Sashi's Australian signings open Asia route to Singapore Major

Sashi Esport has signed Australians Tynan “TjP” Purtell and Jordan “Hatz” Bajic in a roster change designed to move the Danish CS2 team from the Europe VRS to the Asia VRS. The move gives Sashi a possible route to an invitation to the PGL Major Singapore 2026, but it has drawn criticism over its timing.

Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen and Casper “Cabbi” Jensen have been benched and, according to the report cited by TalkEsport, will be out of the starting lineup for the coming month. That period covers the run-up to the November 2 VRS cutoff, when the rankings snapshot will determine Major invitations.

How the region switch works

Valve assigns teams to a region based on where the majority of their players come from. Sashi player Anlelele competes under the Danish flag but also holds Vietnamese citizenship; together with the two Australians, he gives the new five-player lineup a three-player majority for the Asia VRS.

TjP joins from THUNDER dOWNUNDER, which qualified for IEM Cologne 2026. Hatz previously played for Renegades and has not played an official match since July 2024.

Sashi sits 54th in the Europe VRS with 1,122 points, outside the region’s 18 places at the 32-team Major. In the Asia VRS, those same points would put Sashi fifth — the last of the region’s five invite positions. The new lineup must first play five matches together before it appears in the Asia standings.

Critics question the timing

Players, casters and organisations criticised the switch within hours of the news. Falcons player Nikola “NiKo” Kovač wrote: “It’s not too late to do something about this.” Caster Graham Pitt called the move disgraceful and urged Valve to examine region swaps and dual nationality rules.

Sashi is not the first team to change regions during this cycle. BC.Game moved to the Asia VRS after signing Senzu and mzinho, while Liquid and Wildcard also changed regions. Critics have focused on Sashi’s stated short-term roster arrangement and the fact that Anlelele’s Vietnamese citizenship had not been shown on the team’s roster.

Five matches before the cutoff

Sashi must complete the five-match requirement before its new lineup can enter the Asia standings, then compete for an invite ahead of November 2. VRS analyst Finn “Mischief” Farrer estimates its chance of securing a Major invitation through Asia at 13.25%, based on the LAN events remaining before the snapshot.

Current rules allow a team to change regions before the cutoff without a penalty if its new lineup plays five matches. As of October 5, Valve had not commented on Sashi’s move.