AZR on state of VRS: "It’s a clusterf**k having Asia and OCE combined"

FlyQuest’s campaign for PGL Singapore Major qualification began swimmingly last week with the Oceanic squad taking a dominant victory at DFRAG’s ANZC Locals Spring 2026.

With THUNDER dOWNUNDER forced to withdraw, the remaining field offered little resistance as FlyQuest swept through the likes of madlikewizards, KZG, Ground Zero, and Abyssal on the way to the trophy.

It’s the first tournament FlyQuest coach Aaron “AZR” Ward has attended in Australia since his brief stint with Encore in 2022. “[It’s] good to be back though, for an Aussie event,” he said. “Since we moved overseas, me and Justin, we don't really know the new generation of players, so it's nice to see old and new faces and whatnot.”

This month is pivotal for FlyQuest’s season and hopes of making it to Singapore. Four weeks ago, their spot in Asia’s top-five was all but assured.

However, following OCE player acquisitions and region-swapping attempts from the likes of BC.Game and Sashi, FQ has been on the edge, and they entered Brisbane last week knowing they’d only be truly safe for the major if they win all three LANs.

Beyond this season, the future for the region remains clouded, and AZR would be lying if he wasn’t concerned for the state of Asia and OCE — even after Valve’s swift actions last Wednesday.

And while he admits he’s been distant from the OCE scene, he proved his passion for his old home ran deep, even after admitting the region was experiencing some of its darkest days ever.

One event win in the bag for FlyQuest in Brisbane this week, everything seemed as expected at ANZC Locals Spring. How confident is the squad when it comes to these local LANs, and is it something you’re able to replicate at the next two events with tougher opposition?

“Ourselves as a team, we're pretty confident coming against all these teams. Not to put any slack on them, but we're just confident in ourselves coming in and just smashing teams. We come here and want to set an example. 

“This last month, month and a half, we added aliStair, we've had plenty of time to practice with him, building our playstyle and how we want to do things. There’s a little bit mixed from him, and a little bit from our existing system, but it's been going pretty good.

“Bringing him in has also freed up Josh [INS] a little bit too. He doesn't have the reins anymore, doesn't have to fully micromanage people; it means we can build more around him.

“I’m just wanting to see more from INS, like what he's been capable of in the past and the level I know he can reach.”

THUNDER dOWNUNDER (now Off Chops) was forced to withdraw from ANZC Locals Spring after their team was pulled apart by European orgs. Given the importance of winning these events to qualify for the Singapore Major, did their absence impact how you approached ANZC?

“Not really, to be honest. We're pretty confident in ourselves whoever we're going to be against; TdU, Ground Zero, whoever it is, even the Asian teams that we're playing in the next two events.

“It's more so focusing on ourselves and what we can do and what we can do to be our best consistently. With it being so hard to practice, and us being so dominant in events, we do need to stay disciplined. 

“There are things we can get away with in practice and in these officials [in OCE] that other, better teams would punish us for. We can’t be building bad habits.”

This home stint was originally planned to be much shorter, with the notion that the team would be moving back with you to Europe as soon as possible. Now, thanks in part to how VRS works, FlyQuest has been in Australia for the full season. Do you foresee a move to Europe now given how high in the Global VRS rank you’d need to be to stay there?

“A lot of the decision to come home had to do with how Valve has changed the whole system around making the major and the rewards on offer. Having an Australian team overseas is very expensive, so the org put forth that it would be a lot easier and cheaper for us to do an Australian season.

“It’s just changed a lot…organisations are disbanding, they’re pulling out because they can’t see the investment any more when it comes to Counter-Strike, it’s gotten bad.

“You’ve heard this all the time, I’m sure, but the worst thing about coming back to OCE is the lack of practice. There’s some days where you can get, like, three to four games, and then some days, there’ll be no scrims, and some days, one scrim."

• Read more: FlyQuest open Brisbane homestand with swift ANZC Locals Spring victory

“It’s always the same teams you’re versing — it sucks to be honest. I’d love for it to be way better in Australia, but we’ve just been dealt with that card, right? Hopefully this Aussie season is nearly done and maybe something with EU in the future, but right now, I’m not too sure what next season looks like.”

On the topic of investment in the team from an organisational standpoint, can you speak to the impact of the changes Valve made to sticker revenue from IEM Cologne and how that has affected FlyQuest’s decision-making this season?

“I probably can’t go into too much information on that, it’s not really my forte as coach. What I can say is, like… it’s just changed the season for us. I sort of expected us to be in Europe this season, but… it’s changed.”

This season has seen several top Oceanic players head over to Europe and be poached by organisations that were likely to miss the major qualifying cut-off, thus depriving the teams here of that opportunity. As good of an experience as it will be for the players over in EU, are you concerned with where that leaves Asia and OCE going forward?

“Australia is getting fucked. That’s how it is, right? There’s issues with where tournaments are being held, we can barely play online leagues against Asia teams with higher ping…"

“For the sport to grow in Australia, we can’t keep affording to be doing it this way. These other teams in OCE like Ground Zero or TdU, they’re not even trying to play these games against Asian teams because we’re so disadvantaged. Like, there’s no point, right?

“We’re doing it [because] we have the advantage of playing under FlyQuest, they send us to places like Perth to play against Asian teams. And even then, like, last time we got fucked by the cable. It would have been great practice because there were a lot of good teams in China at the time too, playing FISSURE I think.

“It’s just a clusterfuck having Asia and Oceania combined.”

Regarding mid-season region swapping, Valve’s hand was ultimately forced and they’ve somewhat closed that loophole. How did you react to the region swapping and Valve’s enforcement of it? Do you think it’s sorted for good, or have they just kicked the issue down the road?

“It’s a good thing they’ve done it, but I think it should have been done a lot earlier. I think, last time it was Liquid — they did the loop of going to Europe and then back to America — it needed to be fixed for sure back then. It’s dogshit, it should have been done ages ago.

“This comes down to probably a huge lack of communication with Valve. In my experience, they’ve been doing this quite consistently over many years, and they should be on top of this stuff if they’re going to be this involved in the esport.

"It can’t come down to someone big like NiKo tweeting about it before anything is done. It shouldn’t have to be a thing.”

On the flipside, this region swapping debacle will afford several OCE players a chance to play in Europe at least for a few months. We do have a few prospects developing here at home; as someone who has done the same, what advice do you have for the next generation of players in this climate if an EU org comes knocking?

“Aussie CS is not in the best spot right now. I think any decision or any experience that you can get overseas with other international players, you’ve got to go for it. Aussie teams aren’t really getting the experience in these other tournaments any more, they don’t have the funding to go to these tournaments."

• Read more: Valve closes VRS region switch loophole in time for Singapore Major

“You have to take the chance. When BC.Game came to asap, I mean, it’s a no-brainer for him to go over there playing with major champions and learning a lot. Maybe eventually, I don’t know what the plan is for him over there or how long they’ll keep him, but the experience is something he could bring back.

“He’s gonna learn a lot, he’s gonna do a lot of things, and if that’s the same for the other players… obviously it’s not exactly the same with Sashi, but I think as an Aussie player you have to take those experiences right now, because if you can’t do it as a team, you owe it to yourself individually to try.”

There have been many suggestions as to how VRS can be improved in Asia and OCE going forward; things like teams forced to play events in the region they belong to, to contribute something back to the scene and its organisers. Is there anything you think needs to be done or enforced to help the scene down here?

“If I had a good answer I’d give it to you, but the main thing is there needs to be more tournaments over here, in general. Obviously, they have a lot in China, they have a lot of funding and sponsors over there. We lack that a lot in Australia, but more chances to compete is only going to make things better over time.

“I don’t know if there’s an all-round solution to that, though. I know [DFRAG owner Mavrick] is putting a lot of work, he’s investing a lot into the Aussie scene. It would be great if Valve could pitch in too."

AZR and FlyQuest’s path to Singapore continues into the back half of October. Logitech G Pro Series kicks off October 15, before a week’s break into the DFRAG Invitational on October 26 — after which, we’ll likely know whether FlyQuest’s home season has paid off.