Valve and HLTV have introduced stricter control measures for tournament organizers who abuse invitation rules. The new regulations target organizers exploiting rule 5.4 to unjustly ban teams from tournaments. Under the updated policy, tournament operators must now submit a full list of excluded teams when applying for rating status.

HLTV reviews the justification for these exclusions and can deny rating status if violations are found. This has already resulted in the cancellation of two Tier-2 tournaments organized by United21 and EPL. Additionally, Valve has implemented a new rule prohibiting changes to entry fees during registration.

Entry fees must be the same for all teams and announced at least a week before registration starts. This decision impacts tournaments like Fragadelphia and EPIC.LAN, which previously used early registration discounts and partner event bonuses.