Valve. Oh, Valve. Sometimes you know what you're doing. Sometimes we love you. This is one of those times. The new CS:GO update brings along 2020 RMR stickers, which is all some people care about when it comes to CS:GO Majors anyway. There's big news for those that follow the pro scene more carefully too.
CS:GO is enjoying an active month of updates. This is the third so far and they're no joke either. This latest one keeps up with the theme of altering Matchmaking rules, which we will also discuss, but the most exciting part is certainly the incoming 2020 RMR stickers.
Today we're shipping 2020 RMR team stickers, available now in Legends, Contenders, and Challengers capsules. We also have updates on 2021 RMR events and coaching: https://t.co/d7aOajgapF pic.twitter.com/QdOypVTQzI
— CS:GO (@CSGO) January 27, 2021
2020 RMR Stickers
For those that don't know, stickers are released to commemorate CS:GO Majors. They are, well, stickers with the logos of the teams and players that took part in a certain Major. If you didn't know what stickers are, you must also be out of the pro scene loop. The rest of us are wondering what gives, because there were no Majors in 2020 thanks to COVID-19.
Good guy Valve thought it would be nice to give us some stickers regardless and used the Regional Major Ranking events to pick and choose which teams are going to be included in the 2020 RMR sticker capsules. Capsules will be spread in three categories, based on the teams' status in the RMR rankings: Legends, Challengers and Contenders.
Some stickers grow immensely in value with time, so if you're perceptive enough, you may turn in some profit in the future.
RMR Events
The tournaments these stickers are based upon will continue in 2021. That we already knew. There is a bit more news now. For example, teams that did well at RMR events in 2020 will be granted a small advantage in the 2021 standings.
The notes are clear enough, so you can see the newly implemented rules yourself:
- RMR points are reset for 2021, however, the 2020 RMR Legends will start with 600, Challengers with 300, and contenders with 100 points.
- Teams can now specify a substitute player (any player who is not registered to participate or substitute for another team) that is separate from their coach.
- A team incurs a penalty when they substitute out a player in an event, but there is no penalty when that player is brought back in.
- During online matches, only players are allowed in the room and on the server. Neither coaches nor any other team staff will be allowed in the room, on the server, or to otherwise communicate with the team during an online match.
Today, Valve (@CSGO) ratified ESICs sanctions against coaches who exploited the Spectator Bug. Below is the table from Valve translating demerits issued by ESIC to majors missed by offending parties.Read the full release from Valve: https://t.co/zr9IPgLWOp pic.twitter.com/d0RrRXqD4w
— ESIC (@ESIC_Official) January 28, 2021
Coaching Penalties
In that last line of text, you see a hint of draconian measures on coaching. There's a little more to it than that. Valve are taking the coaching scandal from last year very seriously and will make sure those that crossed the line are gonna have a bad time.
In addition to not being allowed to communicate or even be in the same room as their players at RMR events, some coaches are going to be banned from future Majors depending on the severity of their ESIC punishments. The exact details of the scale used hasn't been clarified but the most severe cases will be punished with a lifetime ban from Majors - a career death sentence to any high or even mid-tier coach.
Finally, Competitive teams down a player will receive an extra $1000 shorthanded loser income (after exceptions are met) per round loss. This does not apply to teams who kick a player. More on that in today's Release Notes: https://t.co/fYc12ghQHx
— CS:GO (@CSGO) January 27, 2021
Technical Timeout in Competitive Matchmaking
The last stop in our more detailed CS:GO update review is the gameplay changes that alter Competitive Matchmaking and Wingman - a habit of Valve's this year. After bots were killed off in both modes a couple of weeks ago, now Valve introduce the technical timeout.
The bot removal was met with a lot of resistance, which we don't expect to see here. The TTO will activate automatically whenever a player disconnects from the game. The only, quite reasonable exception to this is when a player is deliberately kicked out of a game.
The other notable gameplay innovation is in the same ballpark. Your squad will receive a $1,000 bonus whenever you lose a round if you've been playing with fewer players than your opponent for three rounds straight in the same half. Something tells us this isn't going to calm down the bot-lovers much, yet it's a start.
There are more patch notes, including some map work on Elysion and a more detailed explanation of the new RMR regulations. All of that you can read in the CS:GO blog.
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