Valve has sparked unrest among Counter-Strike pro teams and the community at large, after switching up qualification rules in the middle of the European RMR for the Shanghai Major.
Prior to the rule change, teams that finished top 4 of the European RMRs would qualify for the “Elimination Stage” of the Major. This meant they skipped the opening stage and were guaranteed top 16 at the very least.
FaZe, NAVI, Vitality, and Mouz secured their spots in Elimination from European RMR A. But, in RMR B, two underdogs, BIG and 3DMAX upset expectations by going 3-0, and thus also securing a top 16 spot at the Major.
However, on November 22, after BIG and 3DMAX had already celebrated their Elimination Stage spot, Valve suddenly announced a change. Instead, the Elimination Stage spots would be based entirely on Valve’s own Regional Standings (VRS).
A statement to teams said: “For sorting teams qualifying from the Europe RMRs into the Major itself: an update to the Valve Regional Standings will come after the conclusion of the RMRs, and all qualifying teams, including those who had already completed the Europe A RMR, will be sorted before the Shanghai Major solely based on the VRS instead.”
As a result, BIG and 3DMAX, who are ranked 19th and 13th on the VRS respectively, are no longer guaranteed those spots and may end up playing in the Opening Stage instead.
BIG captain tabseN responded to the change: “Crazy to change rules mid-tournament.. life is unfair sometimes but just another challenge to accept and to overcome. We still qualified and I’m proud of our result here so far. We will play sooner than expected but surely we will play our hearts out.”
It’s insane, that has to be the worst thing a tournament organizer has done in a long time… didn’t you already plan your next days/ could have booked flights home etc.?
— kenobus (@kenoBUS15) November 22, 2024
tabseN’s teammate syrsoN called out Valve, posting “fraud in competition,” while JDC said, “Heartbreak would be an understatement since we already celebrated and informed people we care about since this was a big achievement for us but we need to focus on our main mission.
“F**k this whole mid tournament rule change.”
The official BIG Clan account simply said: “That’s honestly crazy.”
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Meanwhile, 3DMAX made light of the situation, joking that they go “straight to the grand final” because they beat G2, the current number one ranked team.
VALVE UPDATE : We have been told we go straight to the Grand final since we just beat the #1 team in the Valve ranking. 🤝 https://t.co/ihcyUsArxs
— Team 3DMAX (@3DMAXGaming) November 22, 2024
Valve slammed for mid-RMR rule change
The CS2 community immediately criticized Valve for the rule change.
“This is bullsh*t,” one fan said. “Regardless of whether or not elimination stage slots should be determined by your Valve ranking or your RMR performance, you SHOULD NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE CHANGE THE RULES MID RMR. Pick one beforehand and stick with it.
“The timing of it is also insane. It makes it look like PW, or Valve, or whoever called for this, changed the rules to specifically f**k over BIG and 3DMAX.”
“Absolutely unacceptable to do this mid RMR. I’m out of words,” another said.
“What a sham. Absolutely disgraceful for rules to be changing during the event. How are are the rules and fairness of competition be held at a high standard with this bs?” a third asked.
It is still possible for 3DMAX and BIG to keep their Elimination Stage spots, but it will likely rely on other teams not qualifying, such as Heroic or Eternal Fire. 3DMAX, ranked 13th as of November 22, have a much better chance than BIG, in 19th.
For now, they simply know they are guaranteed to be at the Major. But whether they will skip the Opening Stage and be guaranteed top 16, is now totally up in the air.
Keep up with the Shanghai Major, which starts on November 30, here.