1. Introduction
These are the Counter-Strike 2 (“CS2”) Rules, submitted as “Supplementary Rules” under the EPIC.LAN “General Rules”.
This page lays out the Rules which all EPIC.LAN hosted CS2 tournaments will be governed by. The aim of these Rules is to provide and codify a structured and consistent set of Rules and standards enforceable for all Players, Teams, Organisations, Managers and Representatives.
Participation in EPIC.LAN hosted CS2 tournaments is conditioned to the acceptance of the following rules and standards (collectively the “Rules”):
The rules contained in the EPIC.LAN “General Rules” which govern any participation event wide and are not specific to titles Supplementary Rules, as updated, amended or supplemented from time to time.
The EPIC.LAN “Code of Conduct” setting out acceptable behaviour of each and any Player or Individual in attendance at EPIC.LAN events.
The EPIC.LAN “Terms and Conditions”.
These rules will apply to and be binding on the Players, Teams, Team Staff, Managers and Representatives.
1.1 Acceptance and Modification
1.1.1 Acknowledgement and Acceptance
Each Player, Team Leaders, Managers, Team Staff and Representatives, hereby referred to as “Participants” must read, acknowledge and accept these EPIC.LAN CS2 Rules, and agree to always abide by them to remain eligible to participate in EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments.
By accepting these Rules, the Participants consent to EPIC.LAN’s authority to issue sanction or sanctions as defined and set forth in Section 11. Sanctions of these Rules, without prejudice.
These CS2 Rules may be accepted either through the registration process on the EPIC.LAN Tournament Platform or deemed accepted when a Player or its Team enter and participate into any EPIC.LAN CS2 tournament match, this also extends to Team Members that do not explicitly need to be listed as a Player, such as Coaches or Managers. Participants may not participate if they do not agree to be bound to these Rules or otherwise do not meet the eligibility requirements set forth in the Rules.
1.1.2 Modification and Notification
To ensure that the EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments are operated in accordance with the values conveyed by the Code of Conduct and General Rules, or for the protection of any interest that EPIC.LAN considers material in order to preserve the values, legitimacy, and integrity of EPIC.LAN tournaments, or in order to comply with any applicable law, EPIC.LAN may amend of supplement these CS2 Rules with or without prior notice. EPIC.LAN may also change part of, or the entirety of, the format of the CS2 tournament, with reasonable notice before said modified parts of the format are executed upon.
Any modifications of these CS2 Rules or the CS2 tournament format will be communicated or made available to the Participants. Either through a public post linking to the revised version the Rules, or by notification via the EPIC.LAN Discord server.
By default, the Team Leader associated with a registered, eligible CS2 Team on the EPIC.LAN Tournament Platform will be the official point of contact for Teams.
2. Conditions for Participation
EPIC.LAN’s CS2 tournaments are open registration, BYOC competitions. For Participants to remain eligible, they must abide by the conditions and be aware of the Signup Restrictions as outlined below.
2.1 Entry Criteria
EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments require the purchase of a BYOC (“Bring your own computer”) ticket specific to the event it is hosted under to be a "Player". BYOC tickets do not guarantee access to any specific EPIC.LAN tournament. However, if the account holder has a BYOC ticket for a specific event associated with their account, they are eligible to sign up to EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments linked to said event, subject to team limit caps.
“Coaches”, “Managers” and “Team Staff” do not require a BYOC ticket to be a member of a team participating in an EPIC.LAN CS2 tournament. If these participants only hold a “Spectator” ticket, they cannot be used as “Players” if their team required a substitute. Extra “Team Staff” must also abide by the tournaments team size restrictions set out in these Rules.
More information on tickets and bookings can be found in our Support FAQ.
2.1.1 Age Requirements
Players must be a minimum of 16 years of age to participate in EPIC.LAN tournaments prior to the beginning of the main event starting.
Anyone who is under the age of 16 can purchase a ticket for a future event and register for the tournament, providing they are 16 or older before the event begins.
Any Players under the age of 18 require parental or legal guardian consent to participate in EPIC.LAN tournaments.
2.1.2 Event Access
All participants including spectators under the age of 18 must be fully accompanied by a parent or legal guardian over the age of 18 (whom must have their own, at minimum, spectator ticket for the same duration of the participant under 18’s stay at any EPIC.LAN event).
If the parent or legal guardian who gave consent for an under 18 participants to enter the event is not attending, they must contact EPIC.LAN through our under 18 Parental consent form to nominate who will be attending and taking responsibility for the under 18.
Info
This form must be completed prior to arriving at the event and the nominated responsible adult must be present to check-in with the under 18 otherwise access to the event will not be granted.
Participants must also not have any active suspensions or bans enacted by the venue EPIC.LAN has hired to host their events. These are outside of our control but will make you ineligible under the Entry Criteria.
2.1.3 Tournament Access
Access to the tournament site and the ability to register for a team requires an EPIC.LAN account in good standing and with no active offences or bans logged against it.
Your personal Steam account must not have an active VAC or Permanent Game Ban in Counter-Strike 2. EPIC.LAN does not take third party platform bans into consideration.
2.2 Signup Restrictions
Whilst EPIC.LAN BYOC events are open signup, there will be a team cap on a first come first serve basis due to limited space at the venue and other considerations such as power management. The team cap for EPIC45 is 36. Any possible adjustments to team caps will be listed on the tournament overview page. The team cap will not be adjusted at or any less than 14 days prior to the Main Event.
Signups for EPIC45 will close on Thursday 20th of February at 16:00 BST to allow for seeding and group scheduling to occur.
Providing the tournament still has capacity, signups for EPIC45 will close at Thursday 17th of July 2025 at 16:00 local time (BST).
A Team Leader / Team Representative meeting will commence on Friday 18th of July 2025 at 09:30 local time (BST) on-site. Please ensure at least one (1) Team Member attends. This will also be announced over a Tannoy system where possible. This meeting will take place in Fair Isle, a venue map can be found here.
3. Team Composition
All members of a Team, either listed on a registered, completed roster or not, must meet all the eligibility and acceptance requirements as listed in section(s) 1. Introduction and 2. Conditions for Participation.
3.1 Players
EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments require a minimum of 5 Players to be registered. These Players must be listed on the tournament roster via the EPIC.LAN tournament platform in order for the team to be marked as “Completed”.
Players require an active BYOC ticket for the event the tournament is hosted under.
Any member of a Team that is listed on the roster on the EPIC.LAN tournament platform for a specific event, is eligible to play as a Player. See sections below regarding substitution or Coaching for more information. Non-eligible Players are not permitted to play at an eligible Players setup/desk location.
3.2 Coaches
Teams are permitted one (1) Coach, but this is not a requirement. Coaches do not require a BYOC ticket to coach their teams. However, if a coach wishes to participate as a Player or Substitute at any point, they must have a BYOC ticket associated with their account and be listed on the Team roster via the EPIC.LAN tournament platform.
Coaches will still require a Spectator ticket for the event for the duration of their Teams stay in order to be granted access to the venue.
If a Coach is not listed on the Roster, they are asked to make themselves known to Tournament Officials prior to the beginning of the tournament, if necessary, Tournament Officials may need to submit Coach information to external coverage sites.
3.2.1 Coach Limitations
Coaches are permitted to communicate with their Players through third party applications such as TeamSpeak or Discord, but they will not be permitted to have any presence within a match server as a Spectator. Counter-Strike 2 does not have any Coach slots, and EPIC.LAN does not provide a third-party alternative. Teams are responsible for any communication between their Coach and their Players.
EPIC.LAN does not restrict Coach communication until the Grand Final (see section 7. Grand Final for more information). This is because it is not possible to moderate and police these interactions across 500+ BYOC participants.
Coaches can stand behind their Players within the BYOC area, however, 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. EPIC.LAN may have flexible barriers on site and provide these as a measure to restrict view from Coaches standing within the BYOC whilst playing opponents.
3.3 Substitutes
Substitutes must follow the same requirements as Players listed in section 3.1 Players. For the purpose of EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments, substitutes have all the same permissions as Players.
A Team can list up to 2 substitutes for a maximum of 7 Players for the roster. Substitutes can include a Team’s Coach at the Team’s discretion.
3.3.1 Substitute Limitations
6+ Player rosters are allowed to change Players out for their Substitutes 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 (BO3) but cannot happen at half time during a live match.
3.4 Roster Emergencies
Some situations may allow for emergency substitutes pending Tournament Official’s approval. A Player may be substituted for an emergency or medical reason(s) during a live match with approval.
Players must raise these issues with Tournament Officials immediately so a resolution can be reached in a suitable time frame as to not interrupt tournament scheduling.
3.5 Roster Locking
Rosters are locked on the EPIC.LAN tournament platform when signups for the tournament are closed. Information on signups closing can be found in 2.2 Signup Restrictions.
Roster locking is important, so all other Teams are aware who they are playing against for the duration of the tournament. However, in emergency situations, EPIC.LAN Tournament Officials reserve the right to manually modify Rosters at their discretion, and under Team request.
For example, if a roster with 5 Players and 1 Coach has an emergency situation with one of their Players, pending approval, Tournament Officials may add the Team’s Coach to the Roster as a Player and permit use of the effected Player’s setup, providing the purchase of a BYOC ticket is completed.
3.6 Team Staff and Affiliation
EPIC.LAN does not restrict other Team Staff or attendees with any form of Team Affiliation from attending providing they meet the requirements to do so.
Team Staff or attendees with Team Affiliation may, within reason, spectate their team from within the BYOC area.
Team Staff or attendees with Team Affiliation are not permitted to “roam” the BYOC area whilst their Team are playing with the intention to gather information on their Team’s opponents during play.
It is strictly forbidden for Team Staff or attendees with Team Affiliation to provide any garnered information that may provide a competition advantage to the Team’s Players or the Team’s Coach prior to, during or after live matches whilst the tournament remains open.
4. Tournament Format
The tournament format relies on confidence in expected turnout. This means formats will be presented closer to the start of the tournament. Details on the potential formats for EPIC45 are outlined below.
4.1 ≤32 Teams
Stage 1:
- 4 Groups of up to 8 Teams – Round Robin (x1 BO1) – Total maximum Group games = 7 per Team.
- OT will be enabled with an OT limit of 1.
- Group tables operate on a points system. Win = 3 points, draw = 1 point, loss = 0 points.
- The Top 4 Teams from each Group qualifies for Stage 2 “Playoffs”.
- The Top 2 Teams from each Group will start in the Upper Bracket.
- Team’s placing 3rd and 4th from each Group will start in the Lower Bracket.
Stage 2:
- Double-Elimination Playoff Bracket with 16 teams that qualify via Stage 1 “Groups”.
- All matches in Stage 2 are BO3.
- Teams are placed in the Elimination bracket based off their final Group position from Stage 1.
4.2 ≥33 Teams up to 36 Team Cap
Stage 1:
- Teams will be split into 6 equal and exact pots.
- Teams will play in a UCL-style league format, playing a total of 5 matches.
- Teams will play exactly one team from each of the other pots. (e.g. a Team in pot 3 will play Teams once from each of pots 1, 2, 4 , 5 and 6).
- OT will be enabled with an OT limit of 1.
- Points table operated the same as the previous format. Win = 3 points, draw = 1 point, loss = 0 points.
- The Top 24 Teams from the points table will qualify for Stage 2 “Playoffs”.
- The Top 8 Teams will start in the Upper Bracket.
- Teams placing 9th to 24th from the points table will start in the Lower Bracket.
Stage 2:
- Double-Elimination Playoff Bracket with 24 teams that qualify via Stage 1.
- All matches in Stage 2 are BO3.
- Teams are placed in the Elimination bracket based off their final points table position from Stage 1.
4.3 Tiebreakers
The following tiebreaker rules apply to decide which team qualifies for Stage 2. These are format dependent as outlined below, tiebreakers are in order of importance and will be followed in order of importance:
4.3.1 ≤32 Teams Conditions
- Head-to-Head (H2H).
Condition only applies when there are two (2) tied teams on points, or if there are 3 tied teams on points with one team having 2 wins against each, one team having one and the other team having none.
- Round Difference.
- Rounds For.
- Tiebreaker Match (BO1).
4.3.2 ≥33 Teams Conditions
- Round Difference.
- Head-to-Head (H2H).
Condition only applies when there are two (2) tied teams on points, or if there are 3 tied teams on points with one team having 2 wins against each, one team having one and the other team having none.
- Rounds For.
- Tiebreaker Match (BO1).
4.3.3 Additional Tiebreaker Stipulations
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 either side of a forfeited match.
5. Match Settings and Servers
5.1 Map List
EPIC.LAN CS2 tournament use the official Valve “Active Duty” map list. EPIC.LAN reserved the right to modify or rollback this map list if Valve either update the map list by removing, adding or replacing one (1) or more maps up to 4 weeks prior to the tournament, or update an existing map in such a way that competitive play or viability is heavily altered up to 2 weeks prior to the tournament. The map list for EPIC45 is:
- Ancient
- Anubis
- Dust 2
- Inferno
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Train
5.2 Server Settings
- Freeze Time – 20 seconds
- Round Time – 115 seconds
- Max Rounds – 12 per half, 13 to win (MR12)
- Start Money – $800
- Side Selection – See Veto Process in Section 5.3
- Overtime Max Rounds – 3 per half, 4 to win (MR3)
- Overtime Start Money – £12,500
- Overtime Side Selection – Teams first play the side they last played in regulation time.
EPIC.LAN follows a standard set of match settings, if they are not listed here, you may reach out to Tournament Officials and ask for any clarifications on how our match files are configured.
5.3 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 choose to act as either Team A or Team B in the following veto process:
5.3.1 Best-Of-One (BO1)
- 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 played
- Side Selection: Knife Round for side choice on map
5.3.2 Best-Of-Three (BO3)
- Team A: Bans 1 map
- Team B: Bans 1 map
- Team A: Picks Map One
- Team B: Selects Side on Map One
- Team B: Picks Map Two
- Team A: Selects Side on Map One
- Team A: Bans 1 map
- Team B: Bans 1 map
- Map Three: The remaining map will be played if needed
- Side Selection: Knife Round for side choice on map Three
5.4 Tournament 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 EPIC.LAN tournament plugin has various useful features as listed via the link above.
It’s expressly forbidden to use RCON in any way, explicitly in a way which may disrupt or lag an opponent's connection or interfere with the EPIC.LAN Game Server, the match configuration or the match and it’s Players in general. Any teams using RCON will risk match forfeiture and other sanction(s).
5.5 Game Pauses
5.5.1 Tactical Pausing
Teams are provisioned three (3), 30-second-long tactical pauses per map via the tournament plugin to use as they see fit during regulation time.
These can be activated via typing !tac in the game chat.
During overtime, Teams are provisioned with an extra one (1) tactical pause per full overtime.
5.5.2 Technical Pausing
In case of technical issues, teams may use the technical pause function of the tournament plugin by typing !tech or !tec in the game chat.
Teams are permitted to use a technical pause no more than 4 times or up to a combined limit of 10 minutes. Whichever comes first.
If a team exceeds this limit, the Tournament Officials must be notified immediately and assess the situation which has caused the technical pause.
If the Tournament Officials believe the technical pause is valid and the technical issue has a resolution within a suitable timeframe, they may permit an extension within reason and supervise the resolution to completion.
If the Tournament Officials do not see a suitable resolution within a reasonable timeframe, they may decide to forfeit the team or force play to continue under conditions listed in Section 6.1.1 experiencing the issue. Many factors are considered in this and will impact the decision of Tournament Officials; these include but are not limited to:
- The technical issue involved a piece of EPIC.LAN owned equipment, such as a Rental PC or other hardware.
- The technical issue is caused by other external hardware not in the Players or Teams control such as a network switch or other related hardware
- The technical issue involves more than just the players isolated system and station such as a power outage localised to an area of the BYOC area.
Players and Teams are responsible for any of the hardware they personally bring into the venue or rent from third parties externally from EPIC.LAN.
5.6 Game Servers
EPIC.LAN provisions all of the game servers for EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments. These are restricted to on-site LAN connections only. Game Server IP’s will be provided to players logged in via the tournament platform on their match pages.
Servers are provisioned for matches 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the match. If a game server is not provisioned less than 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start, please contact Tournament Officials.
5.6.1 Spectating and CSTV Broadcasts
EPIC.LAN cannot guarantee provisions for spectating tournament matches via Counter-Strike 2’s client in the form of CSTV and CSTV relays or via HTTP Broadcasting.
EPIC.LAN does provide an EPIC.LAN Counter-Strike 2 stream via EPICLAN1 on Twitch for a game per round of each tournament.
5.6.2 Server Issues and Crashes
In the event of server issues such as poor var, ping, loss or jitter and including server crashes, please contact Tournament Officials immediately who will advise further.
EPIC.LAN will attempt to rectify any issues with server infrastructure in a timely manner. In some situations, EPIC.LAN may deem it appropriate and possible for play to continue depending on the circumstances.
5.6.3 Round Restores
Tournament Officials have the ability to restore to a previous round in the match should an issue occur. Round restores will not be carried out if:
- Damage has been taken in the round by any player in any scenario.
- A winning scenario has been induced such as the bomb being planted without any damage inflicted.
- More than 90 seconds of the round timer has passed.
Players should communicate issues that would warrant a round restore via game chat, such as typing “not live”.
If a round restore is not possible or the file used for a round restore is corrupt, Tournament Officials may require teams to “replay” the game up until the last completed full round. Tournament Officials may also modify player economy or equipment to match the conditions before the issue occurred.
Players also have the ability to restore to the last round or the beginning of the active freeze time (current round) if all players agree via the tournament plugin.
5.7 Score Reporting
The tournament platform will track your match score via Game Server Integration. However, Teams may still need to confirm their score via their match pages. Match pages will be available once tournament stages are public via the home screen of the tournament platform, the “Matches” tab of the tournament, or Player profile pages. See more on score reporting via our Guide to Tournaments.
5.8 Game Version(s)
EPIC.LAN intends to always use the latest version of Counter-Strike 2 publicly available for the duration of the tournament, including any updates to the game whilst the tournament is live.
In some cases, the latest game version may cause game breaking bugs and glitches or modify the default game settings in such a way that competitive standards or “meta” is significantly impacted. EPIC.LAN reserved the right to rollback or not use these changes within a reasonable time period prior to the start of the tournament, providing the previous version is available via Steam’s official “Beta Branch” menu.
Some settings are controlled directly by Tournament Officials, such as server configs, which include match economy, and can be controlled on the latest version.
Tournament Officials may also require a legacy version of an official Valve created map to be downloaded on the Steam Workshop for use in tournament games.
EPIC.LAN Game Servers are not updated automatically, should a game update occur during a live match(es), it is not recommended that Players close their game. If Players need to, please communicate with Tournament Officials and both Teams in the match so a resolution can be found.
6. Schedule
The current tournament schedule can be found via the schedule tab on the tournament page.
EPIC.LAN reserves the right to modify any section of the tournament schedule where necessary in order to maintain the integrity of the overall event.
Tournament Officials may, with correspondence with effected Teams, adjust round timings to suit a more efficient play time for either the Tournament Officials or the Players.
EPIC.LAN must consider all variables when adjusting round times, such as the impact to production and broadcast staff, league operation staff or other venue operations staff.
EPIC.LAN CS2 tournaments operate on a fixed schedule. Players are not permitted to begin a match before its scheduled time, or in the case of Group matches, decide what order to play each other in. Players must follow what is listed on the EPIC.LAN Tournament Platform.
6.1 Punctuality
EPIC.LAN does not restrict Player’s movements and activity whilst either at the venue or off site during our LAN tournaments. It is important Players are aware of when their scheduled matches take place and be prepared and punctual to all scheduled times.
All Players must be ready (present in the game server) at least 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Any Team that is not ready up to 10 minutes after the scheduled start time may be as risk of either a BO3 map forfeiture, or a BO1 full game forfeiture.
It is the responsibility of the opposing Team to raise with the Tournament Officials if a Team is late, this can be done by either approaching the Tournament Officials via the on-site Help Desk or by using the tournament plugin to “Call an Admin” via the !calladmin command. More information on the EPIC.LAN tournament plugin can be found in Section 5.4 Tournament Plugin.
This is to ensure games begin in a timely manner and does not impact the integrity of the events schedule. Tournament Officials cannot actively review all live matches simultaneously. Once this issue is raised, Tournament Officials will assess each situation individually and attempt to contact the late Team. If Tournament Officials conclude the Team will not be able to compete within a reasonable timeframe, the late Team will forfeit the match.
If a team has less than 4 Players present in the game server, they cannot abuse the use of the Technical Pause functionality in order to extend time or delay the start of the match.
6.1.1 Condition for Play to Continue
If a team has a minimum of 4 Players present in the game server within the required scheduled time, they have the option to play the match as a 4v5. Within reason (e.g. during an actual technical emergency with their 5th Player), a Team of 4 can use the Technical Pause function to attempt resolutions for their 5th Player prior to the beginning of the match in this scenario.
6.2 Missing a Match
Players and Teams are not permitted to miss a match or decide not to play for strategic and tactical reasons. Teams are responsible for attending all matches they are scheduled to play. Teams that do not attend a match or are forced to forfeit a match must provide a reasonable explanation for doing so.
Acceptable reasons for missing the scheduled start of a match, or the match entirely are:
- Proof of logistical issues in returning to the venue from an off-site location.
- Medical emergencies with one or more Players.
- Family emergencies with one of more Players.
- Network failure either localised to the Team or Players EPIC.LAN provided network switch or the entire venue.
- EPIC.LAN Game Server or Steam Login Server failure.
- Event/venue evacuation.
6.3 Delays and Changes
In case of technical issues or emergencies, EPIC.LAN may need to modify the schedule or inform players of immediate changes. This could be due to fire alarms, power outages, network and server infrastructure failures and more.
EPIC.LAN reserved the right to make these changes without notice. EPIC.LAN will communicate any changes to the best of their ability, directly or indirectly. Key communication methods whilst on-site include a Tannoy system Tournament Officials may give instructions over, or via the EPIC.LAN Discord server in categories specific to the CS2 tournament.
Where possible, Tournament Officials will also modify the scheduled times listed on the tournament platform.
6.3.1 Permitted Delays
Teams may be in a situation where their previous match extends beyond its scheduled time, or a Game Server has not been provisioned for both teams in an upcoming match.
If a team is still in play during the next rounds scheduled time, they will not be forfeited under the terms listed in Section 6.1 Punctuality.
Teams will have 5 minutes to take a break after their delayed match is completed before needing to be in the Game Server for the next match. Tournament Officials will communicate with the Team waiting to the best of their ability about any permitted delays.
6.4 Breaks
EPIC.LAN will aim to schedule reasonable breaks into the tournament schedule. Should a game or series be delayed or overrun into a scheduled break for specific Teams, lunch will not be extended to the same, previously scheduled time. However, Teams will be afforded a reasonable time to break.
6.4.1 Series Breaks
Between maps in a BO3 or longer series, Teams are permitted to take a 10-minute break before needing to be game ready (in server, ready to use the !ready function from the tournament plugin). If a series is delayed, this will be reduced to a 5-minute break. Tournament Officials reserve the right to change this break timeframe to ensure the tournament schedule remains intact.
7. Grand Final
The following only applies to EPIC.LAN events that feature a Stage where Grand Finalists must relocate in order to play. This is currently exclusive to EPIC.LAN Winter (February) and Autumn (October) Arena events.
Grand Finalists must play the Grand Final on Stage, with EPIC.LAN provided computers, monitors, headsets and chairs. Players must still bring their own peripherals including keyboards and mice.
We recommend players bring their own choice of in-ears, which can be setup for game audio underneath regular headphones. Headphones will be used for mic communication. However, this is not a requirement. EPIC.LAN uses a set of AceZone A-Live Tournament Edition headsets with ANC, built for Stage use, to manage audio within our Stage environment. All Players including Coaches will be required to wear these headsets whilst on stage.
During the Final, teams will be assigned their respective referee to administrate Team communication during Tech Pauses and Coach communication outside of Tactical Pauses.
Coaches are permitted to tell their team to take a Tactical Pause but cannot freely communicate with their team outside of them during Grand Finals.
Teams must abide by any change in playing environment (moving to a stage setting) and any regulations associated for tournament Finals.
8. Event 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 must agree to provide this information to the Tournament Officials and agree this information is handled by any disclosed third party. This will also be stated explicitly on any forms provided.
Should a Player under the age of 18 be covered by an external party, EPIC.LAN will require parental or guardian permission to provide this data. See our Privacy Policy and our General F.A.Q for more information on underage attendance, safeguarding or the need to bring I.D.
The tournament may also be covered by other external parties such as Liquipedia. EPIC.LAN does not provide any personal information to Liquipedia directly.
8.1 Valve Regional Standing (VRS)
This tournament complies with Valve's Tournament Operator Requirements in order to be "Ranked" as a Tier 2 Open Tournament under the Valve Regional Standings.
This does not confirm with 100% certainty that the event is "Ranked" and relies on data coverage by HLTV. EPIC.LAN will apply for HLTV coverage under their specific guidelines no more than 10 days prior to the start of the "Main Event" stage.
EPIC.LAN is not able to guarantee prior to the event if coverage is confirmed. EPIC.LAN cannot also predict the level of coverage offered by HLTV. We do not guarantee any stage of the tournament has coverage, such as Playoffs. EPIC.LAN has experienced coverage of the Top 4 teams of the tournament historically.
8.2 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 CS2 tournament do not compromise the competitive integrity of the event and also, in the case of some titles, match the standards required by 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. EPIC.LAN Counter-Strike 2 with Intel) 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 EPIC.LAN brand guidelines.
Note that permission to stream does not imply any sort of official affiliation or coverage partnership with the event.
Players may stream their POV, but they may not, including any other Team Affiliated or Unaffiliated stream, cover a match that is being Broadcast via official EPIC.LAN channels without explicit permission from EPIC.LAN Management.
8.2.1 Community Streams
Community Streams are dependent on Tournament Officials announcing public CSTV / Broadcasting IPs. Community Streamers may be required to fill out a streaming form and provide stream performance data such as viewership. Community streams are not permitted to cover matches that EPIC.LAN is covering.
8.3 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 sanction(s). We recommend players select a different skin without a craft or use the default model in their loadout before attending.
9. Player Responsiblities
9.1 POV Recordings
EPIC.LAN requires 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. 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 game console at the start of a match, 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).
EPIC.LAN may request these POV recordings at any time. Players are responsible for their POV recordings being available and accurate.
9.2 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.
9.3 Reporting
It is a Players and Teams responsibility to report infringements or possible issues to Tournament Officials at any time during the tournament. It is not possible for EPIC.LAN to monitor every aspect of gameplay across a large BYOC LAN at once and therefor rely on Players raising concerns and issues in real time.
If a Player reports issues or infringements after the fact, such as multiple games later, the next day or after the event, EPIC.LAN may not be able to action the reasonable sanction(s), or at the very least, may impact their ability to rectify wrongdoing in a timely manner.
10. Cheating and Game Bugs
All forms of cheating at EPIC.LAN events are forbidden and will see some form of sanction(s) (to see further examples please read the General Rules of our esports tournaments in Section 1. Introduction).
Cheating includes but is not limited to:
- Wallhacking.
- Aimbotting.
- Triggerbotting.
- Radar Hacks or Modifications on the client or pushed externally over the web or to other devices.
- Hardware based cheats.
- FOV/HUD modifications.
- Economy modifications.
- Inflicting damage, any modifications or inducing crashing to the Game Server.
- Modified versions of CS2’s .pak or .exe files or any other protected or unprotected client files.
- Screen watching and / or Stream Sniping.
- Knowingly gathering game information that provides an unfair competitive advantage.
- Any programs or files, that change CS2 or augment its functionality or which may interact with CS2 in any way that gains a competitive advantage.
- Bringing the competitive integrity of the tournament into question.
- Tampering with other participant’s personal equipment / BYOC setups.
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 through exploiting, this list is not the full list but if players are unsure of certain things, they should seek to ask the Tournament Officials 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 specified.
- 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, or manipulating game functionality to gain a money advantage, or deny the opponent of a game feature such as loss bonus, and additional bonus for 4v5 play.
- The bomb must be planted on solid surfaces on the map, e.g. 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 (e.g. 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.
- Spectator bugs (or death spec bugs) that gain access to information not intended by the game.
- LAG switching/inducing connection variability to either gain an advantage or cause your opponent to have a disadvantage.
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, Molotov’s or grenades that clip through floors e.g. Vertigo Ramp to CT Elevator are now allowed, in line with other tournaments.
Tournament Officials 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.
11. Sanction(s)
If a Player, Team, or Representative are found to be in violation of the Rules or any accompanying documentation such as the Code of Conduct and General Rules, Tournament Officials reserve the right to apply any of the following sanctions that they deem fit for purpose based off of the severity of the infraction:
- Verbal Warning.
- Written Warning.
- Forced Broadcast Sanitisation.
- Communication Suspension.
- Communication Suspension.
- Game Forfeiture.
- Match Forfeiture.
- Disqualification from a specific tournament.
- Disqualification from multiple tournaments.
- Undefined time – temporary suspension from any EPIC.LAN competitions or activities.
- Undefined time – temporary suspension from any EPIC.LAN hosted events and associated venues, without refund.
- Permanent ban from any EPIC.LAN competitions or activities.
- Permanent ban from any EPIC.LAN hosted events and associated venues, without refund.
- Reduction and/or forfeiture of all prize earnings either monetarily or otherwise. (All forfeited cash prizing is donated to a charity of EPIC.LAN’s choice).
11.1 Sanction(s) Notification
EPIC.LAN reserves the right to notify you of a Sanction(s) at any time. EPIC.LAN does not publish the conclusion of investigations or reasoning for sanction(s). EPIC.LAN does not publicly announce the outcome of sanction(s) against individuals or organisations unless otherwise required by external terms and rules EPIC.LAN abides by, such as under Valve Tournament Organiser requirements.
Sanctions(s) that impact individuals or organisations may be broad and cover EPIC.LAN events rather than EPIC.LAN specific CS2 tournaments and not require publication.
EPIC.LAN may use various avenues of communication to notify of sanction(s) such as email, banning of EPIC.LAN user accounts, direct messaging via third party platforms, or in person at an event.
EPIC.LAN is not responsible for sanction(s) enacted by venues EPIC.LAN hires to host events. Such venue specific actions are out of our control but may result in a Player’s ineligibility to continue participating in EPIC.LAN competitions.
11.2 Appeals
Any appeals to applied sanctions are subject to correspondence to EPIC.LAN Management. All communication for appeals must be escalation to a member of the EPIC.LAN Management team who will assess Sanction appeals on a case by cases basis, considering infringement severity, previous Sanction(s), precedence, and other external factors.
EPIC.LAN will not consider your appeal if for an arbitrary reason not associated with EPIC.LAN, such as how a Sanction impacts a Player’s ability to participate at Ranked competitions or prospects within an organisation.
11.3 External Factors
Sanction(s) directly correlate to an Individual or Team’s actions whilst involved in an EPIC.LAN event, external factors are not considered. Similarly, should an issue be raised by a third party as to an Individual or Team’s actions outside of an EPIC.LAN hosted event or venue, these will also not be actioned. EPIC.LAN will, within the best of its ability, safeguard participants where threats have been levied against them by other participants outside of EPIC.LAN activities.
12. Spirit of the Rules
It is at the discretion of EPIC.LAN Management and Tournament Officials to modify any of the rules above for any reason and at any time. The rules are most likely to be amended in the following cases (without limitation):
- If a different patch/version release is used and modifications to the rules are necessary to ensure fair play.
- If a game-breaking bug is discovered during the course of the tournament.
- If players are suspected or proven to be engaging in unfair play or collusion to fix the results of a game.
- If changes to game settings and/or operations guidelines are necessary due to differences between online and offline tournaments.
- If there are substantial delays to a tournament that would prevent it from concluding in a timely fashion.
In the event that a rule amendment is made, teams will be informed immediately of the changes made and the reasons why, via the tournament’s main communication channels.
All decisions regarding the interpretation of these rules lie solely with the Tournament Officials, the decisions of which are final.
13. Support
Please feel free to contact the League Ops Team within the #support in the official EPIC.LAN Discord server. You can also raise direct tournament support tickets via the tournament platform here.
You can find broader event information via the General Rules and through our F.A.Q.
For EPIC.LAN account support, including ticket management, please open a general support ticket via this link. CS2 Tournament Officials cannot action these requests.
Changelog
+ Added Introduction
+ Added Acceptance and Modification
+ Added Conditions for Participation
+ Added Entry Criteria(s)
+ Added Team Composition including role breakdowns
+ Added Role limiations
+ Added Roster stipulations and information
+ Added Team Staff limiations and information
+ Added EPIC45 Tournament format options
+ Expanded Tiebreakers
~ Refactored Match Settings and Servers
+ Added More details to Game Pausing
+ Added Game Servers and further information
+ Added Broadcasting information
+ Added Score Reporting information
+ Added Game Version plans
+ Added Punctuality expectations
+ Added Information on missing matches, delays and breaks
+ Expanded Grand Final section
+ Added Event Coverage section
+ Added VRS information
+ Expanded Streaming section
+ Added Player Responsiblities
~ Recatagorised sub headings under Player Responsiblities
+ Added Reporting
+ Expanded Cheating and Game Bugs section
+ Added Sanction(s) list
+ Added Appeals section
+ Added "Spirit of the Rules"
+ Expanded Support section