Valve Allows BC.Game to Qualify for PGL Major Singapore Through Asia

Valve has granted BC.Game an exception to its new regional eligibility rules, allowing the Counter-Strike 2 team featuring Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev to compete for a PGL Major Singapore 2026 invitation through Asia.

The decision was published on October 7, just one day after Valve introduced restrictions on teams switching regions before a Major. The exception applies specifically to BC.Game's current roster of s1mple, Magisk, Senzu, mzinho, and asap. It restores the team's Asian qualification route but does not guarantee a place at the tournament.

On October 6, Valve updated its Major Supplemental Rulebook to prevent teams from changing their regional assignment at short notice.

Under the new regulation, a roster cannot receive a regional assignment if it appeared in another region's Valve Regional Standings (VRS) during the preceding three calendar months.

The change directly affected BC.Game, which had recently added Mongolian players Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold and Ayush "mzinho" Batbold, followed by Australian player Tyson "asap" Paterson.

Those additions gave BC.Game an Asian majority under Valve's regional classification system. However, the roster had previously appeared in Europe's VRS rankings. The October 6 restriction therefore threatened to prevent the team from using its new regional assignment for the Singapore Major.

BC.Game was not the only organization affected. Sashi and WW had also pursued regional changes ahead of the November invitation deadline.

BC.Game responded on October 7 with a public statement from CEO Ali "Ako" Muhanned, asking Valve to reconsider its situation.

Rather than requesting an unconditional exception, Muhanned proposed resetting the team's accumulated VRS points to zero. BC.Game would then attempt to earn enough points for a Major invitation using only its current five-player roster.

The organization summarized its proposal as "0 points. 5 players. 3 weeks."

The statement argued that BC.Game should be allowed to compete under the new lineup without benefiting from previously accumulated ranking points. Muhanned acknowledged that qualifying from zero with so little time remaining would be extremely difficult.

Later that day, Valve added an exception to its official tournament regulations. The ruling states that BC.Game's five named players are assigned to Asia and eligible for a Major invitation.

However, Valve's published decision does not say the team's VRS points have been reset. It confirms regional eligibility without adopting the specific compromise BC.Game proposed.

BC.Game was ranked third in Asia with 1,318 points in Valve's October 5 standings, behind TYLOO and The MongolZ. That placed the team inside the region's five available Major spots before the new restriction was introduced.

The final VRS cutoff for PGL Major Singapore is November 2. Asia-Pacific has five invitations available, with the highest-ranked eligible team entering Stage 2 and the remaining four beginning in Stage 1.

Valve's exception means BC.Game can compete for those places using its current roster. Its final position will still depend on the standings used for invitations.

The decision also does not remove the three-month restriction for other organizations. Valve has granted BC.Game a roster-specific exception, while the wider regional assignment rule remains in place.

PGL Major Singapore 2026 is scheduled to run from November 25 through December 13, featuring 32 teams competing for a $1.25 million prize pool.