Despite an awe-inspiring run and only just missing out on the number-one spot at EPIC.LAN 44, 8Sins have qualified for a VRS rank.
Previously, to qualify for a VRS rank a team had to play 10 ranked matches with the same core. But since being lowered to 5 matches 8Sins now qualify through their results at EPIC.LAN 43, UKIC Season 4 Division 1 and EPIC.LAN 44.
VRS points, or Valve Regional Standings, are 4 sets of rankings (one global and three regional) which rank CS teams based on their performance in selected tournaments. These tournaments are weighted depending on various factors such as the strength of those competing and the importance of the tournament.
Initially, the team’s starting ranks are calculated by taking the average of four categories: bounty offered, bounty collected, opponent network, and LAN Wins. The scores in these categories range from 0 to 1 and for all categories, except for the bounty offered, Valve only considers the ten best results over the past six months.
This system is critical for CS teams, as tournament invites are now purely dependent on these rankings. This has brought criticism, especially as the ranking system is so complicated and the results vary from previously popular systems.
8Sins on the stage at EPIC.LAN 44
Since EPIC.LAN 44 was confirmed as a Tier 2 event, VRS points were up for grabs. ALASKA grabbed 16 as they won the event, albeit not undefeated. 8Sins beat ALASKA on their run to the grand finals grabbing them a 20-point head-to-head adjustment in their VRS ranking.
Because of EPIC.LAN 44, 8Sins have landed a VRS rank of 114th Globally and 79th in the European region. Unfortunately, this puts them just outside the invite list for events such as CCT and other European tier 2 events.
Adding to their misfortune, if 8Sins were eagerly searching for VRS points, they would not attain any from the UKIC Season 5 Division 1 playoffs, as this has been marked as an unranked event. This now puts 8Sins in a strange spot if they want to be invited to tournaments as they sit outside the invite threshold.
The only way they could garner more points is if they have another successful run at EPIC.LAN 45 or make an open qualifier run. Issue is, when EPIC.LAN 45 rolls around their two games from EPIC.LAN 43 and their one game from UKIC Season 4 Division 1 playoffs will not count. This means the only way for them to regain their VRS rank is if they make a lower bracket run to the Grand Finals, playing three ranked matches with the same core.
VRS works in a six month cycle, meaning after six months, matches do not count anymore. Therefore, at the end of April, the two games from EPIC.LAN 43 will no longer be counted. The outcome of this means 8Sins lose their qualification to a VRS rank.
Something to note is that because 8Sins made the finals of EPIC.LAN 44, they do theoretically qualify for a wildcard invite to any tier 2 tournament for the next six months. This, however, is very unlikely to happen.
