Timeline of the scandal surrounding the change of the VRS region ahead of the PGL Major Singapore 2026 — the fight against regional tourism
The professional Counter-Strike 2 scene has been rocked by a sports scandal stemming from attempts by some clubs to secure a slot at the PGL Major Singapore 2026 by changing their VRS region. Mass transfers and last-minute changes in nationality to secure an invitation through Asia prompted a response from Valve, which forced teams with a European background to drop out of the race for Major invitations mid-season. Here’s a day-by-day breakdown of the key events in this scandal.
- October 5. Sashi Esport makes major roster changes to switch to the Asian VRS ranking. The club moved Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen and Kasper “Cabbi” Jensen to the bench, signing two Australian players—Tainan “TJP” Pertella and Jordan “Hatz” Bajic. With Anton “Anlelele” Huynh’s Vietnamese citizenship, the team now meets the required regional majority for APAC.
- October 6. Anton “Anlelele” Huy officially changes his esports nationality from Danish to Vietnamese on HLTV and Liquipedia. This move sparked a wave of controversy, prompting Sashi Esport CEO Klaus “DOKTOR3N” Nielsen to issue a statement refuting rumors of the player’s dual citizenship. At the same time, the HLTV editorial team requested a photo of the rifler’s physical passport for internal verification due to suspicions of fraud.
- October 6. The esports community sharply criticized the current VRS ranking regulations amid the transfers to Sashi Esport. Team Falcons rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovac stated that it is not too late for the developers to intervene and rectify the situation. 100 Thieves Division Head Graham “messioso” Pitt called the loophole involving changes in citizenship outrageous and criticized Valve for its delayed response to the abuse. Analyst Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill and Daniel “mavrick” Lang, a programmer for tournament organizer DFRAG, emphasized that the abuse of Asian slots undermines competitive integrity.
- October 6. Valve publishes an official update to the Major regulations and introduces a three-month restriction on changing competitive regions. Under the new rules, a roster can be considered part of a specific region only if it has not appeared in the VRS tables of other regions during the previous three months. This change prevents “jumpers” from quickly securing an invite.
- October 6. The developers release additional clarifications regarding the rule ahead of the PGL Major Singapore 2026. Valve specifies that the three-month period is strictly counted down to the date invitations for the Major are issued, and all teams that changed their region mid-season are automatically eliminated from the race for slots unless they reach a compromise with the company.
- October 6. The professional community reacts en masse to the verdict. Analysts Pimp, Thorin, Mauisnake, kassad, dusT, BanKs, Devilwalk, Scrawny, YNk, YouM3, and voo, as well as esports players Dosia, WOOD7, felps, peacemaker, PapaSmithy, kauez, land1n, horvy, deem0, decenty, fer, and pancc are actively discussing the precedent. Most support Valve’s tough decision but criticize the developers for poor timing and the untimely announcement 27 days before the deadline.
- October 6. BC.Game Esports’ Azbayar “Senzu” Munchbold publishes an appeal to fans, urging them not to lose hope and promising to work ten times harder to achieve their goals, while also criticizing the Sashi Esports players. Alongside him, team manager Dylan “spiroo” Lo Vetter points out the unfairness of the conditions and notes that some other clubs have resorted to even more brazen manipulations in order to change regions.
- October 7. HLTV Editor-in-Chief Milan “Striker” Shveida reports that Valve is considering accommodating BC.Game Esports and reinstating the roster to the European VRS chart, since the transfers were completed before the rule was published. Analyst Jesper “Udknud” Larsen, meanwhile, points out the critical vagueness in Valve’s wording regarding the definition of team identity when calculating points.
- October 7. BC.Game Esports head coach Viktor “TaZ” Voitas issues an official statement. He defends the club’s reputation, explaining that the transfers of Senzu, mzinho, and asap were driven by their high competitive potential, not simply a desire to change teams.
- October 7. BC.Game Esports shares an official letter from the club’s CEO, Ali “akofocus” Mohanned, addressed to Valve. The CEO proposes completely resetting all VRS points earned and starting the qualification cycle from scratch, so that the roster would be allowed to remain in the Asian region and prove themselves on the server in a fair competition for the three remaining weeks of Major invitations before the deadline.
Earlier, analyst Duncan “Thorin” Shields noted that it was logical for clubs to exploit loopholes in Valve’s regulations before the rules were tightened. The expert noted that the North American team FlyQuest has long been circumventing the competitive system thanks to its Australian roster, while Liquid was able to instantly secure an invite to the first stage of a Major by signing a strong American rifler at the time.
Photo — Sashi Esport.
