Thorin: “Changing VRS regions shouldn’t be easy”

I believe that since Valve allowed this loophole in the rules, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. For example, the North American organization FlyQuest has been circumventing the system for a long time. Its owner understands perfectly well that with an Australian roster and a couple of good European players, it’s easy to qualify for every Major. Also, remember the situation with Liquid—they could either watch the IEM Cologne Major 2026 from home, like FaZe Clan, and get lost in the maelstrom of online qualifiers this season, or invite a strong rifler from North America and immediately secure an invite to the first stage.

Even though the payouts for stickers have decreased, qualifying for a Major is still a crucial part of the CS scene. In addition, major organizations need to appear at Tier 1 tournaments and promote their sponsors. It would be financially irresponsible not to follow the rules.

It isn’t necessary to take drastic measures. Perhaps Valve should tie teams to their actual location throughout the season. It would also be a good idea to allow a switch to another VRS only after a certain number of LAN tournaments have been attended in that region. If you call yourselves an Asian team, don’t participate in the Roman Imperium Cup—go learn Chinese instead. Changing VRS regions shouldn’t be easy. Teams like BC.Game don’t train with Asian opponents and don’t have the necessary impact on the local Counter-Strike scene. I think Valve could quickly resolve the issue with the regions if it wanted to.