Valve Rejects Player Autographs Before the Major

Just days before the StarLadder Major Budapest 2025, Counter-Strike 2 players and fans are upset after Valve reportedly rejected a large number of player autograph designs for the game’s upcoming Major stickers.

These in-game autographs are a big deal in CS2, players earn money from sticker capsule sales, and fans love collecting them as a show of support. But this year, many pros say their new designs were rejected without clear reasons, and some are being forced to reuse their old ones.

Players Speak Out on Social Media

FURIA’s Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis was one of the first to share the news on Telegram.

Valve rejected the funniest YEKINDAR sticker so far😭

“Sticker’s rejected, they said they’ll take the design from a past major”. pic.twitter.com/SUtDlPNpxo

— CS2 NEWS (@CS2News_EN) November 2, 2025

Kamil “siuhy” Schkaradek from Team Liquid had a similar experience, saying on X:

last two majors, both of these stickers got rejected. just so they don’t go to waste, i will enjoy them here. i can’t upload a new one so i’ll have the same as last time 😶‍🌫️ pic.twitter.com/MGTVegUuHf

— Kamil Szkaradek (@siuhycs) November 2, 2025

Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek from NRG went into more detail, saying Valve didn’t explain anything.

i think its pretty obvious

— merkwy (@merkwey) November 2, 2025

Other players like Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato and João “snow” Vinicius also complained about their rejections, with KSCERATO posting:

Please accept my new sticker @valvesoftware @CounterStrike its not AI. I used to be an artist 😭

— KSCERATO (@kscerato) October 31, 2025

Sticker recusado novamente kkkkk, tentei fazer uma homenagem pro meu vô e pro meu pai mas n aceitaram q tristeza 🥲 pic.twitter.com/CbSyx63mq7

— paiN Snow ❄️ (@Snowzincs) November 2, 2025

Fans Mock Valve’s Strict Rules

The backlash quickly spread online. A Reddit post titled “Valve seems to be rejecting a lot more sticker designs this year” gained thousands of upvotes, with players and fans debating whether Valve’s rules were too harsh.

According to Valve, signatures must be hand-drawn, look like something players could sign on a fan’s mousepad, and take no longer than 5–10 seconds to write.

But fans think the rule is killing creativity. One Reddit user joked:

“Might as well just use Arial font at this point.”

Another user, @dingleCS2, shared a fake set of overly simple “Valve-approved” designs for players like ZywOo, REZ, snow, and KSCERATO, poking fun at how boring they could look under the new rules.

Made some autograph designs, following valve autograph guidelines! W or L? pic.twitter.com/rlAEAp0f8K

— dingle (@dingleCS2) November 2, 2025

Community Divided Over Valve’s Decision

The community is split. Some agree with Valve’s idea of keeping signatures “real” and easy to reproduce, while others say the stickers should be more creative and fun since they’re digital, not real-life autographs.

One fan wrote:

“Nobody’s buying these for realism. We like them because they’re cool and show the player’s personality.”

Others reminded that in the past, Valve allowed unique and fun autographs, like Karrigan’s bat drawing and chopper’s anime-style hat, which made stickers more special to collect.

Now, players and fans say the crackdown is removing that personal touch, turning creative designs into plain handwriting.

Why Valve Might Be Doing This

Some believe Valve wants to stop players from hiring outside artists to make their signatures, or to avoid issues with AI and copyrighted designs. Others think it’s about making the process faster and fairer for everyone.

But the lack of clear communication is the real problem. With no explanation or feedback system, many pros are left guessing why their designs were rejected, and fans are left disappointed.

Looking Ahead to the StarLadder Major

The StarLadder Major Budapest 2025 is set to be one of the biggest CS2 events of the year, but this sticker drama is taking attention away from the competition itself.

Until Valve explains its decisions or loosens the rules, players may lose part of their income, and the game may lose some of its creative charm.

The post Valve Rejects CS2 Player Autographs Before StarLadder Major, Fans and Pros Outraged appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Liquid End Their Shanghai Run on a High

Team Liquid have wrapped up their CS Asia Championships 2025 campaign with a confident 2–0 sweep over Heroic, clinching third place in Shanghai. The North American–European mix looked sharp from start to finish, marking their second consecutive third-place finish since the addition of Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski.

Liquid finish third at CAC 🥉 pic.twitter.com/2wCAMGmNge

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) October 19, 2025

Liquid’s campaign began strong, marching through the group stage unbeaten with victories over GamerLegion, MIBR, and Legacy. However, their shot at the grand final slipped away after a close 1–2 loss to 3DMAX in the semi-finals. The team quickly regrouped for the third-place decider, taking down Heroic in style and adding another bronze finish to their growing list of top-tier results — following a similar showing at the recent Birch Cup.

EliGE and Siuhy Lead the Charge

The series opened on Mirage, where Liquid’s mix of experience and youthful aggression proved too much for Heroic. A tied 4–4 early game soon spiralled into a dominant 13–4 victory thanks to stellar performances from EliGE and in-game leader Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek, whose leadership continues to earn praise across the scene.

Heroic’s pick of Dust2 offered little relief. Despite a few promising rounds from Linus “LNZ” Holtäng’s squad, Liquid controlled the tempo and closed out the map 13–5, sealing the series 2–0.

EliGE once again stood tall on the scoreboard with a 1.41 rating and 99.7 ADR, while siuhy, Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak, and Keith “NAF” Markovic also delivered high-impact performances. Heroic’s temporary AWPer Olek “hades” Miskiewicz struggled to find his rhythm, finishing with a 0.68 rating as the team faltered against Liquid’s well-drilled play.

Three Straight Podium Finishes for Liquid

This third-place finish marks Liquid’s third straight top-four placement, following their strong showings at both the Birch Cup and Fissure tournaments. It’s a clear sign that the current roster, now stabilised around siuhy’s leadership, is building consistency heading into the crucial months of the season.

The team will now return to Europe to prepare for PGL Masters Bucharest, their final event before the StarLadder Budapest Major campaign begins. With EliGE in excellent form and the team’s chemistry improving, Liquid look ready to challenge for a title soon.

For Heroic, the Shanghai run was a mixed bag. The team showed promise with hades standing in, but their collapse in the decider highlights how far they still have to go to regain their former strength.

What’s Next for Liquid

Liquid’s Shanghai campaign may not have ended with a trophy, but their recent string of podium finishes paints a promising picture. If siuhy’s leadership and EliGE’s resurgence continue at this pace, fans could be witnessing the rise of a revitalised Liquid, one capable of reclaiming its spot among Counter-Strike’s elite.

The post Team Liquid Secure Third Place at CS Asia Championships After Dominant Win Over Heroic appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Well, well, well…. look who’s going to London.

Despite being booted early in the qualifiers by none other than VP.Prodigy, yes, Virtus.pro’s academy team, Team Liquid are making their way to BLAST Open London after The MongolZ had to pull out due to visa troubles.

UPDATE: @TeamLiquidCS will be replacing @1mongolz at the upcoming BLAST Open London due to visa issues#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/KqFdtl4Jmr

— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) August 6, 2025

It’s the kind of plot twist no one saw coming, not even Liquid themselves. Just not too long ago, the CS2 world watched them get absolutely schooled in the RES Showdown 2: BLAST Premier Rising. That early knockout, especially to an academy squad, had fans questioning whether the whole siuhy-led rebuild was dead in the water.

From Shaky Ground to a Shot at Redemption

But Liquid got lucky.

With The MongolZ forced to withdraw after being unable to secure travel access to the UK for the LAN playoffs, a slot magically opened up. BLAST handed it to Liquid, giving them what might just be their last real shot to salvage this season.

They’ve already kicked things off in BLAST Bounty Season 2, starting with a wild ride of a match against ECSTATIC. The match was an absolute banger, dragging on for five overtimes on Train. It wasn’t perfect CS by any means, but it showed a different fire from the North American squad.

What is happening in this game… NIP vs AMKAL V2

48 rounds, 5 OT’s and a save in the last round 😭 pic.twitter.com/OdSaHUQFvM

— Ozzny (@Ozzny_CS2) August 5, 2025

And let’s be honest, for a team that’s been spiralling for most of the year, any sign of life is worth talking about.

The Road to Wembley Is No Walk in the Park

The BLAST Open London kicks off online on August 27, with only six squads making it through to the LAN finals at Ovo Arena Wembley (September 5–7). And when you’re up against the likes of Vitality, MOUZ, NaVi, G2, and FaZe, nobody’s tipping Liquid to make it out alive.

Still, the path’s there. And if they manage to book a ticket to Wembley, they’ll gain precious VRS ranking points ahead of the Starladder Budapest 2025 Major cutoff.

That said, Liquid need more than just luck. They need to show they belong. Five overtimes against ECSTATIC is a good start. But against tier-one monsters? They’ll need to look like a completely different beast.

MongolZ Sit This One Out

As for The MongolZ, it’s a tough blow. The Mongolian giants are currently ranked #4 globally and had one hell of a run earlier this year, remember their runner-up finish at the Blast.tv Austin Major after knocking out FaZe and paiN?

Unfortunately, their recent IEM Cologne showing was underwhelming, partly due to only having four days of prep. And now, with London off the table, they’ll be sidelined while the rest of the field battles it out.

GG @natusvincere

— The MongolZ (@1mongolz) August 1, 2025

Still, sitting out may not be the worst thing for them. Their rankings are stable, and this forced break could give them time to sharpen the little details needed to start lifting trophies again.

Team Liquid might have stumbled into BLAST Open London through the back door, but opportunity doesn’t knock twice. They’ve already tasted humiliation this season, this might just be the turning point they desperately need.

London’s calling. Let’s see if Liquid answers.

The post Team Liquid Takes Over The MongolZ’s Spot at BLAST Open London appeared first on Shane the Gamer.