A VRS-ranked event is a tournament that follows Valve’s Tournament Operating Requirements (TOR) and awards points toward the Valve Regional Standings. These standings function as the qualification tracking system used to seed Counter-Strike teams into professional events, spanning online tier-3 cups, Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournaments, and Majors.
Teams earn VRS Points by competing in matches covered by HLTV.org, with accumulated point totals determining future invitations to Valve-sanctioned events. Teams can enter the ESEA League to climb through the competitive divisions, earning HLTV.org coverage and VRS Points on the qualification path to the ESL Pro League.