Valve has rolled out the March update to the VRS rankings, which will serve as the foundation for several major tournament invitations. The latest rankings will be used to decide team selections for BLAST Rivals Season 1, PGL Astana, CCT Global Finals, and MESA Nomadic Masters, with shifts in placement positively or negatively affecting teams’ chances of securing invites.

One key scheduling note is that PGL Astana concludes just a day before IEM Dallas begins, which means some teams attending IEM Dallas may opt out of competing in PGL Astana due to the tight turnaround.

The new update has not been kind to Liquid, as they have dropped five positions in the global rankings following a lackluster start to the season. On the other hand, Astralis has climbed into the top 10, thanks to their strong showing at PGL Cluj-Napoca, establishing a comfortable lead over paiN, who now sit in 11th place.

One of the biggest risers in this update is BLUEJAYS, who made a massive leap into the global top 30 and secured a top-eight regional ranking, following their impressive LAN victory at Fragadelphia Block.

With the new rankings now in effect, here is how invitations will be distributed across the affected tournaments:

BLAST Rivals Season 1

  • Four teams will qualify via Global VRS standings
  • One wildcard invite will be granted to a team from North America, Europe, South America, and Asia

PGL Astana

  • 12 teams will secure spots via Global VRS rankings
  • One qualifier will be held for each region: North America, Europe, South America, and Asia

CCT Global Finals

  • Six teams will be selected through the European VRS rankings
  • One team will qualify via North American VRS standings
  • One team will qualify through South American VRS rankings

MESA Nomadic Masters

  • Two teams will qualify from European VRS rankings
  • Two teams will be selected from Asian VRS standings
  • Two teams will earn spots via the European qualifier
  • One team will qualify through the Asian qualifier
  • The final slot will go to the winner of MESA League Season 4

 

With the March rankings now finalized, teams will soon find out whether their position is enough to secure direct invites or if they must fight through regional qualifiers to book a spot in these upcoming tournaments.