The Heroic organization will make a lineup change after the conclusion of ESWC 2025, but according to the updated Valve Ranking System (VRS) rules, the team will retain all of its ranking points. This is the first striking example of how the new changes in the scoring rules work.

From tN1R to xfl0ud
After ESWC, Heroic will replace tN1R with Turkish rifler xfl0ud , keeping the rest of the lineup: alkarenn, nilo , LNZ , Yxngstxr , xfl0ud . This means that four out of five players remain unchanged — a key point for Valve Regional Standings (VRS).

According to the rules, all previous matches of the team continue to count towards VRS if at least three players from the new lineup participated in those games. That is why Heroic brought back xfl0ud : his arrival maintains the required level of overlap, so the team retains all its ranking points.

Why they don't lose points
Under the current rules, in order to retain points in the VRS ranking, the new lineup must include at least three players who have played in previous official matches. Heroic meets this requirement — even after the roster change, at least three players from the new lineup remain in all matches played. This is why Heroic , despite the replacement, does not lose its position in the ranking.

How it will look in the table
This is where the updated VRS algorithm comes into play. Previously, immediately after the first match with the new lineup, the updated roster appeared in the official ranking table. But now, the “morning” lineup in the VRS list will remain the same until the new five have played at least five official matches.

This means that in the September ranking (September 1), Heroic will most likely still be listed as: alkarenn, nilo , LNZ , Yxngstxr , tN1R , even if they have already played several matches with xfl0ud .

Possible consequences
In August, Heroic plans to play only at BLAST Open, where a maximum of four matches are possible if they pass through the lower bracket. That is, they will not play 5 games before the ranking date.

This scenario is the opposite of the “FaZe case,” which led to the rules being changed. Now it may seem strange: the VRS table will still show the “dead” lineup, even though the new one is already playing official matches.