Valve introduces new sub-region in latest VRS update

Valve has updated its Valve Regional Standings (VRS) model to include Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as a sub-region for the European standings.

As a result, some countries that were previously allocated to other VRS regions have changed. For example, Israel, a sub-region previously assigned to Asia, will now be included in Europe.

In an update applied on June 26th, 2025, the following countries will form part of the MENA sub-region in Europe:

The reason this change could affect which region teams represent in the VRS model is due to swings in roster representation.

Before the update, Valve classified Israel as part of Asia. Due to Team Liquid having an Israeli player (Guy ‘NertZ‘ Iluz), the roster is now a majority European side, meaning it will feature in Europe’s standings. This, however, was already the case for Team Liquid due to another change to the VRS model made on June 16th regarding multi-region representation.

Players from African countries that don’t fall into the MENA sub-region will be placed as a representative of the team’s lower VRS region.

For example, from the June 16th changes, Wildcard’s current roster became a European representative. However, thanks to South African player Aran ‘Sonic’ Groesbeek not featuring in the MENA sub-region, the team will now appear in the Americas standings. This is due to Sonic now being classed under the Americas’ VRS system for the team.

Perhaps the biggest impact this new change has made to Asian team JiJieHao. Previously, the team was ranked sixth in the Asia VRS. As a result of the creation of the new sub-region, the team will move to the European standings, where it is now ranked 29th.

2025 has been a year of change for the VRS model, which is used to determine which teams are invited to Counter-Strike’s biggest competitions sanctioned by Valve.

Alongside the removal of multi-regional representation, changes were made to hold match forfeits at the same value as any loss that occur during online and offline matches.

Additionally, adjustments were made regarding how prize money is calculated. Events that feature Club revenue organised by the likes of ESL FACEIT Group, and the Esports World Cup are integrated into the structure.

It’s important to note that following the cancellation of the StarLadder Budapest Major MRQs, the VRS acts as the sole determining factor to decide the 32 teams competing at the second Major of 2025.