The developer has imposed much stricter requirements when it comes to wildcard invitations.

Update 09:35 : Valve fixes "mistake" in Wildcard requirements

In a subsequent update to the rulebook, Valve has eased the new requirement for a Wildcard invite, which now has to be ranked lower than 12 on the Global VRS list rather than on all lists.

Valve has released a set of changes to its "Tournament Operation Requirements" document, most notably to the rules surrounding seeding, wildcards and invitations.

The developer has increased the minimum number of invites for a tier-one event from 16 to 20. At the same time, tier-two events can now only invite teams ranked lower than 12th in the global standings, four places lower than the previous requirement.

For events in 2027 and beyond, the announcement date has been set to 22 months before the tournament's main event, down from 24 months. And the deadline for tournament organizers to publish the additional information for tier-one and wildcard events is now set to ten months before the main event, down from 12 months.

One of the biggest aspects of this rulebook update surrounds tournament seeding. Rather than resorting to the VRS used for invites to determine seeding, a tournament can simply use the version of the VRS specified in an event's Additional Information announcement. This is of special importance as event invites are often handed out months in advance.

Valve has also made the wildcard requirements much more restrictive. A roster is only eligible for one such invite if it is ranked lower than 12 on all VRS lists (including regional lists) and fulfills at least one of the following requirements:

a) It includes at least 3 players who individually were members of a top 12 Roster on an Invite VRS List at any time during the preceding 6 months.
b) It has placed first or second place in any Tournament, of equal or lesser tier than the one issuing the invite, during the preceding 6 months.

Rather than having to disclose the broader geographical region where the event will take place (North America, West Europe, Southeast Asia, etc.), tournament organizers must now only publish the visa region where the competition will be held (USA, Schengen, China, etc.).