After several days of confusion and rumors, it’s now official: Virtus.pro will participate in the CS Asia Championship 2025 in Shanghai, but with only two players from their main roster. The team took advantage of a loophole in Valve’s rules, which allow invited teams to alter their lineup even after accepting a tournament invite.
Shanghai feels the Bear’s power
The Virtus.pro organization confirmed its participation through its official X account:
Shanghai feels the Bear's power 🇨🇳💥
Tomorrow, the guys are up for an early clash with @legacyggbr at 05:00 CEST 😉 Don’t miss it!#CS2 #GOGOVP pic.twitter.com/i39h5ry9ew
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) October 13, 2025
The photo posted with the announcement revealed that only two players from the original roster — the one that received the initial invitation — actually traveled to China. The rest were replaced by members of Virtus.pro’s academy, including b1st, who will play instead of ICY.
VALVE’S RULES EXPOSE ANOTHER ABSURDITY
In a situation that can only be described as chaotic, everything comes down to Clause 3.2.5 of Valve’s official rules:
3.2.5. Directly invited VRS teams may accept an invitation to a tournament only if:
a) At least three players from the main roster were on the team’s lineup on the date of the invitation.
And here’s the key detail: the team only needs to accept the invite with the required roster — but is not obligated to play with that same lineup. This means Virtus.pro can legally compete with only two core players and three stand-ins. In theory, they could even play with a fully academy lineup.
This was possible because b1st had already been registered as an official stand-in during the team’s submission process.
WHY DID FAZE HAVE TO PLAY WITH RAIN AT EPL?
The confusion stems from differences between Valve’s rules and ESL’s regulations. Valve requires that at least three core players be part of the team when accepting the invitation, while ESL requires that the same three players actually participate in the tournament itself.
That’s why FaZe Clan had to play the ESL Pro League with rain, despite dealing with injuries and roster issues. In contrast, for the CS Asia Championship, organized by Perfect World, there is no such clause in the rulebook — meaning Virtus.pro acted completely within the legal framework.
VIRTUS.PRO’S LINEUP FOR CS ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP 2025
- Vladimir ”b1st” Krasikov
- Vadim “tO0RO” Arkov
- Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev
- Petr “fame” Bolyshev
- Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy
- coach: Ivan “F_1N” Kochugov
read more
According to the official statement, the team has already arrived in Shanghai, where they will face Legacy tomorrow at 05:00 CEST in their opening group-stage match.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE TOURNAMENT SYSTEM
This incident is yet another demonstration of how Valve’s VRS system and tournament regulations remain inconsistent. Both organizers and players have repeatedly emphasized that the “minimum of three players” rule is too loosely defined — leaving room for interpretation and potential manipulation.
While ESL continues to enforce stricter requirements, Perfect World allows teams more freedom to experiment with their rosters. And Virtus.pro have become the first to take advantage of this loophole.
