Lynn Vision forfeit their match against Rare Atom

After a long writeup and several opinions from different parts of the Counter-Strike community coming in to form a hot debate about Lynn Vision's matchup with Rare Atom, Lynn Vision went ahead and forfeited their PGL Astana Chinese Closed Qualifier match against Rare Atom.

Most of Lynn Vision's writeup was based around the fourth slot distribution method. Lynn Vision then went on to mention that their game against Rare Atom in the PGL Astana qualifier could potentially lead to lesser Chinese representation at the Major qualifiers.

Lynn Vision pointed out that Rare Atom is currently in strong contention for this #2 spot and could result in more Chinese representation but however, if Lynn Vision won their upcoming game against Rare Atom it could lower their VRS placements, potentially reducing Chinese representation.

By forfeiting this game, Lynn Vision basically gave away free VRS points to Rare Atom increasing their chances of keep the #2 spot in the Asian region and therefore increasing the chances of the fourth slot distribution going in favor of Chinese teams. While some of the community labelled it as an integrity issue, others pointed out that it was an integrity issue created by the system.

MESA caught some strays along the way too with the community accusing them of intentionally delaying Chinese qualifiers until after the MRQ cut-offs. Some even went as far as urging Valve to drop the VRS during the Majors and bring back the RMRs.

HLTV's Editor-in-chief, Striker also took to X, expressing his discontent towards the situation. While he withheld blame towards Lynn Vision, he also pointed out that it could turn out to be a "massive integrity issue".