FUT’s quarter-final loss to Nemiga leaves Nikita “cmtry” Samolotov on FUT’s VRS roster with no matches left before the invite cut-off. Astralis will likely play the PGL Major Singapore with a stand-in unless Valve grants an exception or FUT play another event.
Nemiga’s win in Bucharest decided more than FUT’s own tournament. It also settled where cmtry stands for the Major.
Valve’s roster rules bind cmtry to his old team
The problem comes from how Valve Regional Standings handle a player who appears on two rosters. Under that rule, cmtry remains bound to FUT for this event.
Valve’s Major supplemental rulebook leaves little room to move. Invitations go only to intact rosters. If a roster declines or is no longer intact, its invitation passes to the next-highest-ranked roster. The roster a team registers for the Major must also match the one that received the invite. Teams may add one coach.
Two roster moves set up the clash. FUT signed AWPer Álvaro “SunPayus” García on October 1 after G2 benched him. FUT had no events scheduled before PGL Masters Bucharest, which began on October 24. On October 13, Astralis signed siuhy and cmtry to replace HooXi and jabbi. cmtry was set to move from the AWP to a rifle role.
He leaves FUT with recent success behind him. cmtry won his first MVP award when FUT won PGL Bucharest in April 2026.
Jabbi is the likely stand-in unless Valve or FUT act
Astralis brought jabbi back on October 27 to stand in for the rest of Stake Ranked Episode 5 in Barcelona. The club said he had come “straight from the airport at very little notice.” He is now the probable stand-in for cmtry in Singapore.
One route to free cmtry remains open. A fifth match for SunPayus would put him on FUT’s VRS roster in cmtry’s place, HLTV reported. FUT could get him that match by signing up for an event open to all teams, with EPIC 49 in Kettering one option. So far FUT have given no sign that they will.
Registering SunPayus as a substitute would let FUT field him at the Major under the existing rules. cmtry has no such option with Astralis.
The outcome will shape a 32-team Major with a $1,250,000 prize pool. Any answer from Valve would need to come before the cut-off. After that, qualified teams must confirm all team details by November 6 and submit tournament items by November 9.
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