Explaining the top-level rating system

CS2 VRS or The Valve Regional Standings has quietly turn out to be one of many largest modifications in Counter-Strike esports over the previous few years. Designed to exchange the historic qualification system, it’s going to eradicate the legend standing, retaining groups invited to tournaments once they haven’t totally earned a spot. VRS will now dictate what groups and organisations will likely be invited to Valve-sponsored occasions such because the Majors.

Whereas incomes spots in CS2 tournaments is the primary focus of the VRS system, it has had a knock-on impact on how professional groups function, together with constructing out their rosters, taking part in smaller non-Valve sponsored occasions and even what area they’re based mostly in. Whereas it offers some extra stability and equity for the highest tier of professional CS2. It has led lower-tier groups to really feel as if breaching into the highest tier is an ever-narrowing path as they’ve eliminated open qualifiers in favour of their point-based system.

The Valve Regional Standings is now the official framework used for rating and seeding CS2 groups in Valve-sponsored occasions akin to Majors. This replaces the Open qualifier system and legend standing beforehand used. VRS has created a single level of reference for groups’ aggressive efficiency throughout all authorized tournaments. Groups will now earn factors based mostly on their match match outcomes, prize swimming pools received, opponent energy, and LAN wins. So over the past six months, the extra LANs they play, the higher groups they play in opposition to, the extra prize cash they win, the extra factors they earn, the upper within the standings they’ll be.

The VRS system is split into totally different areas. That is cut up into Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It will have an effect on which area slot they get within the main and what number of slots there are per area. Roster stability is essential on this regard, as solely gamers who constantly seem in a staff’s current matches will likely be counted in opposition to the CS2 rankings. Now we have seen match organisers, who aren’t a part of Valve-sponsored occasions, additionally use Valve’s system to ask groups to their closed qualifiers, so it has a a lot wider influence on each skilled staff.

The VRS was formally launched in October 2023 as a broader shift in the direction of a point-based qualification system. That is the primary actual overhaul for a way Majors are seeded and groups invited because the CS2 launch date, notably changing the RMR system that noticed weeks of open qualifiers throughout all areas.

The primary Main we noticed this being utilized in was the Copenhagen 2024 Main, which had used VRS for preliminary invitations alongside regional qualifiers for the wildcard slots. Regardless of the planning the CS2 builders put into this, this debut of the brand new system obtained a really blended reception, with some calling it a “catastrophe”. 

That is primarily as a result of obtrusive points it had initially, which ranged from delays in standing updates; initially, a staff’s standings wouldn’t replace till a complete occasion had completed. This meant that groups competing in lengthy occasions have been negatively impacted. The “Forfeit loophole” allowed groups to forfeit matches they thought they’d lose. 

In these cases, the place a forfeit wouldn’t depend as a loss (and subsequently not influence standings), it might imply these selections could be determined by the groups and never their geographical location. For instance, a North American staff with an Australian participant might decide into the much less aggressive Asia-Pacific area to safe a better standing than the place they’d in any other case place natively. 

These early missteps with the VRS system instilled doubt within the CS2 esports neighborhood, however nonetheless confirmed it had the potential to repair the earlier bias and points with the legend standing and RMR system that had been used for years. Nevertheless it stays clear that it wanted important refinement earlier than being accepted by the CS2 aggressive neighborhood.

VRS is up to date continually throughout a number of websites like BLAST and HLTV, however at present, Furia is main the pack of the highest 10 groups listed beneath:

Since its debut, the VRS has had a major overhaul, most notably seen within the February Replace, which was particularly launched on February 24. This CS2 replace fastened among the bigger points we noticed within the 2024 Copenhagen Main, such because the “Forfeit loophole”, the place groups have been in a position to keep away from a loss in factors by forfeiting a troublesome match-up. 

Alongside the earlier concern, match knowledge that can contribute to a staff’s VRS won’t be counted till the final match of the occasion is performed. This has been modified to permit these matches to now depend, and never penalise groups for taking part in longer leagues or Swiss format tournaments.

Groups will now now not be capable of select their area based mostly on their gamers; it’s now determined by Valve, who take into consideration the place they’re geographically situated, gamers’ nationalities, and different standards that haven’t been launched as public data. This considerably reduces the region-hopping benefit groups beforehand took benefit of. Moreover, rosters at the moment are required to take care of a core of three constant gamers to retain their gathered factors. Dropping beneath the core three will set off level deductions, subsequently incentivising roster stability and discouraging last-minute swaps. This could showcase a extra steady professional scene because the CS2 participant depend continues to extend, and extra followers flood into the professional scene.

The VRS has considerably reshaped the CS2’s aggressive ecosystem. It has totally changed the RMR qualifier system and legend standing with a point-based framework. This rewards groups who’re continually performing, staying constant and have good roster stability. Whereas its debut was a bit rocky and obtained a blended reception on the Copenhagen 2024 Main, it has bounced again by refining the system via the introduction of close to real-time updates, stricter roster and regional guidelines, and counting a forfeit as a loss.

These modifications have improved it to a spot the place it’s a working purposeful system that’s miles higher than the earlier system it changed. That is higher for professional gamers, match organisers, and the followers. Whereas it isn’t good, the CS2 VRS system will proceed to evolve because the metas shift and alter, retaining the seeding and invitational spots truthful for all future tournaments.