teams, the PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 has become something like the last RMR [Regional Major Qualifiers, which were held before the VRS was introduced. — Ed.]. For Nemiga Gaming, which is at the very bottom of the participant list, this is definitely the tournament where everything is decided. This fuels interest in the tournament: it determines who will receive an invitation to the first, second, or third stage of the Major. It’s great that the VRS has worked out exactly this way. Before, there were the RMRs, and the Swiss system determined whether a team would make it to the Major. Now, most of the participants in PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 have already secured their spots at the Major, but this tournament determines which stage they’ll start from, and that adds intrigue. Let me put it this way: if the tournament weren’t taking place at this time, I think Team Vitality and Team Spirit wouldn’t have gone. Some Tier 1 organizations would likely have opted out to focus on preparing for the Major. The fact that everything is now decided closer to the end is a much-needed improvement for the entire tournament system.

Thorin: I was just looking that up while you were talking. If you recall, the last tournament of the first season was the HLC Belgrade Pro 2026: BIG and FaZe Clan played in the final, and if FaZe Clan had won, they could have qualified for the Major. ...> It took almost exactly two months from that tournament to the start of the Major. Now, as far as I know, the cut-off date is November 2, and the Major starts on November 25—that’s not even a month. So the timeframe has become much shorter. I understand that the system has its issues, but I’d advise Valve to fix the situation for the first Major of the year. If you keep the cutoff at one month or less, you’ll get the best of both worlds: the right teams will qualify through the VRS, no one will be able to make crazy substitutions right before the Major, and the main problem with that cutoff won’t happen again. Tournaments, including major ones, took place after that cut, but their results had no impact on the Major.

...> Since the cut-off period is less than a month, it’s extremely unlikely that any team would perform so well in the last one or two LAN tournaments that it would deserve a spot in the Major. ...> I hope they’ll do this for both Majors this year, because these timeframes seem about right. For those who don’t know, the qualifier can’t be held the day before the Major: there’s time needed to get visas, arrange flights, and secure accommodations. But a little less than a month—that’s ideal, in my opinion. It’s a fair compromise: all the logistics have time to fall into place, and at the same time, there’s no situation where half or two-thirds of the season counts toward the standings, while the rest is just for fun and bragging rights.