Valve unveiled new CS2 tournament rules for 2025

Valve has announced updated rules for CS2 eSports tournaments that will begin in 2025. The new structure is designed to improve the way competitions are run, make them more professional and increase the transparency of the qualification system. Let’s take a look at the main changes made to the regulations.

Tournament categories and qualification rules

Tournaments are now divided into two main levels – Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 tournaments are required to invite top teams from different regions based on Valve Regional Standings (VRS). For these tournaments, organizers must invite at least 16 teams to select the best teams for the main stage. This ensures that the strongest teams participate in high-level tournaments.

Wildcard participants and tournament ranking

Valve has also introduced the concept of Wildcard participants. Organizers can invite additional teams (wildcards), but with certain restrictions: only two wildcards for every eight teams are allowed in each tournament, and they cannot go straight to the main draw. This measure helps keep tournaments competitive and avoids unfair advantages.

Also, tournaments are now divided into ranked and unranked tournaments. Only the results of ranked tournaments will affect the position of teams in Valve’s official rankings. Unranked tournaments have a prize pool limit of $100,000 per tournament, or $250,000 per year if multiple tournaments are hosted by the same organizer.

Valve’s updated rules are aimed at professionalizing the CS2 scene and maintaining high standards for tournaments. With the introduction of clear tournament categories, limits on prize pools and an early announcement system, the company aims to create a more organized and fair environment for participants.