Valve has announced changes regarding the allocation of slots for the first Counter-Strike Major of 2019.

In a blog post titled "winning is everything", Valve revealed that it will not be extending invitations to the Katowice Major to the two teams who finish 0-3 in the New Legends Stage of the upcoming FACEIT Major.

These two teams will make an early exit from the Major circuit and will need to qualify again through the Minors for the first Major of 2019. To fill these two new slots, Valve will be hosting a playoff stage featuring the third-placed teams from the Minors, with the top two advancing to the main event.

The new rules will be used for the IEM Katowice 2019 Major

At ELEAGUE Major Boston, North and Virtus.pro were the two teams who went out of the New Legends Stage without winning a single game. Since the rule is not in place yet, they were invited to compete in the FACEIT Major's New Challengers Stage, kicking off on September 5 at the Twickenham Stadium, in London.

North #10 Mathias 'MSL' LauridsenPhilip 'aizy' AistrupMarkus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeValdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåNikolaj 'niko' Kristensen Virtus.pro #19 Filip 'NEO' KubskiJarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskiPaweł 'byali' BielińskiMichał 'MICHU' MüllerMichał 'snatchie' Rudzki