Rules
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League Operations
- Tom "Gumpster" Gumbleton | League Ops Manager
- George "Geo" Peters | League Ops Team Leader
Please also read the General Rules that apply to every single EPIC.LAN tournament.
Signup Restrictions
- Signups will close on Thursday 24th of October at 16:00 local time to allow for seeding and group scheduling.
- You must be aged 16+ to take part in any EPIC.LAN tournaments
- Any players under the age of 18 require parental or legal guardian consent to partiticpate
- Any players under the age of 18 require an adult to accompany/be on site for the player (Either a parent or legal guardian, or an adult agreed upon by a parent or legal guardian, such as an adult team member)
- Games will start on Friday 25th
- Captains meeting will commence on Friday 25th of October at 09:30 local time.
Tournament Format
- UCL Format - One singular group consisting of 44 teams, with each team having 7 matches against different pots. Each team will play approximately the same number of pots as eachother, and have the same average opponent seed.
Points: - Win - 3 Points
- OT Win - 2 Points
- OT Loss - 1 Point
- Draw - 1 Point
- Loss - 0 Points
Maplist
This tournament uses the "Active Duty" official maplist from Valve.
- Ancient
- Anubis
- Dust 2
- Inferno
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Vertigo
Match Format
- Freeze Time - 20 seconds
- Round Time - 1 minute 55 seconds
- Max Rounds - 12 per half, 13 to win (MR12)
- Start Money - $800
- Side Selection - See veto process below
- Overtime Max Rounds - 3 per half, 4 to win (MR3)
- Overtime Start Money - $12,500
- Overtime Side Selection - in overtime, teams first play the side they last played in regulation
- It is expressly forbidden to use RCON in any way which may disrupt or lag an opponent's connection or interfere with the game in general. Any teams using RCON unless it is for match starting purposes will lose the match in question.
The Veto Process
Please note, if seedings are not used, then “Higher Seed” should be replaced with “Home Team” (i.e. the left-hand team on the match page). The Higher Seeded team gets to chose to act as either Team A or Team B in the following veto process:
Best-Of-One
Team A: Bans 1 map
Team B: Bans 1 map
Team A: Bans 1 map
Team B: Bans 1 map
Team A: Bans 1 map
Team B: Bans 1 map
Map Choice: The remaining map will be the map that is played
Side Selection: Knife for side choice on map
Best-Of-Three
Team A: Bans 1 map
Team B: Bans 1 map
Team A: Picks map one
Team B: Select side choice on map one
Team B: Picks map two
Team A: Select side choice on map two
Team A: Bans 1 map
Team B: Bans 1 map
Map 3: The remaining map will be map three if needed
Side Selection: Knife for side choice on map three
The upper bracket advantage for the final is to be decided by tournament admins.
Pausing & Substitues
Teams are allowed up to three, 30 second tactical pauses per map, with an additional tactical pause per overtime.
In the event of technical errors, teams may use !tech on purpose no more than 4 times, or up to a combined limit of 10 minutes. After the maximum permitted pause time, if the technical issue cannot be resolved, play shall resume to prevent delays to the tournament. The admins decision on any matters concerning a technical issue is final.
Substitute players may only be used if they have previously have purchased a BYOC event ticket, signed up to the tournament, and therefore are listed as a member of the team
Substitue players or 6+ player rosters are allowed to change players between each full match but are forbidden from swapping players mid-match. For example, a player change can occur between map 1 and map 2 of a Best-Of-Three, but cannot happen at half time during a match
A player may be substituted for an emergency or medical reasons during a live match with admin approval, this is treated on a case by case basis
Tournament Server Plugin
EPIC.LAN events use our in-house tournament server plugin. This is to avoid any complications around RCON commands, and ensures that server demos are recorded.
The Final & Match Coverage
It is possible some elimination matches including the final get covered by third party sources such as HLTV. In the instance a match is being covered externally and a player's personal information is required (e.g. Full name, age, nationality) all players agree to provide this information to the lead tournament admin and agree this information is handled by any disclosed third party. This will also be stated explicitly on any forms provided.
During the Final, teams will be assigned their respective referee to administrate team communication during tech pauses and coach communication outside of tactical pauses.
In-ears are a requirement for all players who reach the Grand Final of their respective tournament/when playing in an esports stage match. We recommend players bring their own choice of in-ears, which will be setup for game audio underneath their regular headphones. Headphones will be used for mic communication. Players will provide their own peripherals for stage use. Should a player not have their own choice of in-ears specifically, a basic pair will be provided for stage use. EPIC.LAN provided in-ears are new and provided to players to keep.
Teams must abide by any change in playing environment (moving to a stage setting) and any regulations associated for tournament Finals.
Cheating & Game Bugs
All forms of cheating at EPIC.LAN events are forbidden and will see some form of punishment (to see further examples please read the general rules of our esports tournaments above).
In some circumstances, evidence will be submitted to us from third parties or other event organisers and we will review such evidence. If we find the evidence to be serious enough, we will take further action on the players in question.
Here are some of the other examples of ways to gain advantages, this list is not the full list but if players are unsure of certain things, they should seek to ask the tournament admins first.
- Flash Bang, Smoke Grenade, Molotov, Incendiary and Hand Grenade Bugs - it is illegal to use any flash bang, smoke grenade, molotov, incendiary or hand grenade bugs, regardless of intent unless otherwise specificed.
- Silent Bomb Plants - ALL bomb plants must be done in a position where your opponents can hear you.
- There should be no rotation in players to gain money advantages throughout a match.
- The bomb must be planted on solid surfaces on the map, ie where an opponent can defuse from, so not up in the air or floating.
- Illegal Bomb Defuses - No player can defuse a bomb through any other solid object on the map, it has to be done in clear view. It is also forbidden to try to intentionally distort your hitboxes during a defuse situation to prevent an opponent from killing you in game.
- Walking/Boosting through walls - No player should walk, boost through walls or roofs.
- Map Exploits - Boosts that include the use of clipping are strictly forbidden. The term “Clipping” defines that when a player is boosted can see through certain parts of the map (ie over/under walls, or through solid objects on the map).
- Pixel walks/illegal positioning - Defined separately from map exploits using clip brushes to stand or boost in locations unintended by the map design or out of bounds is forbidden (e.g. olofboost). "Saving" in these spots is also forbidden (e.g. below bridge/elevator shaft on de_vertigo). A non exhaustive list of banned spots is available here.
- Any overlays relating to in game functions or advantages are strictly forbidden. This includes overlays to track bomb timers or economy.
- Exploits that allow players to clip through walls, or manipulate a surface that is typically solid to become transparent.
If any player or team feels unsure on a new advantage they have found through their practice sessions, they are welcome to show this specific spot to the tournament team to review. Any player or team that does this will be treated to the strictest confidence as not to jeopardize your strategic advantage, however we can rule on whether it is legal. We strongly advise teams to give us plenty of time ahead of an event so we can review it in good time and make good judgement on it.
Specific to grenades and molotovs: Molotovs that try and circumvent an official patch are banned (e.g. de_vertigo molotov from CT to middle wall and outside B), however, in a change to previous ruling, Molotovs or grenades that clip through floors i.e Vertigo Ramp to CT Elavator are now allowed, in line with other tournaments.
LAN Only: The game admins may inspect your machine at any time throughout the event to inspect for cheats or hacks within your game files, steam cloud and anywhere on your PC, memory sticks or peripherals.
Streaming
Players will need to submit this form to ask for specific permission to stream from the event.
Streaming is a key part of our events and our participants' / teams' own content and is something that we wish to encourage, however it's also important that any streams of our esports tournament do not compromise the competitive integrity of the event and also, in the case of some titles, match the standards required by those publishers.
Note that application for stream permission is intended only for those participating at the event streaming their own perspectives, we do not grant lobby access to spectators who are not at the event.
In certain cases we may offer increased bandwidth for streams, but this is not guaranteed.
We also ask that those granted permission to stream share some basic viewership figures with us after the event, these figures will be held confidentially and amalgamated as part of the overall event evaluation which will help existing and future partnership discussions, which in turn will help raise the quality and potential prize pools for the event. Your personal viewing statistics will never be shared.
Subject to the title being streamed (e.g. BEACON VALORANT for EPIC38) you may be required to use specified graphics packages for the duration of the event.
If you use the EPIC.LAN logo as part of your coverage, you should follow the guidelines set at https://www.epiclan.co.uk/brand.
Note that permission to stream does not imply any sort of official affiliation or coverage partnership with the event.
You may not stream your games if you are currently featured on the EPIC.LAN main streams.
Broadcast Sanitisation
Players are required that their personal account name and content follow our guidelines for broadcast safety. Player ID's or Names should be their known IGN and not include any inappropriate, sexist, racist etc remarks.
Personal CS2 Sticker crafts and name tags must be safe for broadcast. Any custom sticker placements on weapons in your loadout must not include any inappropriate, sexist, racist etc remarks/logos/symbols, similarly, custom weapon names or "name tags" must also abide by this rule. Displaying these during games broadcasted at the event and over the EPIC.LAN channels will result in a tournament infraction. We recommend players select a different skin without a craft, or use the default model in their loadout before attending.
POV Recordings
We require all players to record POV demos. This is to create a level playing field when it comes to cheating accusations and thus maintain the competitive integrity of EPIC.LAN. You will be given a link to upload your demo via Google Drive. How you wish to record your demo is up to you. The easiest way to record your POV demo is to type " record " and then a file name in the console and it will auto stop when you disconnect. If you have to reconnect to the server, do not forget to start the demo record via the console. For example: Load console > type: record match 1 > close console.
Other forms of third party POV recordings are accepted (Nvidia shadowplay, OBS or stream) but require the screen to be free of obstruction (no stream overlays, minimap must be visible as some examples).
Agent Skins
Agent skins are banned from use for the duration of the tournament. It is advised any agent skins are unequipped prior to beginning the tournament. If you fail to do so, the opposing team can ask for them to be removed before or during a match. Bringing up this offense after a match has concluded will not result in a penalty. Players are expected to raise the issue live to the offending team or an admin.
Coaches & Team staff
In-game coaching is not possible using CS2. Please note, that coaches are treated as "spectators" for this event, and will not be able to play for the team (if the coach needs to sub in) unless the coach has a participant ticket for the tournament and is registered to the roster for the event. Coaches are also asked to make themselves known to the admin team before the event so if necessary they can be submitted to external coverage sites.
If you are a coach or have any affiliation with a team you may not be positioned in a way where you can see or hear opponents to gain a tactical advantage
If you have any questions regarding coaches within the game, then please see the admins.
Servers & Scheduling
All players must be ready in the server at least 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time unless a match is already in play on your server (in which case, speak to a game admin for further instructions). Any team that is not ready by 10 minutes after the scheduled start time will lose a map in either a BO3 or BO1 scenario. This is to enforce that teams play within the schedule the admins set. Depending on the situation an admin or opposing team can decide to wait beyond this time frame within reason. Admins have final say on when a match is forfieted or how long to hold the start of a scheduled match for.
If a team does not have all at least 4 players in the server 10 minutes after the scheduled match start, they will forfeit irrespective of remaining technical pause and the opposing team will be awarded the win for that match. If only 4 players are present in the server, please contact tournament admins for further assistance.
Continued delays will result in the whole match being forfeited and both teams being disqualified from the tournament (which may result in loss of attained prize money).
Acceptable reasons for missing the scheduled start of a match are:
- Network failure
- Server failure
- Power failure
- Medical emergency
- Event evacuation
Server Crashes
In the event of server failures, please contact a game admin who will advise further.
Additional Tiebreak Rules
- Head to Head (H2H) tiebreak conditions only apply when there are two tied teams, or if there are 3 tied teams with one team having 2 wins against each, one team having one and one having none.
- When a team is in a tiebreak condition and has received a BYE or forfeit win, their round difference for this match will be equated to the best possible round difference the tied teams had received in an individual match.
- When a team is in a tiebreak condition and has received a forfeit loss, the round difference will be a 0-13 loss for this match.
- Each negating any unfair disadvantage or advantage from being involved in a forfeited match.
Support
Please feel free to contact the League Ops Team within the #support in the official EPIC.LAN Discord server.
These rules are subject to change due to any game-related updates that cause issues to occur in different ways. The game admins and tournament team leaders have discretion to change & update rules within reason at any stage throughout a tournament. The Admins decisions are always final.