Valve grants BC.Game exception for Singapore Major qualification via Asia VRS

Not 24 hours after disqualifying BC.Game Esports from making it to the PGL Singapore Major for region switching, Valve has granted the squad an exception for this major cycle, putting BC.Game back into the Asia VRS race.

Valve added the exception in the early morning of Oct. 8. "BC.Game (asap, Magisk, mzinho, s1mple, Senzu) are assigned to the Asia region and are eligible for a Major invitation," the exception reads.

It's a stunning turn of events that comes a day after the squad was one of three that were effectively ruled out of qualifying after Valve cracked down on mid-season VRS region switching.

BC.Game, WW, and Sashi were rendered the culprits, with the latter's acquisition of Aussie duo Tynan "TjP" Purtell and Jordan "Hatz" Bajic — plus Anton "Anlelele" Huynh's nationality change to Vietnamese — considered the tipping point.

But BC.Game fought the decision, issuing a statement late yesterday asserting there was no malice when acquiring Tyson "asap" Paterson, and that the shift into the VRS region was future-proofing the squad's position in Asia.

BC.Game CEO Ali "Ako" Muhanned had proposed to Valve that the team have their VRS points reset entirely, giving the team just three weeks to accumulate enough to qualify.

Ultimately, Valve opted to grant an exception and restore BC.Game to Asia's VRS standings for the Singapore Major — and given their accrued points and position, they're now all but certain to qualify for the pinnacle tournament.

BC.Game will suit up for their next LAN event at Stake Pulse Beat III in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 12.

Time will tell if BC.Game is honest in their future endeavors in Asia VRS.

No such exemption issued to Sashi as Valve goes radio silent

Sashi, meanwhile, confirmed they are yet to receive a response from Valve following today's BC.Game announcement.

While BC.Game picked up Mongolian duo Ayush "mzinho" Batbold and Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold in July and April respectively — before the newly-established three-month cut-0ff for switching regions — Sashi wasn't so subtle with their decision to jump into Asia.

TjP and Hatz were unveiled as Sashi's new Asia pairing on Oct. 5, but it is believed the decision to switch to Asia came just days prior as the organisation rushed to acquire Australian players to make the switch with Anlelele's Vietnamese citizenship.

Anlelele has proven himself to be a Vietnamese citizen to HLTV, who has changed his nationality on the site. However, with Valve retroactively closing the loophole and seemingly denying Sashi the same exception as BC.Game, Sashi's chances of making it to Singapore appear to be done.

Sashi was supposed to play last night in the 1win Private Club Season 2 qualifier with their new Aussie duo, but forfeit the game due to "technical difficulties." After forfeiting, Hatz hinted that his and TjP's time in Europe appeared to be over before it really got started.

DFRAG has reached out to the two Australian players and to the Sashi organisation for comment, but none was received at the publishing of this article.

Sashi is also next to play at Stake Pulse Beat III on Oct. 12 — but it's appearing less likely by the day that their position as an Asian VRS squad will ever be acknowledged.