Valve has introduced a significant update to the rules for Counter-Strike 2 Majors — from now on, the five players listed in the VRS (Valve Roster Submission) at the time a team receives its Major invite will officially be considered the team’s “Core Roster.” This core lineup cannot be changed. The only allowed exception is one substitute player, who must not change the team’s regional status.
What does this mean?
In simple terms, once your team is invited to a Major, you’re not allowed to alter the main lineup. This directly impacts roster moves like:
- Wildcard: Stewie2K → phzy
- Falcons: degster → m0NESY
Under the new rule, such roster changes — like those seen before the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 — are no longer permitted.
It protects the players who actually qualified for the Major from being dropped before stickers and the main event, explained tournament operations director Graham Pitt.
Additional change regarding invited rosters to the Majors.
The 5 players listed on the VRS at the time of the invite to the major are the 5 players that must be your "Core Roster".
You can then still add 1 sub that cannot change your region if they replaced any player. pic.twitter.com/qJUNz2qVXB
— Graham Pitt (@messioso) July 1, 2025
The upside: Player protection and sticker consistency
The main purpose of this change is to ensure that the players who earned the Major slot are the ones who actually get to play — and benefit. In CS:GO, there were many cases where qualifying lineups didn’t make it to the event, like Snappi with Heroic in 2022 or dev1ce with NiP.
It also resolves the issue of “sticker raiding” — where organizations would swap players after qualification, yet new additions would still receive stickers, leaving out those who actually qualified.
But there’s a downside
Graham Pitt also pointed out that the rule could cause problems in certain scenarios:
Being forced to use a sub in your final event before the Major cutoff literally screws you.
If a core player can’t participate in the final ranking event (due to injury, visa issues, etc.), a team might be forced to field a “temporary” substitute — who would then be locked into the VRS and become part of the official core for the Major.
What about potential conflicts?
Journalist @denten_mine posted a tweet highlighting another issue: a player appearing on two rosters in the invitation ranking. As shown, m0NESY is listed in both the Falcons and G2 lineups, which are side-by-side in Valve’s Major ranking.
This raises serious questions:
- If both teams receive invites, which roster is considered valid?
- How can organizations prevent player duplication in the official VRS?
- Can a team “reserve” a player before the invite cutoff?
Without clear answers, situations like this could lead to direct disputes between clubs.
Valve is moving toward more transparency and player protection — but this new rule brings plenty of complications. Teams will now need stricter planning, cleaner substitution policies, and full alignment with VRS regulations.
Given the fast-paced nature of CS2 transfers, this rule may not only prevent injustices but could also spark multiple dramatic conflicts in the coming months.
