Valve drops player signature restrictions for Antwerp CSGO Major after backlash

On May 3, Valve released the highly anticipated team stickers and player autographs for the PGL Major Antwerp in CS:GO, with all 120 players immortalized in the game.

With PGL Major Antwerp just around the corner, one of the CS:GO community’s biggest questions was whether Valve would limit the player signatures – released before every Major – to only those who reached the playoffs, as it had for the previous Major, held in Stockholm in 2021.

The decision at the time came under intense scrutiny from the community. Some of the players attending the Major criticized Valve’s decision to impose restrictions on autographs for the first time, especially the fact that they were kept in the dark by the developer until days before the event began.

One of the players denied the chance to have an in-game signature in Stockholm was FaZe’s Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants. As he watched his team crash out of the Major just before the playoffs, the Latvian AWPer did not hide his sadness at failing to have his name immortalized in the game.

Valve drops player signature restrictions

Valve announced on May 3 that all players attending the Antwerp Major will have in-game autographs, which, just like the team stickers, come in four variants: paper, glitter, holo, and gold.

Prior to the release of the stickers, Valve showcased broky’s signature to assure him that he wouldn’t endure the same ‘flight’ again.

As with every Major, half of the proceeds from the sales of the stickers, autographs and the viewer pass will go to the players and organizations attending the Antwerp Major, which begins May 9.

Like broky, many players who missed out on signatures in Stockholm have expressed their delight at finally getting the chance to have their own in-game autograph.

But for some of those who were in Stockholm and couldn’t qualify for Antwerp, like MOUZ’s Aurimas ‘Bymas’ Pipiras, the wait to get an in-game signature continues. And there are also cases of players, such as Jhonatan ‘jnt’ Silva, who attended the previous Major and have since retired from the game. For them, in particular, the sense of unfairness has been made even more acute now.

You can keep up with all the action from the PGL Major Antwerp when it begins with the Challengers Stage on May 9 here.