BC.Game CEO Ali “Ako” Muhanned has lived through a chaotic few days. His team was disqualified from Major contention after Valve changed its Major rulebook. One day later, Valve reinstated the roster through an exception.
Ako has now told his side of the story on the All About Counter-Strike podcast. He spoke with James “BanKs” Banks and Jonatan “Devilwalk” Lundberg. This matters because he explained what he told Valve and why he refused one tempting way back into the Major.
A Sudden Disqualification and a Quick Reversal
Valve’s rulebook adjustment disqualified any team that had swapped regions. BC.Game fell into that group, so the team lost its place in Major contention almost overnight. Then Valve granted an exception, and BC.Game returned to the race a day later.
Ako opened the podcast by describing how he challenged the decision. He said the process was not a formal appeal. “It’s not like an appeal where you get a document and you need to send in stuff,” he explained.
How Ako Reached Valve
Ako credited HLTV’s Milan “Striker” Švejda for helping him get in touch with Valve. In his words, Striker explained the situation very well. He also said HLTV stayed neutral throughout. “They are like ‘this is what we know, this is what you must do to move forward with getting in touch with them [Valve],’” he said.
Next, Ako argued that BC.Game’s case did not match the reasons behind Valve’s rule. In his view, Valve wanted to stop abuse of the system. “We understood it was more about abusing the system, dealing with the dual citizenships, terminating players’ contracts and not giving them fair chances, abusing it that way,” he said.
Therefore, Ako chose a direct approach. He emailed Valve, shared the team’s plan and showed supporting material. “We made our case pretty clear,” he said. “Just told them the truth.” He also pointed to the players’ deals. All of the players are on long contracts, and the Asian players have the longest ones. “So we are here to stay,” he said.
The Open Letter and the Asia VRS Offer
BanKs then asked about the open letter Ako posted on X. In it, he offered to start from scratch in the Asia region. Ako believes the offer showed Valve the thinking behind BC.Game’s approach.
He said the team is not chasing money. He also said the team would not harm a player just to reach the Major. According to Ako, the risk itself proves the club’s long-term plans. “It doesn’t matter if we make the Major or not, that’s the reality,” he said. “We just want to be treated the same, and fair.”
Why Ako Rejected a Return to Europe
Ako also explained why he proposed a fresh start in the Asia VRS. He did not ask to switch back to Europe, and the reason was Tyson “asap” Paterson. A move back to Europe would have meant removing asap from the roster.
Ako said he rejected that idea on the call with Valve. “I shut that down directly in the call,” he said. “That’s my promise I gave him.” He added that the team is lucky because it does not need the Major to survive. “I’d rather stand on my word that we’re not going to remove him just because we have the chance to make the Major,” he said.
What This Means for BC.Game
According to the All About Counter-Strike podcast, BC.Game won its exception through open communication rather than a formal appeal. Ako credited Striker for guiding him to Valve. He also stressed that he told Valve the truth and showed the team’s plans. In addition, long contracts for all players, especially the Asian players, supported his claim that the club is here to stay.
Meanwhile, the public offer to restart in the Asia VRS had a clear cost. It put the team’s Major hopes at risk to protect asap’s place on the roster. As a result, Ako’s story is about more than a lucky reversal. It shows a club that tied its credibility to a promise to a player. Finally, BC.Game is back in Major contention, and Ako says the team wants only one thing: to be treated the same as everyone else.
