In the span of 48 hours, BC.Game went through a rollercoaster that few rosters ever experience. Their chances of making the Major moved from 96 percent to a single percent – and then back to almost 100 percent again. The reason was not a lost series, but paperwork around regional eligibility.
How BC.Game lost their European majority
The team first brought in the Mongolian duo of Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold and Ayushi “mzinho” Batbold, and then added Australian Tyson “asap” Paterson. With that signing, BC.Game no longer had a European majority on the roster, which pushed them into the Asian ranking. Both Mongolians arrived from a lineup we cover regularly – the latest shuffle around The MongolZ has its own article on our site.
Valve introduce a three-month rule
The move inspired other teams to try the same trick, and Valve responded with a new restriction. If a team wants to be considered for the Major, any change of region now has to happen at least three months before the cutoff date.
The main trigger for the rule were Sashi, who openly admitted they had benched their existing players for that month only and handed their Australian replacements short-term contracts. One of those additions had not played a single match tracked on HLTV.org in the previous two years. We have written about a similar case before – a streamer team region switch that suddenly turned into an Asian Major contender.
A divided community
While almost everyone welcomed Valve shutting down the Sashi attempt, opinions on BC.Game were split. The motivation was the same, but their transformation happened gradually and organically. Coach Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas said that while the fifth player was deliberately scouted in Asia and the Pacific, he personally did not want to sign anyone purely to flip regions. The Major is the Major, but BC.Game want to be competitive first and foremost.
The organization even published an open letter asking Valve to at least let them start from zero in Asia, so they could earn the Major on the server instead of being disqualified over the region change.
The 180-degree turn
In the end that request became unnecessary. BC.Game were shown mercy and an exception was written into the rules, making them eligible for a Major invitation from the Asian region. That also means Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is very close to a return among the elite.
If you want to keep track of how the Major field is shaping up, check our piece on Tipsport RUSH:Brno invites and the rest of our Counter-Strike 2 coverage.
FAQ
Teams that want to be considered for the Major now have to complete any region change at least three months before the cutoff date.
After signing Senzu, mzinho and asap, the roster no longer had a European majority, which moved the team to the Asian region.
Sashi, who admitted they had benched their players for a single month and gave their Australian replacements short-term contracts.
Yes. An exception was added to the rules stating that BC.Game are eligible for a Major invitation from the Asian region.
With the exception in place, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is very close to returning to the elite level of the scene.