Valve releases comprehensive Major rulebook, confirms RMR changes

In an attempt to eliminate inconsistencies between Valve-sponsored events, the developers released a "CS:GO Major supplemental rulebook."

Valve has released a comprehensive rulebook, in which the developers have introduced a few important changes to the way invites are handed out and outlined a number of key rules they expect to be followed at Majors and the qualifying tournaments for CS:GO's pinnacle event.

The news follows the announcement of the next Major, which will be organized by PGL and take place in Antwerp, Belgium, in May.

A large variety of issues are addressed in the document, the most important of which are a series of clarifications on rules around the Regional Major Ranking events, which have dealt with serious inconsistencies in the past two years, not only between regions but also between tournament series within one Major cycle.

One of the biggest changes for future Majors concerns the way in which participants are determined. Valve has scrapped the points system used in the 2020 and 2021 RMR cycles, as only one RMR event will take place between Majors from now on in each region and determine all participants at the following Major. Teams will also be unable to make changes to their lineups between the RMR and the Major.

Secondly, as first reported by HLTV.org, the RMRs will be partly consolidated into three main regions, or five in case they are held online.

The 3 RMR regions are:

- Europe
- America
- Asia

In the event that the RMRs must be held online, there will be 5 RMR regions:

- Europe
- North America
- South America
- Asia
- Oceania

Thirdly, the regions will be awarded spots in part based on their performance at the previous Major. Teams who reach the Champions stage will secure their region a Legends spot, while teams who reach the Legends stage will secure a Challengers spot for their region at the next Major. The Contender spots will remain fixed, with Europe and North America having three each, and Asia having two. If teams decide to change regions, they will carry over their invitation to their new region.

That means that at the recently announced PGL Major Antwerp, if teams continue to play in their home regions, the slot distribution will look as follows:

PGL Major Antwerp

Europe — 7 Legends, 6 Challengers, 3 Contenders
Americas — 1 Legend, 2 Challengers, 3 Contenders
Asia — 2 Contenders

The document also consolidates other rules to be followed at Valve-affiliated events — from the exact fashion in which RMR invites are handed out and formats used in every stage of the qualifying process and the Major, to specific processes the Major Tournament Organizer needs to follow, the server settings, and the ineligibility of Valve-banned players to participate in the Major.

Here is the full CS:GO Major rulebook.