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Valve has stripped the upcoming MESA Nomadic Masters Fall 2025 of its ranked VRS status after the Mongolian tournament organiser was caught breaching the Tournament Operation Requirements (TOR).

The controversy comes after it was revealed that some teams had advanced access to the sign-up process for the supposed “open” qualifier stage of the event, which directly violated Section 3.5 of Valve’s rules.

What Went Wrong

The LAN, set to run in Ulaanbaatar from October 15–19, was already under scrutiny after reports surfaced that MESA had been trying to shift the dates to September 23–28. The move would have slotted the event just before the October 6 ranking cutoff for the StarLadder Budapest Major invites.

On top of that, HLTV revealed that MESA was seeking a non-refundable $10,000 registration fee per team for the 32-team “open” LAN qualifier, accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Complexity GM Graham “messioso” Pitt publicly shared an email showing this arrangement, with ENCE’s Joona “natu” Leppänen and Partizan’s coach Dejan “BAXACHA” Atanacković later confirming they’d received similar offers.

Valve weighed in directly, stating:

“Some teams had advance access to the sign-up process for a first-come-first-served open event, which violates 3.5 of the TOR.”

For context, Rule 3.5 of the TOR clearly says:

For Open Qualifiers, Tournament Operator can use any criteria that in good faith are reasonable and transparent, and do not specifically target individual rosters.

MESA’s Response

After the backlash, MESA released a statement on X taking “full responsibility” for what they called an “oversight.” The organiser admitted that while no teams had officially registered yet, they had shared updated tournament details with select organisations before the announcement was made public.

“We now understand that it unintentionally compromised the fairness and accessibility required for ranked events,” MESA said.
“Our commitment to integrity, transparency, and international best practices remains unchanged.”

They also claimed their original plan involved two separate LAN qualifiers, one for eight European teams and another for 24 Mongolian teams, both with free registration, but logistical changes pushed them into murky waters.

More Problems Piling Up

This isn’t the first red flag around the Nomadic Masters Fall. The tournament had already:

  • Cut its prize pool from $250,000 down to $100,000.
  • Tried to reschedule its event dates.
  • Been accused of not paying talent.

Australian caster Jordan “Elfishguy” Mays went as far as calling it “unreal behaviour from a TO that is ghosting their unpaid talent.”

Community reactions weren’t much kinder. One fan crunched the numbers, pointing out:

“Prize pool = $100k, sign-up fees = $320k. Nt MESA.”

Others thanked messioso for exposing the emails, calling Valve’s decision a “huge W” for enforcing its own rules.

What Happens Next?

With its ranked status gone, Nomadic Masters Fall will no longer count towards the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). That means teams attending won’t gain points needed for Major qualification, which could heavily affect turnout.

For MESA, the focus is now on whether they can actually revise the event structure and still host in time before the Budapest Major invites are finalised.

Smaller organisers like Fragadelphia and Birch Cup have been benefitting from the VRS system lately, attracting big-name teams chasing Major spots. MESA’s misstep shows just how crucial transparency is if you want Valve to recognise your event.

Right now, Nomadic Masters Fall feels less like a showcase for Mongolian Counter-Strike and more like a cautionary tale.