Coach Wildcard vinS sparked a heated debate within the Counter-Strike community by accusing the organizers of Birch Cup 2025 of a disastrous tournament execution. According to him, the event in Gdansk turned out to be a "series of failures," with prolonged matches, numerous technical issues, and unequal conditions for teams affecting the competition results.

This statement was particularly resonant as it concerns a VRS-status tournament, where match outcomes influence major qualification. The quality of organization, impacting ranking points, has sparked debates about where the line is between mere inconvenience and a breach of competitive integrity.

What is Birch Cup and VRS

Birch Cup 2025 in Gdansk, Poland, was included in the VRS system, allowing teams to earn crucial points for advancing to the next major. However, the tournament itself was "outsourced" — the organizers were hosting an event of this level for the first time and lacked prior experience on the big stage.

Amidst this, many teams chose to participate in Birch Cup specifically for the ranking points, even though the DraculaN 2 — a tournament with a more reliable reputation — was happening simultaneously.

vinS's Complaints: Exhausting Schedule and Technical Failures

In his post, vinS wrote that Wildcard had to start their first match at 9 AM, finishing around 1 PM due to repeated technical issues with computers. The team's day continued until 11 PM, while their opponents started playing closer to noon.

Key complaints included:

• Replacing PCs during the first match six times in a row;
• Bugs and player crashes during crucial rounds;
• Team ESC playing on 60Hz monitors in the opening match, which they allegedly accepted themselves, according to Polish commentators;
• Criticism of Valve for granting VRS status to such tournaments without strict quality control.

VinS noted that the level of organization reminded him of amateur tournaments from eight years ago "in booths by the river," not competitions whose results affect a major.

messioso's Response: Conditions are the Teams' Responsibility

Renowned manager Complexity messioso responded to vinS's post, taking a more skeptical stance. He stated that participating in a tournament with untested organizers is a conscious choice by the teams themselves.

According to him, Valve has historically avoided setting minimum standards for tournament operators and adheres to a competitive stance: teams vote with their feet. If the conditions are unsatisfactory, they simply don't attend.

Messioso drew a clear line:

• If the problems are the same for everyone — it's "your choice and your responsibility";
• If the conditions are unequal (different monitors, different PCs) — it strikes at the integrity of the competition.

However, vinS's proposal to allow teams to leave the tournament and retain their VRS points if technical issues get out of control met with harsh criticism. It was noted that such a system could be easily abused: it's enough to "accidentally" encounter a failure at an inopportune moment.

The discussion around Birch Cup exposed a long-standing contradiction between teams and Valve: who is responsible for the level of Tier-2 tournament execution? Players and coaches demand more transparency and standards, but developers continue to shift the choice onto the participants themselves.

Birch Cup 2025 became a prime example of how the "thirst for VRS points" drives teams to risk participating in poorly prepared events. For Valve, such scandals become a test — whether the company is ready to review its policy if problems persist.