Valve has barred BC.Game from participating in the upcoming BC Game Masters Counter-Strike 2 event, despite the organization serving as the tournament’s title sponsor, citing conflict-of-interest regulations.
For the uninitiated, the BC Game Masters is an upcoming VRS-eligible CS2 LAN event set to take place in Bucharest, Romania, featuring a $50,000 prize pool and elite teams from across the international competitive circuit.
“We’ve seen questions about BC.Game Esports and BC Game Masters Championship,” the official BC Game esports handle posted on X. “BC.Game Esports and the tournament are operated by separate entities. However, to avoid any speculation, BC.Game Esports will not participate in this event.”
According to Valve rules, teams are prohibited from competing in tournaments that are sponsored or financially backed by their own title partners due to conflict-of-interest concerns.
In a statement to HLTV, a Valve representative clarified that the company does not differentiate between team title sponsors and team ownership, even if the entities are legally separate.
As such, a team whose title sponsor or brand also funds a tournament would not be accepted to compete in the event. However, the tournament title sponsor being represented by teams in smaller ways, like in logos on team jerseys, would remain eligible, the representative noted.
The BC Game Masters is scheduled to kick off on March 24, 2026, and will feature three days of intense competitive Counter-Strike before a winner is crowned on March 26.