Valve kills open qualifiers for CS2 Shanghai major

The Perfect World CS2 major has been confirmed for Shanghai, and while this is great news, the announcement regarding open qualifiers has dampened player excitement.

The Perfect World Counter-Strike 2 major will kick start later this year. Organizers have announced that the major RMRs will take place on LAN in China, with closed qualifiers starting in August. However, the announcement also marks a big change to Valve’s rule book. For the time in major history, open qualifiers will be discarded for the Perfect World CS2 major. This change affects North America, Europe, and South America, the biggest regions in CS2. Teams in smaller competitive regions like East Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East may still gain entry through the open qualifiers.

Valve is catching major heat from the community for this change, and here’s why.

Open qualifiers for CS2 Shanghai major cancelled

• No more RMR invites for top teams
• Closed qualifier teams will be decided by Valve Regional Standings
• Asia will continue to host open qualifiers

Unlike previous majors, in which the best 16 teams gained an RMR invite, teams will now qualify based on Valve’s Regional Standings. Those on the tail end of the ranking will make the cut for closed qualifiers, filling up the remaining positions. Valve may host an open qualifier later if it needs more teams to fill slots.

This means new teams can no longer participate in the major. Unless they have a history on Valve’s leaderboards, squads can no longer compete in a CS2 major. This news has rocked the community, which is mourning the potential death of storylines. In the words of CS2 pro Richard “shox” Papillon, the “dream of the kids” is now dead.

It’s safe to say the fans aren’t happy with the alterations, as accessibility to CS2’s pro circuit made it a standout game among the current top esports. Smaller teams with minimal resources besting the top leaderboard teams made CS2 majors all the more interesting. For example, both Into the Breach and Ecstatic made Cinderella runs at CS2 majors, creating unforgettable storylines.

The fact that any team could participate in the major qualifers and earn their place at a major helped make CS2 esports special. However, the system has also caused plenty of issues in the past. Cheaters’ use of third-party tools during the Copenhagen Major 2024 Open Qualifier sparked plenty of drama. Those incidents likely influenced Valve’s decision to restrict entry into CS2’s premier tournament.

In any case, fans have now started a petition for Valve to reverse its new rule and reinstate open qualifiers. So far, the site has more than 3,000 signatures. Notable CS2 personalities and pro players are also insisting that the new change does more harm than good.