United21 has decided not to host VRS-status tournaments due to disagreements with Valve’s rules

Tournament operator United21 has announced the cancellation of all future VRS-status tournaments. The reason was the organizers’ disagreement with Valve’s current rules and HLTV’s refusal to cover the series’ ranked tournaments while maintaining its own participant selection policy.

According to United21 representatives, the existing VRS system, as well as other oversight mechanisms such as ESIC, are unable to effectively protect the professional Counter-Strike scene from match-fixing and cheating. The organizers believe that the right to make decisions regarding team eligibility should remain with tournament operators; however, the current rules do not allow for this. As an example, the company cited a situation in which a team could perform well at a single LAN tournament, earn a VRS rating, and then be required by online tournament organizers to invite that team.

The company also stated that it will continue to hold tournaments without VRS status and will strengthen measures to ensure fair play. Specifically, all participants will be required to use webcams during matches, and voice communication will take place exclusively through the TeamSpeak server provided by United21. 

Earlier, tournament operator United21 announced the introduction of a blacklist of teams for future tournaments. The organizers refused to invite a number of teams after sanctions were imposed on them by the EPL and CCT.

Photo: United21.