Valve has reversed course on BC.Game's Major qualification status, granting the team an exception that allows them to compete for the Singapore Major 2026 through the Asian VRS leaderboard.
The decision comes after Valve introduced new restrictions on region switching in the VRS rulebook, which initially disqualified s1mple's BC.Game squad from the upcoming Major. However, the developer later indicated to HLTV that affected organizations could reach out for alternative qualification solutions.
Valve updated its tournament operation exception list on the VRS GitHub repository to include BC.Game, effectively restoring their path to the Major. This development puts s1mple and his teammates in a commanding position, as they've already claimed the top seed spot on the Asia VRS leaderboard, surpassing TYLOO.
The exception appears to be a response to specific circumstances surrounding BC.Game's roster construction. Tom J. Lemke, co-founder of BIG and MOUZ, suggested on social media that Sashi's recent roster manipulation involving dual citizenship prompted Valve's original ruling change.
BC.Game's situation differs from other cases because they signed their Mongolian players well before considering a region switch. While the addition of asap technically triggered the regional change, it wasn't executed with the clear intent to exploit the system.
BC.Game's CEO had previously appealed to Valve, offering to restart with zero VRS points and compete through three weeks of qualifiers. The current core roster of asap, senzu, and mzinho has extensive experience competing at the highest levels of Asian Counter-Strike, strengthening their case for the Asia assignment.
While BC.Game receives this favorable outcome, teams like Sashi and WW will not receive similar exceptions and will miss the Singapore Major.
