Robin Röpke

Counter-Strike has been my life for more than 20 years. I have enormous respect for Valve and for what they have built around this game. I will never communicate about their decisions disrespectfully, even when I disagree with one. BC game has a clear objective in Counter-Strike: build a team capable of consistently competing at Tier 1 events and eventually fighting for the biggest trophies. We also understand that getting there takes time. A lot has been said about our roster decisions recently, so I want to give some context. When we signed Senzu and Mzinho, the objective was never to "become an Asian team." We signed them because we genuinely believe they are two of the biggest talents in Counter-Strike — not just in Asia, but globally. At the same time, people sometimes underestimate how difficult moving into an English-speaking international team can be. Even biggest talents need time to adapt to a new language, system and environment. More recently, we signed ASAP from Australia. That move resulted in BC game being assigned to the Asian VRS, and immediately we were called "rule abusers". I'll be transparent: Major qualification was one of the factors behind the decision. Our previous results were not good enough, we believed a roster change was necessary, and competing for the Major through the Asian ranking gave us a better opportunity. The Major is also one of the few tournaments where a strong result can dramatically accelerate a team position in the VRS. But there was another condition from my side. We did extensive scouting of the APAC scene, and I made one thing very clear internally — even if it put my own position at risk: We would not change regions simply for the sake of changing regions. We would only sign a player if we believed he had the level and potential to genuinely improve our team, and stay competetive. We followed the rules that existed at the time, built an eligible roster and subsequently appeared in the Asian VRS. That is why introducing a new three month regional restriction at this point of the Major qualification cycle, and applying it immediately to the upcoming Major, is difficult for me to accept. I can understand the purpose behind the rule. What is difficult is the timing. Teams and players make roster decisions, sign contracts, travel around the world and plan their competitive calendars according to the regulations that exist at that moment. Changing those rules shortly before qualification creates a dangerous precedent for organisations that make decisions based on the rules in place at the time. Nothing was guaranteed for us. We still had to perform. We still had to earn the points. And we still could have failed to qualify from either Europe or Asia. We will communicate with Valve, respect whatever final decision is made, and focus on what we can control. We have upcoming events to play, a young roster that still needs time together, and the same objective we had from day one: Earn our way into Tier 1 Counter-Strike and compete for trophies.