Valve Adjusts VRS Region Swap Rules
As sashi brought the region-switching exploit out into the open, sparking massive backlash in the community, Valve had no choice but to take the issue seriously. Besides BCG who switched regions, there is also a Russian streamer changing nationality in an attempt to lead WWtame to get stickers — they must hate sashi to death right now.
If a team has appeared on the VRS list of any other region in the previous three calendar months, it will no longer be eligible for a region swap.
After several organizations switched from the European VRS to the Asian VRS to improve their chances of qualifying for the Major, Valve has adjusted the CS Major Supplemental Rulebook.
The new addition to the rulebook states: "A roster is only eligible for a regional assignment if it has not appeared on any other region's VRS list in the previous three calendar months."
In practice, this means any change to a team's region will take three months to take effect, eliminating the possibility of teams temporarily switching regions before the deadline to lock in Major qualification, as they will not be assigned a region.
One thing to note is that this change only applies to Major invites, which means teams remain eligible for invites to events outside the Major circuit.
When asked for comment by HLTV, Valve clarified that the change will take effect for the Singapore Major. They also confirmed that the change takes effect three months before Major invitations are issued, rather than three months before the Major begins.
This game developer also revealed that teams that swapped regions before the Singapore Major were disqualified from this Major unless "they proactively reached out and found a solution."