The Ukrainian esports organization Monte has officially announced its refusal to participate in the YaLLa Compass Winter 2025 tournament. This decision was caused by a change in the status of the tournament, which ceased to be a ranking tournament due to violations during the invitation process. In addition to Monte, four other teams lost the competition: OG, ECSTATIC, FAVBET, and SINNERS.

Reasons for the refusal

Monte explained that they would focus on participating in ranking tournaments to gain valuable VRS points that would help improve their position in global rankings. In addition, the organization noted that its players will focus on intensive training to achieve new goals and high levels of performance.

According to official statements, the change in the tournament status took place on January 15, when YaLLa Compass Winter 2025 Contenders stopped being taken into account in Valve's rating systems. This decision was made due to the identified irregularities in the process of distributing invitations.

Other contestants are also withdrawing

According to HLTV, OG, ECSTATIC, FAVBET, and SINNERS have also withdrawn from the tournament. All of these teams want to focus on more significant competitions that affect their ranking and prospects in the professional CS2 scene.

Format and situation with the tournament

YaLLa Compass Winter 2025 was planned as a B-level tournament with a prize pool of $25,000. Initially, it was assumed that the tournament would be held in Swiss Bo3 format, and the best eight teams would reach the playoffs. However, after numerous refusals, the organizers were left with the problem of a lack of high-level teams.

This situation emphasizes the importance of transparency in the organization of tournaments, especially those that claim to be ranked. Loss of trust from the leading teams can negatively affect the tournament's reputation and future.

YaLLa Compass Winter 2025 Contenders remains on the calendar, but without top teams such as Monte, OG and others, the tournament may lose a large part of its audience.