Sashi have announced the signing of Michael "chelleos" Hawkins from Rooster, replacing Frederik "acoR" Gyldstrand. The move continues Sashi's pivot toward an Asia VRS roster after Valve changed its rules to stop short-term region swapping, with Valve telling HLTV that teams which swapped regions ahead of the Singapore Major are disqualified unless they reach out and find a solution. chelleos spent the last four years at Rooster, averaging a 1.15 rating.
PGL has announced that all 14 highest-ranked teams per October's invitational ranking have accepted invites to PGL Bucharest 2027, running January 17-24 at PGL's studio with a $1 million prize pool plus $400,000 in VRS bonuses. An eight-team closed qualifier on October 16-20 will decide the final two spots. The stacked field means elite teams prioritized this event over BLAST Bounty, whose second week overlaps with PGL Bucharest.
Valve issues exception for BC. Game to qualify for Singapore Major through Asia https://www.hltv.org/news/45666/valve-issues-exception-for-bcgame-to-qualify-for-singapore-major-through-asia
Valve has updated its tournament operation requirements exceptions list to assign BC.Game to the Asia region and make the team eligible for a Major invitation. The exception comes after Valve adjusted its VRS region swap rules, which had disqualified BC.Game from a Major qualification run. BC.Game's spot at the Singapore Major is now all but confirmed.
BC.Game CEO Ali "Ako" Muhanned has asked for his team's VRS points to be reset to zero so the current roster can start from scratch in the Asia VRS, after Valve adjusted the CS Major Supplemental Rulebook on regional assignment following roster changes. He said the team's three Asian players — asap, mzinho and Senzu — are its core, and that he does not want to remove another player just to find a technical solution.
BC.Game coach TaZ has spoken out against Valve's updated Major Supplemental Rulebook, which bars teams from changing regions before a Major and has effectively knocked BC.Game out of the race for PGL Major Singapore. He said the team followed the rules in place at the time, built an eligible roster and appeared on the Asian VRS in October's ranking update, calling the timing of the immediate three-month regional restriction difficult to accept. TaZ added that BC.Game will communicate with Valve and respect the final decision.
M80 secured their place at the Singapore Major after beating Legacy, with Swisher saying it seals the deal early for the team. He said M80 can be a top ten team when their energy and comms are there, but consistency remains an issue. On Valve's sticker system changes that hurt revenue in Cologne, Swisher said everyone hopes Valve rethinks its stance, though Valve rarely goes back on decisions.
Swisher: "Everyone is hoping that Valve rethink their stance on the stickers" https://www.hltv.org/news/45658/swisher-everyone-is-hoping-that-valve-rethink-their-stance-on-the-stickers
Valve adjust rules for VRS region swaps https://www.hltv.org/news/45655/valve-adjust-rules-for-vrs-region-swaps
Valve release October VRS update https://www.hltv.org/news/45646/valve-release-october-vrs-update
Valve released its monthly Regional Standings update on Monday, with Spirit retaining No. 1 while Legacy surged to second after winning FISSURE Playground 3. G2 returned to the top five and Astralis re-entered the top 10 for the first time since June. The October ranking will determine invites for BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 2 (November 9-15) and PGL Bucharest 2027 (January 17-24).
Sashi announced on Monday the additions of Australian duo TjP and Hatz and a region switch from Europe to Asia to boost their chances of qualifying for the Singapore Major before the November 2 invite cut-off. The Danish organization cited Anlelele's Vietnamese citizenship, while MistR and Cabbi step out of the starting lineup for the coming month. The temporary nature of the move drew backlash, with NiKo among those urging Valve to address the system, and a projection putting Sashi's qualification chances at just 13%.
Sashi announced on Monday the additions of Australian duo TjP and Hatz, switching the team's region from Europe to Asia to boost its chances of qualifying for the Singapore Major before the November 2 invite cut-off. The Danish organization said Anlelele holds Vietnamese citizenship, while MistR and Cabbi will step out of the starting lineup for the coming month. The temporary nature of the move drew backlash, with NiKo among those calling on Valve to address it, and a latest projection put Sashi's qualification chances at just 13%.