What is VRS in CS2? Valve Regional Standings Explained

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The Valve Regional Standings, often called Valve rankings or VRS, play a crucial role in deciding which teams participate in the prestigious CS2 Majors. In previous seasons, participants for the Majors were chosen based on past Major results and/or RMR qualifier events. However, as of 2025, the VRS will hold more weight than any other factor.

Are you new to CS2 or have you been away for a while and wanting to get back into the game? Here’s a comprehensive overview of the Valve Regional Rankings utilized in Counter-Strike 2:

1. North America (NA) – United States and Canada
2. Europe (EU) – Western Europe, including countries such as Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy, etc.
3. CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) – Former Soviet Union nations like Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, etc.
4. Asia (ASIA) – East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania
5. Latin America (LATAM) – Central and South American countries
6. Brazil (BR) – Specifically for the competitive scene in Brazil
7. Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) – The competitive scene in Australia and New Zealand
8. Japan (JP) – Competitive CS2 scene exclusively in Japan
9. China (CN) – Competitive CS2 scene in China
10. Korea (KR) – Competitive CS2 scene in South Korea

What are the Valve Regional Standings?

As a passionate CS2 fan, I’d like to share some exciting news about the rankings system. Instead of one global ranking, there are four tiers: a global standing and three regional standings for teams hailing from Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region. Each regional standing is a testament to the skill and competitiveness of the teams within their respective regions.

The positions or standings in these ranked tournaments rank teams according to their performance in various matches. Each game takes into account multiple aspects that influence a team’s standing position. Key factors include the match outcome, the strength of the opposing team, the significance of the event, and the recentness of the game. These rankings are often updated every week, typically on Mondays.

How are the Valve Regional Standings used?

The Valve Regional Rankings help decide which teams receive invitations to tournaments and qualifying rounds. For major events, the organizers often use global rankings to select participants. Additionally, these tournament organizers may utilize regional rankings to extend invites to teams for regional closed qualifiers.

To clarify, the regional standings by Valve play a significant role in determining which teams receive invitations for the Major tournament. More specifically, the Major considers both the regional rankings and the outcomes of the previous Major when deciding how many teams from each region are granted entry and at what stage they begin competition.

At the forthcoming BLAST.tv Austin Major, the six top European teams, as per VRS rankings, will receive direct invitations for Stage 3. Additionally, the leading team from each region in the Americas and Asia-Pacific will also be granted direct entry to Stage 3. The regional standings will decide which additional teams from each zone are invited to Stage 2, while others will get invites to the closed regional qualifiers.

Where are the Valve Regional Standings?

The Valve Regional Rankings are available on a GitHub site managed by Valve. To access them, click on either the invitation or live folder from the homepage, then navigate to the current year’s section and choose the regional standings page with the latest date. Websites like HLTV and BLAST also provide global and regional rankings, which they update every week.

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2025-02-05 01:18