Valve closed the Asia-swap loophole that organisations had used to improve their Singapore Major invite odds — and made the change retroactive.
The rule
"A roster is only eligible for a Regional Assignment if they did not appear in any other region's VRS list in the preceding three calendar months."
When it bites
Effective immediately for the Singapore Major cycle — the three-month lookback starts three months before Major invites are distributed, not three months before the Major itself.
Trigger moves
- BC.Game: signed Australian AWPer Tyson "asap" Paterson in September to pivot into Asia VRS
- Sashi: added Australians Jordan "Hatz" Bajic and Tynan "TjP" Purtell about one month before the deadline
- WW: also attempted a region switch
Consequence
Per Valve, teams that completed region swaps before the rule announcement "are disqualified from the Major run, unless they reach out and find a solution." No official appeal process has been published; organisations are expected to deal with Valve directly.
Community split
- Supporters: VRS system shouldn't reward last-minute region shopping
- Critics: retroactive mid-season rule changes financially damage organisations that operated within existing guidelines
Source: HLTV.org — /news/45655/valve-adjust-rules-for-vrs-region-swaps
