New Valve rule permits players with over 5-year-old VAC bans to play at CS:GO Majors

With the return of CS:GO Majors just half a year away, Valve has made a change to its eligibility rules regarding players who have received VAC bans.

Valve announced today that players will only be disqualified from Valve-sponsored events if the player received a VAC ban less than five years ago.

Valve acknowledged that some VAC bans are up to eight years old now and felt a change was needed heading into the next era of Majors. For players like Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen, it’s a bittersweet feeling. He had been disqualified from Valve-sponsored events due to a VAC-banned account connected to him and he spent a lot of time and resources attempting to clear his name and restore his promising career.

Just months prior to this rule change, he officially retired from competitive CS:GO and signed with Team Liquid’s VALORANT roster. But he celebrated the news on Twitter today, prompting several members of the CS:GO community, including players and organizations, to already start welcoming him back.

One of the biggest winners after this new rule is Vinicius “⁠vsm⁠” Moreira, a Brazilian player who was VAC-banned in 2013. Most recently, he was loaned to MIBR to close out their 2020 campaign after several roster moves. And now, the 21-year-old has a plethora of opportunities re-opened up for him.

The road to the PGL Stockholm Major starts with the first Regional Major Rankings events in May. Flashpoint 3 will be the first opportunity for European teams to earn points, while North American teams can do so at cs_summit 8.