Valve has updated its Tournament Operations Exceptions regulations, officially recognizing the BC.Game roster as belonging to the Asian region and eligible for an invitation to the PGL Singapore Major. The team had previously been disqualified as part of the developer’s crackdown on organizations that artificially switched their region to Asia in order to secure an easier path to the Major.
The decision to lift the ban was made following a public appeal by BC.Game CEO Ali Muhanned. The executive convinced Valve that the organization had built its roster around an Asian core naturally and with long-term plans, rather than for a quick advantage. Muhanned even offered to have the team’s ranking points reset, but Valve allowed them to retain all of their points. BC.Game’s chances of qualifying for the Singapore tournament currently exceed 90%.
BC.Game’s return to the qualification race confirms BIG co-founder Tom J. Lemke’s comments that Valve’s initial wave of restrictions was a targeted response to the actions of Sashi. Successful qualification would also mark the return of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev to the Major stage for the first time since BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.
As a reminder, Astralis are planning a double roster change following their first LAN victory in a long time.
