PGL Major Singapore 2026 will feature three players who previously received VAC bans but later regained their eligibility to compete in Valve tournaments. torzsi, Jimpphat, and ksloks each went through five-year restriction periods and will now represent MOUZ, Aurora, and Legacy at the biggest tournament at the end of the season.
Three different stories with the same outcome
The oldest of the three cases belongs to torzsi. The Hungarian AWPer received a VAC ban in 2016, and his five-year restriction period for Valve tournaments ended in 2021. His career then took off rapidly: he progressed through MOUZ NXT to the main MOUZ roster and gradually established himself on the tier-1 scene.
Jimpphat’s corresponding restriction period lasted from 2018 to 2023, while ksloks’ ran from 2019 to 2024. Both players also became eligible to compete in major tournaments after their five-year periods expired. Jimpphat will now represent Aurora, while ksloks has earned the opportunity to play at the Major with Legacy.
Previously, a VAC ban could effectively end a career
The situation used to be much stricter. Under the old policy, a player who received a VAC ban in CS lost the ability to participate in Valve-sponsored tournaments indefinitely. For a professional player, this was an enormous problem, as the path to a Major was effectively closed forever.
This made it difficult for organizations to take risks and sign such players. Even if a competitor demonstrated a high level of skill at other tournaments, building a roster around them with the prospect of competing at a Major was practically impossible. That is why the issue of old VAC bans remained one of the most controversial topics in professional Counter-Strike for years.
Jamppi’s story became one of the most prominent examples
One of the most well-known cases involved Jamppi. ENCE signed the young Finnish player in 2020 despite the issue surrounding his VAC ban, but he was not eligible to participate in Valve competitions. Jamppi himself denied responsibility for the ban and attempted to challenge the situation.
The problem proved so serious for his career that he left Counter-Strike and switched to VALORANT a few months later. His story clearly illustrated the main issue with the system at the time: an old VAC ban could remain an obstacle even many years after it was issued.
Valve changed the rules in 2021
In April 2021, the rules were revised. Since then, having a VAC ban no longer automatically means a lifetime ban from participating in Majors. If at least five years have passed since the ban was issued, a player can once again become eligible to participate in Valve tournaments.
However, there is an important restriction: if a player received a VAC ban after their first participation in a Valve tournament, including the relevant qualifiers, the five-year rule does not exempt them from the restriction. In other words, the rule change primarily opened the door for those who received an old ban before beginning a serious professional career.
torzsi went from a VAC ban to the tier-1 scene
torzsi’s story is perhaps the clearest demonstration of how dramatically the consequences of such a ban have changed. His VAC ban dates back to November 2016, and he became eligible to compete in Valve tournaments five years later. After progressing through the MOUZ academy, the Hungarian became the main roster’s primary AWPer and established himself as a regular participant in the biggest tournaments.
PGL Major Singapore 2026 will now mark another milestone in his career. For a player who could have been permanently excluded from such tournaments under the old system, this is a particularly striking example of how much Valve’s 2021 decision changed.
Jimpphat also waited for his restriction to expire
Jimpphat received a VAC ban in 2018, when he was still very young. As a result, he was unable to compete in Valve tournaments at the beginning of his professional journey. However, the five-year period expired in 2023, after which the restriction on his participation in Majors no longer applied.
The Finnish player’s career quickly reached an entirely different level afterward. He established himself as one of the most notable young riflers on the scene and will arrive in Singapore representing Aurora. The old VAC ban remains part of his history, but it no longer determines his professional opportunities.
ksloks was the last to become eligible
ksloks’ five-year restriction period ended only in January 2024. His VAC ban dated back to 2019, meaning the Brazilian was the last of the three to reach the point when his old ban no longer affected his eligibility for Valve tournaments.
He has now reached a Major with Legacy. This is a particularly important moment for ksloks: unlike torzsi and Jimpphat, who have long established themselves at a high level, the Brazilian is only now getting the opportunity to prove himself on Counter-Strike’s biggest stage.
A VAC ban no longer means the end of the Major dream
The stories of torzsi, Jimpphat, and ksloks demonstrate how significantly the system has changed in recent years. In the past, a VAC ban could effectively destroy a professional player’s chances of ever competing at a Major, whereas after the rule change, an old ban stopped being a permanent obstacle under certain conditions.
That is why it is more accurate to speak not of “three cheaters at the Major,” but of three professional players with old VAC bans whose restriction periods have already expired. In Singapore, torzsi, Jimpphat, and ksloks will have something the old system might never have allowed them — the opportunity to compete for Counter-Strike’s biggest trophy at a Valve tournament.
