ESL has announced that it has decided to update the rulebook for the IEM events regarding regional affiliation for teams.

With the new set of rules, which are already in effect for the qualifiers for IEM Oakland, teams are allowed to play in a qualifier outside of their own region provided that they have "valid reasons" to do so.

According to ESL, exceptions will be granted to teams without qualifiers in their home region, teams competing in other tournament(s) in a different region and who cannot make it back in time to take part in their region's qualifier, and teams who have moved to another region "for a prolonged time".

Teams can now request to partake in qualifiers in other regions

All teams willing to compete in a qualifier in a different region will need to contact ESL to make a request for an exception. Should they be granted one, then the respective region will be considered that team's home region for the entire event or until the conditions for the exception expire.

TYLOO are one of the teams who have been granted an exception as they have been allowed to compete in the qualifier in Europe, where they are currently bootcamping.

The open qualifiers in Europe and North America are already in full swing, with two spots in the closed stages up for grabs per region. In Asia, the qualifier, open to teams from the Eastern and the Southeastern regions, will kick off only on Saturday.