BC.G CEO: Our Asian players have the longest contracts, and we are prepared to compete in the Asian region for the long term.

Ako explained in detail on a podcast why his team received an exception from Valve under the new Regional Eligibility rules.

BC.Game CEO Ako has been through a turbulent few days. After Valve revised the Counter-Strike Major Championship Supplemental Rules, his team was briefly left out of Major contention, but a day later its eligibility was restored through an exception.

Ako appeared on the All About Counter-Strike podcast alongside BanKs and Devilwalk, where he shared what he had gone through over the past few days and revealed what information he had provided to Valve while seeking an exemption.

Ako first detailed his appeal against Valve’s decision to revoke eligibility for all teams changing regions, and specifically thanked HLTV’s Striker for helping him get in touch with Valve. “It wasn’t the kind of appeal where you receive a document and then have to submit materials,” he said. “I would say HLTV’s Striker did a very good job of explaining the situation, and I have to thank him for that. I also have to say that they... they were neutral in everything and did not favor either side. They were basically saying, ‘This is what we know, and this is what you need to do to get in contact with them (Valve).’”

Ako went on to explain that he does not believe BC.Game’s situation matches the reasons Valve stepped in to address region-eligibility issues. “We understand this is more about abusing the system, dealing with dual citizenship, and terminating players’ contracts without giving them a fair chance, then abusing it in that way,” he said.

“We made our situation very clear and showed them what our plans are. We contacted them (Valve) and sent them an email to explain the facts and show them some things. All of our players are on long-term contracts, and our Asian players are actually signed for the longest terms, so we are prepared to compete in the Asian circuit for the long haul.”

BanKs then asked Ako whether publishing an open letter on Twitter—boldly proposing that BC.Game start from scratch in the Asian region—had helped the team’s situation. According to Ako, it showed Valve the mindset behind BC.Game’s approach. “I think they definitely understand that we’re not doing this for money or trying to screw over players to make the Major. This whole thing of taking the risk is to show that we’re prepared to compete in the Asian circuit over the long term. Whether we can make the Major is not important; that’s just the reality. We simply want to be treated equally and fairly.”

“I’m sure they (Valve) understand that we’re not doing this for the money.” Ako also revealed why he proposed starting over in Valve Regional Standings (Asia) rather than asking to move back to Europe, saying it all came down to asap. “If we return to the European region, it means asap would be removed,” he said.

“I rejected that plan outright over the phone. I said it wasn’t going to happen—that was my promise to him... I made him a promise, and we will keep it. We’re fortunate: we don’t need the Major to survive, that’s the reality. I’d rather honor my promise than remove him just because there’s a chance to qualify for the Major.”