The unsuccessful performance of American teams at the IEM Rio Major will have negative consequences for the region: at the next major, the number of teams that will be able to qualify for the tournament through Americas RMR will be reduced from six to five.
This was a consequence of changes to the rules that were announced by Valve on the eve of PGL Major Antwerp. Then guidelines for holding tournaments were published, according to which the distribution of places at each subsequent major depends on how successful the region was at the previous one. Since only two teams from the American region (FURIA from South America and Liquid from North America) were able to make it to the Legends stage at IEM Rio, the number of places at the major for which teams in the Americas RMR will compete will decrease.
Before this, at all majors since the beginning of the pandemic, except for IEM Rio, teams from North and South America managed to get three places in the Legends stage. To these were added three seats, which the region received on a general basis. At the upcoming BLAST.tv Paris Major, the total number of slots will be reduced to five for the first time. The sixth place will go to the European team, and as a result there will be 17 teams from this region at the major.
In addition, whether Liquid or FURIA make it to the playoffs will determine whether American teams will be able to begin participating in the next tournament directly from the Legends stage.
