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Valve Cancels MRQs for Starladder Budapest Major 2025
Valve has announced the cancellation of the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) for the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. This decision comes as a surprise for the esports community and has definitely affected teams preparing to compete for the second Major of the year. The move marks a shift from the original plans for the tournament, which was scheduled to take place from November 24 to December 14, 2025.
Controversies and Criticism
Even before the cancellation, the MRQs faced significant criticism from the competitive community. The main concern revolved around scheduling conflicts with four major international tournaments set for the same period: the Thunderpick World Championship (October 15-19), CS Asia Championships (October 14-19), Roobet Cup (October 13-22), and MESA Nomadic Masters Fall (October 15-19), with a combined prize pool of $2.5 million.
Graham Pitt, General Manager of Complexity, was particularly vocal about this issue and highlighted that teams would only learn about their MRQ participation eight days before they started. Pitt argued that this would force teams to urgently withdraw from other tournaments or find substitutes at the last minute.
Is This the End of MRQs Forever?
This situation raises broader questions about the direction Valve is taking with the CS2 Major circuit, especially considering previous controversies like the abrupt cancellation of the Classic Offensive project after eight years of development and changes to modding policies that have historically supported Counter-Strike’s creative community.
While it’s unclear if the MRQs will return for future Majors, this decision certainly sets a precedent and could signal a permanent shift away from open regional qualifiers. Many in the community hope that Valve will reconsider and reinvest in accessible, fair qualification systems for all competitive levels, while others are definitely satisfied with this decision.
Who is Going to the Budapest Major?
In a statement made through the Starladder website, Valve declared that the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) will be used to decide all 32 participants at the tournament, though further specifics still remain under wraps.
"One of the goals of the VRS is to standardize community events so that they can be integrated with the Majors. At this point we believe that a separate qualification process for the Major is both unnecessary and disruptive. Therefore, we’ve made the decision to cancel the Fall 2025 MRQs. Instead, the 32 teams participating in the Budapest Major will be invited directly from the VRS."
The cancellation of the MRQs for the Budapest Major marks a significant turning point in the Counter-Strike 2 competitive ecosystem. While Valve has not fully detailed the reasons behind the decision, it reflects broader tensions between economic considerations, competitive integrity, and community expectations.
The implications of this move will reach beyond the Budapest Major, potentially shaping the structure of future tournaments and the accessibility of top-tier competition for up-and-coming teams. The community now awaits further communication from Valve regarding how the remaining Major participants will be determined and what precedent this will set for future events.
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Feature image credit: Starladder
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