Less than a month before the announcement of the final invites for the PGL CS2 Major Budapest 2025, a new controversy has erupted in the community regarding the latest Valve Regional Standings (VRS) update. This is not the first time Valve’s ranking methodology has been questioned by players, organizations, and fans. However, the case of PARIVISION has gained particular resonance, as it involves the potential loss of a spot at the biggest tournament of the year due to bureaucratic technicalities.
Who is currently in the qualification zone?
CS2 Budapest Major: VRS UPDATE 🇭🇺‼️
> If the invites were sent today, these would be the EU teams that would miss out ❌
> Invites will be sent on October 6th 📅 pic.twitter.com/d5EtmCcDEx
— Ozzny (@Ozzny_CS2) September 2, 2025
The latest VRS update, published on September 1, placed the following European teams within the qualification zone for the Major:
- Virtus.pro (#13, 1421 Valve points)
- BetBoom (#14, 1381 Valve points)
- fnatic (#15, 1351 Valve points)
- B8 (#16, 1325 Valve points)
Just behind them are teams only a step away from the cut-off. Those missing out for now include:
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (#17, 1309)
- PARIVISION (#18, 1294)
- Gentle Mates (#19, 1294)
- Liquid (#20, 1279)
SAW, OG, ENCE, ECSTATIC, and other European contenders.
In reality, the gap between the last qualified spot (B8) and the nearest pursuers is just a few dozen points. This creates a situation where every match and every tournament can decide a team’s fate at the Major.
PARIVISION’s stance: “Our win was not counted”
Official statement from PARIVISION regarding the VRS ranking pic.twitter.com/ee3WJaz3G9
— PARIVISION (@parivisiongg) September 2, 2025
The loudest protests came from PARIVISION. In an official statement, the club declared that the updated ranking failed to include their results from the ESL Challenger League Season 50 Europe Cup 1, which ran from August 11 to September 1.
According to Valve’s ranking, PARIVISION currently sit in 35th place, while HLTV’s calculations, which included the Challenger results, place them around 25th. A ten-place discrepancy looks critical, since that very range determines who gets invited and who misses out.
This discrepancy is critically important for us. The current position, which does not reflect the actual situation, may directly affect our future in the ranking and the fate of the team this season, — PARIVISION stated.
The club stressed that it expects transparency and objectivity from Valve, urging them to include all matches completed before the update.
Community Reaction
The PARIVISION case sparked a wave of comments across social media.
On Telegram, many dismissed the issue outright: “Who even cares about them?”, “There’s no place for trash teams in esports.” Others joked that Valve would “forgive everything and update the ranking anyway.” At the same time, some pointed out more soberly that the update indeed came too early.
On Twitter/X, experts like Graham Pitt explained that Valve always updates the standings at the same time every month, so the real issue lies with the tournament calendar. Some users also noted the drawn-out schedule of the ESL Challenger, which prevented its results from being included in time for the update.
Overall, opinions were split: the professional community largely blamed the tournament organizers, while most fans mocked PARIVISION’s complaints.
The problem with the VRS system
The PARIVISION situation highlights a long-standing issue — the synchronization of the tournament calendar with ranking updates. Valve typically publishes updates on a fixed schedule, but this does not always account for events finishing on the very day, or even just hours before, the update goes live.
As a result, the ESL Challenger 50 outcomes may have simply “missed the cut” before the points were calculated. Meanwhile, HLTV, which operates on its own update system, included them immediately, hence the significant difference in PARIVISION’s placement.
What’s next?
Valve will officially announce the PGL Budapest Major invites on October 6. Until then, teams ranked in the second tier of the standings still have a chance to gain points through ongoing and upcoming tournaments. For PARIVISION, this means that every game in September could be decisive.
If ESL Challenger results are eventually factored into the next update, PARIVISION could regain their chances of making the Major. But the situation has already set a precedent and reignited the debate: is the VRS system transparent and fair enough to determine the fate of the year’s biggest events?
