English (en)
Intel Extreme Masters
Season III Rules - Last updated: 05/11/2008
Definitions
Participants
An Extreme Masters participant can either be a team or a player. Each member of a team, whether he played or not, is considered a participant. A participant is not allowed to be part of multiple Extreme Masters teams at the same time during the course of the Extreme Masters.
License holder
A license holder is the legal entity (registered association, Ltd company, etc.) or the person to whom an Extreme Masters license is awarded to. See 4.8. “Property rights of an Extreme Masters team account”.
Team Positions
The following positions are available for use within teams.
Team Manager
The team manager must be at least 18 years old. The team manager will act as a spokesman for his team and is responsible for the team's line-up. The team manager will have the final say in all decisions concerning the team, including players, public announcements and line-ups. The team manager is eligible for playing in all matches for his or her Counter-Strike team.
Team Captain
The team captain must be at least 16 years old and must be chosen by the team manager. The team captain will function as an extended arm of the team manager within a team and also in 'in-game' decisions and actions. The team captain is the sole person to make 'in-game' objections to the Extreme Masters match administrators. The team captain is eligible for playing in all matches for his or her team.
Team Orga
An orga is a person who works ‘behinds the scenes’ and helps the team captain and the team manager with daily work such as scheduling matches. An orga is eligible for playing in any matches for his or her Counter-Strike team.
Time zone
The website will show the times in the users' local time, given that the time zone settings are properly configured. The time zone settings can be changed through the website settings in the command center (http://www.esl-world.net/masters/site_settings) while logged in. Non-logged-in users or user who have not set their own time zone will see all times in CET.
Seasons
A season lasts from the first round of the Extreme Masters qualification until the end of the world finals.
Play day
The play day begins at 0:01 CET on Monday and ends at 23:59 CET on Sunday of the same week.
Rest week
The rest weeks are the weeks in-between each of the match weeks during the group stage.
Penalties
Penalties are assigned for rule violations.
Any rule violation that doesn't directly interfere with the competition of the Extreme Masters and doesn't violate fair-play will be punished with a minor penalty (3% prize money deduction). Any rule violation that directly affects the competition of the Extreme Masters or which is not in line with fair play will be punished with a major penalty (10% prize money deduction).
A participant that accumulates 30% or more prize money deduction during an individual stage of the competition (National Qualifiers, Qualifiers, Main Round, Relegation, Final Events, Global Challenges) will be removed from the competition and their claim to prize money or qualification for the next stage becomes void.
Penalties given within the Extreme Masters only apply for the Extreme Masters and not for the normal ESL leagues and ladders. The only exceptions to this are penalties given for cheating and severe violations of the code of conduct or fraud which will also be penalized in accordance with the normal ESL system.
Penalty points and barrages of the ESL are not valid for the Extreme Masters, except barrages for cheating.
Matches played in off-line settings
Off-line matches will be played at the following types of events:
- Intel Friday Night Games (iFNG)
- Global Challenges
- Continental Finals
- World Finals
Tournament Direction
The Extreme Masters is organized by the Electronic Sports League (ESL). The Electronic Sports League is part of Turtle Entertainment GmbH. Turtle Entertainment GmbH Siegburger Straße 189 50679 Köln Germany
http://www.turtle-entertainment.de
Games
- Counter-Strike 1.6 by Valve Corporation
No-Show
Not showing up for a match or not having the required number of players available, can lead to a no-show given by the Extreme Masters administration. For specific times see rules 2.21 and 2.22.
Wildcard
All participants receive one (1) wildcard for the main round.
General
Validity of the rules
Should any of the rules in this rule book be void for any legal reasons in any specific country, the remainder of the rule book remains valid for that country.
Tournament Direction
Tournament Director - Sebastian 'Baschi' Weishaar
Assisting Tournament Director - Carsten 'Storch' Kramer
Head-Admins
Counter-Strike - Tobias 'Sputnik' Philippi
Counter-Strike - Alexander 'crtmN' Nehr
World of Warcraft - Niels 'Niels' Wolter
World of Warcraft - David 'Shawn' Kugelmann
A list with all administrators of the Extreme Masters including the match administrators can always be found on the Extreme Masters homepage: http://www.esl-world.net/masters
Rule modifications
The Extreme Masters administration reserves the right to change or modify these rules, and in special cases make decisions not covered by these rules to preserve the spirit of fair competition and sportsmanship.
Non-disclosure of internal information
All texts written in either protest or support tickets or written by the Extreme Masters administration to members of the Extreme Masters cannot be published without the written permission of the Extreme Masters administration.
Code of conduct
All participants are asked to behave in an appropriate manner towards other competitors and to any member of the Extreme Masters administration. Exceptional cases of violation of this rule will be punished with all possible severity.
Additional agreements
The Extreme Masters administration is not responsible for additional agreements between players or teams and these agreements are only allowed if they do not violate any of the existing rules. The Extreme Masters administration advises against such agreements. The Extreme Masters administration will not enforce any additional agreements.
Game broadcasts
All broadcasting rights of Extreme Masters matches are owned by the Turtle Entertainment GmbH. This includes all forms of broadcasts, i.e. IRC Bots, shoutcast streams, video streams, HLTV, WaaaghTV, Replays, Demos or TV broadcasts. Turtle Entertainment GmbH can pass on the broadcasting rights for one or multiple matches to a third party or to the participants themselves. In this case the broadcast must be arranged with a head admin before the match. For contact information see 1.10, Tournament Direction. A participant cannot refuse to have their matches broadcast, nor can they choose in what way it will be broadcast.
ESL TV is a German television station that will be broadcasting, amongst other things, matches from the Extreme Masters.
Alcohol and drugs prohibition
Playing an Extreme Masters match under the influence of alcohol or drugs is not permitted, be it online or offline. Violation of this rule can result in the exclusion from the Extreme Masters.
Communication
Players' forum
In team leagues, each team can appoint up to three (3) people who can represent their team in the player advice forum. In 1on1 leagues, only the respective players and one orga from his or her team have access to the player advice forum. However, if several players from an organization are in a 1on1 league, then these players have to unite and appoint a single orga for them all.
The player advice forum is the only official communication platform between the players and the admin team.
All information within this forum is to be kept between the admin team and the participants of the player advice forum. Information or statements placed inside this forum by the admin team are not to be made public (news, public forums, etc.) and teams will be punished depending upon the kind of information and content they make available in the form of penalties or a direct disqualification from the league.
One of the official means of communication on ESL is e-mail. ESL uses the e-mail addresses entered in the users’ profile to communicate with the users. All users are therefore asked to use a working e-mail address in their profile and to check the content of their mailbox daily if possible. ESL can not be held responsible for problems arising if e-mail does not arrive because the recipient did not keep his account up to date.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
In addition to the players’ forum ESL owns a number of internal IRC channels on QuakeNet. To enable quick and easy communication ESL asks all participants to join those channels. The credentials needed to join the channels can be found on the players’ forum.
Conditions of participation in the Extreme Masters
Age restriction
Each participant must at least be 16 years old by the first play day of the main round.
Nationality
A Counter-Strike team is entitled to take part in their national ESL Pro Series or their National Qualifiers for the Extreme Masters as long as they have their current place of residence in the respective country or possess the respective nationality. However it is not permitted to participate in two different countries in the ESL Pro Series or the national Extreme Masters qualifiers. This rule does not apply to World of Warcraft-teams.
Premium account
Each participant of the Extreme Masters must be a premium member starting with the Extreme Masters main round. Information regarding the Electronic Sports Leagues premium account is available at the following URL: http://www.esl-world.net/masters/premiuminfo/
If any participant doesn't have a premium account, the participant will receive one minor penalty per play day until the issue is resolved. If this should be the case for one (1) member of a team, then the team will receive one (1) minor penalty. However a maximum of two (2) minor penalties can be given to a team, even if several team members are missing premium accounts at the same time.
Particulars
Before the start of the main round each player must send his or her full name, address, date of birth, place of birth, nationality and (if possible mobile) phone number to the Extreme Masters administration. In a Counter-Strike team the team manager has to collect this data for the whole team and must send it to the Extreme Masters administration. The collection of the data will be done with a so called “team sheet”. This sheet will be available in the player advice forum.
If these requirements are not met, then from the first play day and every play day, until the requirements are met, one (1) minor penalty will be awarded.
Player accounts
General
Each participating player must have an account on the ESL website. In this account a player has to state his or her personal details, date of birth, current place of residence, as well as his or her "real name". All this information can be hidden from public view, except the “real name”. Each player must upload a decent picture of himself to his or her ESL profile. A player is not allowed to have more than one account within the ESL. Having more than one account in the ESL will be punished according to the general ESL multi-account rules and can lead to minor penalties in the Extreme Masters.
If a player account does not correspond to the above requirements, then for every play day until the requirements are met, one (1) minor penalty will be awarded.
Player photo
The photo must clearly show the face of the player. The photo must always be up-to-date (no childhood pictures), manipulation of the player's appearance on the photo is prohibited.
Game accounts
All players have to enter their game account on their ESL profile. This is the Steam-ID (CS/DoD) for Counter-Strike.
Team accounts
General
For the Extreme Masters all teams must create and provide an ESL team account. The team must have a team logo. The team name may have a sponsor as an extension, but extensions like "CS squad" are not permitted. It must have a headquarters (the city that the team/management comes from) indicated on the team page and also have a team captain registered to the team. The listing of ‘honorary’ or ‘inactive’ members in an Extreme Masters team account is not permitted. If a team account does not correspond to the above requirements, then for every play day, until the requirements are met, a minor penalty will be given.
Property rights of an Extreme Masters team account
The Extreme Masters administration assigns Extreme Masters licenses to the contestant or qualifying teams each season.
This “Extreme Masters license” is valid for one season and must be renewed before the start of each new season by the Extreme Masters tournament direction.
The Extreme Masters team license is assigned to a legal entity (registered association, Ltd company, etc.). If a team is not represented by a legal entity, then the Extreme Masters administration may hand the license responsibility over to a single person within the team. This is always the team manager or a person appointed by the team manager. This person must be a long standing member of the team and 18+ years of age.
The license holder is responsible for all actions that concern the team. Changes in the team (e.g. name change) must be submitted to the tournament director and if necessary a new agreement be written. The Extreme Masters license holder is the entity which will receive the prize money after the season has ended. The license holder can name another person to receive the prize money at the end of the season. Offences and omissions in the duty to supply valid information can and will be punished with penalties.
Conditions
The Extreme Masters administration reserves the right to issue a team a license under certain conditions. An offence against the mandatory conditions can lead to the immediate removal of the license.
License removal
The Extreme Masters administration has the right to withdraw the license from the licensee. This case can arise from ignoring the associated conditions through neglect or deliberateness and from acts that damage the image of the league.
Licensee changes
A licensee can request the Extreme Masters administration to transfer the licence to another natural or legal entity during a season, if there is a relevant reason for doing so. This reason has to be communicated to and accepted by the Extreme Masters Administration. The Extreme Masters administration reserves the right to refuse the transfer of the license.
Team Nationality
The nationality is determined by the ESL Pro Series or the Extreme Masters national qualification the team plays in. In any match the simple majority of the players need to be residents of the country or posses citizenship of that country. A team is not allowed to change its nationality in an ongoing season e.g. by adding players from other countries.
Player change, new players
Up to five new players (Counter-Strike) and up to three new players (World of Warcraft) are permitted to join the team starting from the main round of the Extreme Masters. Anyone, who is not in the team account before the main round starts, is considered a new player. A new player has to be added to the ESL team account 24 hours before a match is scheduled.
A player is only allowed to change his or her team once per competition stage. Should a player change his or her team in a competition stage, he or she is not allowed to play against his or her old team or against teams that he or she already played against with his or her old team.
Each new player in the team must be announced by a support ticket and also be approved by the head administrators. In the case of ignoring this, a minor penalty will be assigned and the player is not eligible for Extreme Masters matches until this announcement has been approved.
If a team cannot participate because of missing players or is unable to regularly play their games, the team will be excluded from the Extreme Masters and the license be removed. Each team has to start out with sufficient players in the team in order to be able to compensate for a possible squad withdrawal.
Between seasons, there is no restriction on new players.
Player announcements for new season
Before the start of the Extreme Masters season, the teams have to announce every player who will play for their team. All players that are added after this deadline are new players – see rule 2.12.7
Contract conditions
The Extreme Masters administration will not interfere with and is not responsible for any legal issues between a player and his or her team.
Prize money system
The prize money of the Extreme Masters is calculated in 4 different ways:
- Win bonuses are awarded to the winner of a game in the main round.
- Participants that play the global challenges will play for the global challenges prize money.
- Participants that reach the continental finals will play for the continental finals prize money.
- Participants that reach the world finals will play for the world finals prize money.
Prize money distribution
The win bonuses are paid out together with the finals prize money after the finals have been finished. The date of payment will be 90 days after the offline-finals have finished.
Penalties impact on prize money
For each minor penalty received the participants will forfeit 3% of their total acquired prize money. For each major penalty received the participants will forfeit 10% of their prize money. These prize money reductions do not concern other premium tournaments within the ESL such as the ESL Pro Series, the ENC, ESL Major Series etc. The reductions are calculated at the end of an Extreme Masters season and the money is redistributed to the other participants of that game of the Extreme Masters. A disqualification from the league applies independently of the prize money reductions.
At the beginning of the season the penalties of each participant are reset to 0.
Should a participant get penalties in the Extreme Masters qualifier, the prize money reduction still applies for the rest of the season, however the penalties (minor/major) will be reset to 0.
Participant backup
If before the beginning of the first play day of the main round a team will split up, then another player/team advances to the Extreme Masters. This will be the next participant from the national qualifiers / ESL Pro Series from the according country unless the participant with that slot has already been eliminated. Should a participant leave the Extreme Masters in the main round after the first play day, there he will not be a replacement.
Barrage for dropping out from the Extreme Masters
A participant who drops out of the current Extreme Masters receives a blockage for the ongoing season. This applies to any kind of drop out, no matter whether it is by his or her own decision or due to a disqualification e.g. because of too many penalties. Furthermore the license holder of a team will receive a major penalty for the next season should he or she participate in the next Extreme Masters season. The Extreme Masters administration reserves the right to bar a participant for more than one season in extreme cases.
Beginning of a match
All matches within the Extreme Masters begin according to the times displayed on the web site. All changes must be agreed upon with the Extreme Masters administration and if necessary a wildcard needs to be used. The matches have to begin on time at the indicated times. Participants are required to be available before and after the match, see the game specific rules for further details.
Match statements
Each participant has to write a statement for his or her match in the Extreme Masters. This match statement has to be posted at least 24 hours but no more than 7 days before a match. Matches to be played on offline events such as the Intel Friday Night Games statements have to be posted at least 48 hours before. This statement has to be written and saved as a match pre-report (not as comment in the match). The statement has to be in an adequate quality and should contain around 50 words. Should the statement be missing, not be of an adequate quality or too short the Extreme Masters administration can give one minor penalty. It is not allowed to edit the statement within 24 hours before the match, as this will change the date and time of the statement and it will no longer be possible to see if the statement has been written in time.
Scheduling and wildcards
A match for the coming play day has to be scheduled before the end of the current play day. Should your opponent fail to respond to your scheduling attempts, we advise the participants to use the participant advice forum or to include an admin (Counter-Strike: masters.cs(at)esl.eu - World of Warcraft: masters.wow(at)esl.eu ) in the “carbon copy” (cc) when emailing the opponents. It is imperative that you have solid proof that you tried to contact the opponent within a reasonable time frame.
Should participants not have scheduled their matches by the of current play day the default dates on the Extreme Masters website are used.
Rescheduling
If you want to reschedule an already scheduled match, you will have to do so before Thursday 23:59 CET of the rest week in-between the play days. After that deadline you will have to use a wildcard.
Matches to be broadcasted on ESL TV
An exception from the rules 2.18/2.19 is possible if ESL TV explicitly asks for a different play date. In this case the match can be played on the date asked for by ESL TV, but only if both participants agree. Rule 2.21 Wildcards is unaffected by this exception.
Wildcards
For the main round each team gets one wildcard. Usage of the wildcard will automatically lead to one minor penalty. Each cycle of 24 hours after the deadline on Thursday will lead to one additional minor penalty. Should there be a no-show from a participant and this participant still has his wildcard one major penalty is to be given to this participant and the wildcard will be removed, however no additional minor penalties are given.
If a participant no longer has a wildcard and wants to reschedule, he or she will receive one major penalty and for each cycle of 24 hours after the deadline on Thursday. Should there be a no-show from a participant and this participant no longer has a wildcard the participant receives a major penalty and a total of 4 minor penalties.
| Time of rescheduling for play day X | Wildcard | No Wildcard left |
| play day X-1 | - | - |
| Monday to Thursday 23:59 CET in the Rest Week | - | - |
| Thursday 23:59 CET to 48 hours before match | 1 minor penalty/td> | 1 major penalty & 1 minor penalty |
| 48 hours – 24 hours before match | 2 minor penalty | 1 major penalty & 2 minor penalty |
| 24 hours – 2 hours before match | 3 minor penalty | 1 major penalty & 3 minor penalty |
| 2 hours before match – 30 minutes after scheduled match start | 4 minor penalty | 1 major penalty & 4 minor penalty |
| No-show (30 minutes after scheduled match start) | wildcard removed, 1 major penalty & 1 minor penalty | 2 major penalty & 1 minor penalty |
A saved wildcard at the end of the regular season will remove the prize money reduction for the worth of two minor penalties.
In order to draw a wildcard a participant has to file a match protest. No other forms of drawing a wildcard will be accepted. The protest form is available at ( http://www.esl-world.net/masters/protest/add ) . In the protest the participant has to propose two new dates for the match. The other participant must then answer to the match protest within 48 hours, and a new match date must be negotiated as soon as possible.
Match Start, punctuality, delays and no-show
A match will start at the exact time as stated in the schedule. Participant have to be online and ready to play 10 minutes before the match is scheduled. Not being ready to play at the time the match is scheduled will lead to a minor penalty being given. Another minor penalty will be given if the participant is still not ready to play 10 minutes after the match was scheduled. Should the participant not have shown up after 30 minutes the participant is seen as no-show and penalties according to 2.21 Wildcards will be assigned.
Protests
A protest is an official protest against a match. The protest can only be filed using the protest form on the ESL page ( http://www.esl-world.net/masters/protest/add ) Protests filed by email or IRC are not valid. At most, they can help explain the circumstances. Please see the protest procedure: http://www.esl-world.net/masters/faq/protest_rules/ If a participant wants to submit a protest concerning a specific match, the protest needs to be filed within 72 hours after the starting time of the match. Any protest filed after the deadline will be discarded. Continuously filing protests for the sole purpose of getting an advantage out of filing protests will be treated as violation of the code of conduct.
Competition mode
Europe
National qualifier
There are two ways to qualify for the Extreme Masters Main Round, depending on your country of origin. Countries with an active ESL Pro Series will determine their participants via the ranking of the latest finished season if the ESL Pro Series finished within the last 3 months before the start of the next qualifier for the Extreme Masters. Countries without an active ESL Pro Series, or whose ESL Pro Series finished too long ago, will hold so called “national qualifiers”. The national qualifiers are often run by partners of the ESL and therefore the Extreme Masters administration is not responsible for them. Teams that qualified on the national level can enter the Extreme Masters in three different tournament phases, depending on their rank in the qualification and their country's rank. A participant may either enter directly into the main round or into one of the 2 stages of the international qualification rounds. Please note that the ESL Pro Series and the national qualifiers are not part of the regular Extreme Masters season.
Country ranking season 3
The number of slots each country gets in an Extreme Masters season depends on the Extreme Masters Country Ranking, which is composed of the results in the first two seasons. All countries that are not ranked among the top 27 in Europe have the chance to qualify in an international qualifier. Only teams from countries with no slots in the main or qualification rounds can participate in this international qualifier.
Depending on the ranking, the slots for the qualification rounds and the main round are distributed as indicated below.
Extreme Masters qualifier
The qualification consists of 2 rounds. 32 participants play in the first round; another 16 participants are qualified directly into round 2 of the Extreme Masters qualifier. The winners of the matches of round 2 will qualify for the main round.
Main round
The main round officially starts with the first play day of the Extreme Masters on Monday 00:01. 16 participants advance from the masters qualifier, joining the other 16 for the final lineup of 32 participants in the Extreme Masters main round. These participants are placed into 4 groups with 8 participants each. The participants that finish the main round on top 2 of their group are directly qualified for the continental finals. The participants that place third and fourth within their groups are qualified for the relegation.
Each participant receives 3 points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.
Relegation
The relegation consists of 8 participants. A participant that placed third in a group will face a participant that placed fourth in another group. The final matches are being determined by drawing.
Continental Finals
Per game, 12 participants will qualify for the continental finals, 8 directly and 4 through the relegation. The continental finals consist of two stages: First a group stage with all participants will be played, two groups with 6 participants each, after that double-elimination playoffs with 4 participants. The first ranked participants of each group in stage one will directly move on to play in stage two, the participants who are ranked second in their groups will play a relegation against the participants ranked third in the other group for the last two spots in the playoffs.
North America
Qualifier cups
The season will start with a series of 8 single-elimination qualification cups. Two of those cups will start every week and will last exactly one week each. Each cup will have up to 16 participants of which the top 2 will qualify for the group stage of the Extreme Masters. Teams already qualified for the group stage are not eligible to play in subsequent qualification cups. Players already qualified with one team are not allowed to play for other teams in subsequent qualifiers.
The regular match days are: Round of 16: Monday (alternate day: Tuesday) Quarter final: Wednesday (alternate day: Thursday) Semi final: Sunday
The dates are: Cups 1 & 2: July 21st to July 27th Cups 3 & 4: July 28th to August 3rd Cups 5 & 6: August 4th to August 10th Cups 7 & 8: August 11th to August 17th
Main Round
The main round officially starts with the first play day of the Extreme Masters on Monday 00:01. 16 participants advance from the masters qualifier cups. These participants are placed into 2 groups with 8 participants each. The participants that finish the main round on top 2 of their group are directly qualified for the continental finals. The participants that place third and fourth within their groups are qualified for the relegation.
Each participant receives 3 points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.
Relegation
The relegation consists of 4 participants. A participant that placed third in a group will face a participant that placed fourth in another group.
Continental Finals
Eight participants in Counter-Strike will qualify for the continental finals, 4 directly and 2 through the relegation plus 2 wildcarded teams from South America. The continental finals consist of two stages: First a group stage with all participants will be played, two groups with 4 participants each, after that double-elimination playoffs with 4 participants. The first ranked participants of each group in stage one will directly move on to play in stage two, the participants who are ranked second in their groups will play a relegation against the participants ranked third in the other group for the last two spots in the playoffs.
Global Challenges
By default each continental final has two slots for the world finals. By winning a global challenge or end as runner up, a continental final will get more slots for the world finals e.g. if a team from Europe place first or second at one of the 3 Global Challenge events, the European continental finals would receive one additional slot at the world finals. This slot would be awarded to team that attended the continental final, starting from rank #3.
World Finals
This highlight will be the end of an Extreme Masters season. 12 participants in Counter-Strike will qualify through continental finals for the world finals. The world final consist of two stages: First a group stage with all participants will be played, two groups with 6 participants each, after that double-elimination playoffs with 4 participants. The first ranked participants of each group in stage one will directly move on to play in stage two, the participants who are ranked second in their groups will play a relegation against the participants ranked third in the other group for the last two spots in the playoffs.
Replacement of participants attending the Wolrd Finals
If a Counter-Strike team that qualified for the world finals will not be able to attend them with at least 5 players, the team manager must notify a head administrator or the tournament director about this matter 2 weeks before the event. As a result the participant will begin the upcoming Extreme Masters season with a major penalty; also the prize money that the participant has earned so far will be forfeited.
Any notification at a later point will lead to an exclusion from the next Extreme Masters season and possible further punishment, if the failure to show at the world finals is due to negligence on the player's part, i.e. the player failed to exercise the care which a reasonable or prudent person would exercise in the circumstances that lead to his or her inability to attend the finals. The Extreme Masters administration will decide which team will replace a dropout, should the need arise.
Seeds and drawings
The Extreme Masters administration reserves the right to seed or to distribute teams into seeding pools for drawings when it is necessary. This includes all kinds of drawings, e.g. the distribution of the teams in groups as well as drawings for possible replacement teams when necessary. Whenever possible the drawings will be shown live on ESL TV.
Ranking
If at the end of an Extreme Masters competition stage two participants are tied in the rankings with both points and map/round score difference, the direct match result between the participants will decide about the final ranking. Should that match have ended in a draw, a tiebreaker match will be played, if there needs to be a clear ranking, i.e. it needs to be decided which participant will move to the next competition stage.
If more than two participants have equal points and map score difference, the direct matches between the tied teams will count. Should this still tie, the participants will play a tiebreaker. If participants tie again in points and map score, the process of a tiebreaker match will be repeated until a clear ranking has been established.
Counter-Strike specific rules
Definations
Offence
The Offence is the team that is attacking the targets.
Defense
The Defense is the team that protects the targets which are being attacked by the Offence.
Match
Each team plays one half of a map as Offence and one as Defense. A match will be played on three different maps.
Half
A half consists of one 15 round map session. Two halves are a map. Three maps are a match.
Round
One 2:00 – minute cycle.
Result
The team which reaches the limit of 16 rounds first on a map wins this map. A team which wins two maps first, wins the match.
Match procedure
Map choice (Best-of-Three)
First map is picked by the ESL. You can find this map on your matchpage. The loser of the first map will pick the second map and the loser of the second map will pick the third map if needed. No map may be played more than once in a single game.
Map choice (Best-of-One)
The map choice is based on veto: Higher seed removes first map Lower seed removes second map Lower seed removes third map Higher seed picks the map to be played from the remaining 2 maps
Map choice - Overall Final (Double Elimination Bracket)
The first map to be used in the grand final is chosen by elimination. Both teams take turns eliminating one map from the pool (the team from the lower bracket starts) until only one map is left.
If needed the second map to be used in the grand final is chosen by elimination. Both teams take turns eliminating one map from the pool (the team from the upper bracket starts) until only one map is left.
Starting side
The choice about which side to start with is made by the team that wins a knife round before the start of the actual map.
Server search
The teams have to agree on a server at least 24 hours before the match's starting time.
If they, for some reason, do not agree on a server, they have to meet with the match admin in IRC 60 minutes before the match is due to start. The match admin will contact the teams in #masters.teams and tell them the channel where to discuss that topic. They have to make sure that they are present at that time! If one team do not show up at least 45 minutes before the starting time, the match admin will select a server without them. This decision might be to their disadvantage, so they should be there! The server selection starts by suggesting servers. The teams might suggest servers from outside their country as they might have a more equal ping for both teams. The match admin will suggest servers himself, too, if available.
If no server is found within 45 minutes, 15 minutes before the game is starting, the match admin will choose one of the suggested servers that provides the most equal conditions for both teams in his opinion. This decision will be final. However the admin can decide on a two-server-match, if there is a big difference in the conditions for one team. Then the match will be played on two different servers where both teams have a disadvantage on either one of the servers.
It might be helpful if some or all players are online at that time to help server testing. The server choice won't be changed if it turns out, that the server selected has a bad ping for one player of the team, later.
Match Media
Aequitas
Every player must use Aequitas for the entire duration of the match.
Each player must upload the Aequitas file (the ZIP created by Aequitas) without reminder, within 24 hours of the end of the match. The player and their team are responsible for the upload, meaning he or she has to check if the files are complete and working.
Missing, not working, incomplete or modified Aequitas files must be reported by the other team in a protest and will be punished with 1 major penalty for the team. A period of 48 hours will then be given to replace the files in question. Should the Aequitas files be replaced with the correct ones the penalty will then be reduced to 1 minor penalty. If the files of the winning team are still not complete after the period of 48 hours the admins can decide to replay parts of or the entire match. A replay of the map will be given, if a player had no Aequitas running during a map they won, in the case a player just had no Aequitas running on a map they lost, then they will just get penalty points.
Procedure for non-working Aequitas
If the website is offline then Aequitas will not work. This is the only situation where it is possible to play without Aequitas. It is responsibility of the player to ensure that Aequitas works for them.
Should Aequitas not work for a player, the player must take a screenshot of the error message, upload it and report it to the admin team as soon as possible. Only the head admin can give out the permission to play a single match without aequitas if needed. Further instructions of the head admin has to be followed.
Once in game, each player not using Aequitas will have to take smoke and model screenshots. If a player reconnects during the duration of the match, he needs to make new screenshots and upload all of them. All media needs to be uploaded to the Intel Extreme Masters website within 24 hours of the end of the match.
The model screenshot needs to include the following things: 1 Terrorist model, 1 CT model, netgraph, primary or secondary weapon.
Missing, not working, incomplete or modified Screenshots must be reported by the other team in a protest and will be punished with 1 major penalty for the team. A period of 48 hours will then be given to replace the Screenshots in question. Should the Screenshots be replaced with the correct ones the penalty will then be reduced to 1 minor penalty. If the files of the winning team are still not complete after the period of 48 hours the admins can decide to replay parts of or the entire match. A replay of the map will be given, if a player had no Aequitas running during a map they won, in the case a player just had no Aequitas running on a map they lost, then they will just get penalty points.
Demos
Point of View (player)
All players must record point of view demos of the entire match. The demos can only be requested by an admin. Missing point of view demos may be punished with 1 minor penalty, or 1 major penalty with a sufficient timetable.
Cheat accusation (timetable)
If a team wishes to accuse a player or players of another team of cheating in an Intel Extreme Masters match than a timetable based on the HLTV demo for each half for each player must be submitted in a protest within 48 hours of the demo being uploaded to the ESL match page.
Each timetable must contain:
- Download link and name of demo
- Player name and type of suspected cheat/hack (wallhack, aimbot...)
- Specific times in the demo which look suspicious, along with a reason for each (I.e. why it cannot have been coincidence, luck, hearing or skill)
If the head admin for the Intel Extreme Masters thinks there is enough proof or suspicion of cheating the admin himself can request the point-of-view demos. These demos then have to be uploaded within 24 hours of the request by the admin. Participants themselves are not able to request demos from the opposing team.
If the HLTV demo is not available then the point-of-view demo is used.
Screenshots
The punishment for missing screenshots is no more than 1 minor penalty per match.
Score screenshot
Both teams are responsible for taking a score screenshot of the end of each half and uploading them to the match page.
Client settings
CVAR
The following CVAR values must be used:
- cl_lc 1
- cl_lw 1
- cl_pitchspeed 225
- cl_showevents 0
- cl_movespeedkey 0.52
- cl_pmanstats 0
- gl_picmip 0
- gl_monolights 0
- gl_polyoffset 0 - 4 (You have to use a value that does not result in the illegal "shine through"-effect.)
- gl_max_size higher than 128
- lightgamma 2.5
- texgamma 2.0
- s_show 0
- s_a3d 0
All other variables in the configuration files may be changed, as long as they do not give the user a significant unfair advantage (with effects comparable to a cheat). Any wrong client settings will be penalized, even if the file is not stored in the CS folder. If multiple players have wrong client settings the team can get a maximum of 2 minor penalties per match.
Illegal script and bind examples
The following scripts are prohibited:
- Turn Script [180° or other values]
- -mlook Script
- Stop-Shoot script [Use- or Awp-Script of any kind]
- Centerviewscrip
- Norecoil-Script
- Burstfire-Script
- Jump- & Bunnyhop-Script [Jumping is only allowed as: bind “x“ “+jump“]
- It is illegal to bind “+duck“ to the mouse wheel or to use a duck script
- Walking should be done by using “+speed“ and not by any other command or script
Regardless of being actively used, if these scripts are found in parts or in full in your configfile, you will be penalized. If multiple players have wrong client settings the team can get a maximum of 2 minor penalties per match.
A3D sound
The use of A3D (2.0) is forbidden and is considered cheating. The use of tools / drivers have the same effect as A3D (2.0) will achieve the use of A3D (2.0) equated.
Graphic card drivers or similar tools
Changes made to the in-game graphics or textures by the use of graphics card drivers or other tools or programs are forbidden.
32 Bit rule
Each player needs to have Counter-Strike set to use 32bit colour depth in game. If the game is being played in window mode, the windows colour depth has to be set to 32bit. If a player use 16bit during a game, the team will get 1 minor penalty and the admins can decide to replay parts of or the entire match.
Custom files
Except Steam skins no custom files are allowed. As for Steam skins, only changes to the layout of steam or of the console are allowed. Changing models, Crosshairs, HUD, scoreboard or other files are prohibited. If multiple players have wrong client settings the team can get a maximum of 3 minor penalties per match.
CS: CZ Models, which are sometimes automatically installed due to a steam error, are also not allowed. They have to be replaced with the original models before the start of the match. If multiple players have wrong client settings the team can get a maximum of 2 minor penalties per match.
Server settings
All the servers which will be used for the Extreme Masters need to have the Extreme Masters server pack installed. The server pack will make sure all the servers are configured the same. The Extreme Masters server pack consists of the following parts:
ESL Server configuration file (with HLSW Live bot support) Anti flash bug Maps (de_nuke, de_dust2, de_train)
The team which provides the server will be responsible for the correct installation of the pack and it's content. Download link: http://gfx.esl-europe.net/media/eu/cs/masters_server_pack.rar
Leaving the server
Leaving the match before the match has been decided will be punished with 1 major penalty point and all remaining rounds being given to the opposing team.
Map pool
The following maps can be selected and used for all matches:
- de_train
- de_dust2
- de_nuke
- de_inferno
- de_tuscan
Download Mappack: http://www.esl-world.net/masters/download/8431310/
In-game rules
Shield
The use of the tactical shield is strictly forbidden.
Nicknames compulsory
Exploiting bugs
The deliberate exploitation of all kinds of bugs is punished with two (2) minor penalties for each occurrence. The maximum amount per match is six (6) minor penalties. Furthermore, the administration may, depending on the situation, force a re-play of parts or the match or the entire match. In very serious cases the administration reserves the right to award higher penalties.
Exploiting the following bugs is explicitly prohibited. If any bugs are exploited which are not listed here, the tournament administration decides whether a punishment is necessary or not.
Warum up - Map check
It is each team's own responsibility to check if the correct version of the map is loaded. Should bugs still be present you should ask to reload the map. Not testing the map means you agree to using this version of the map and also accept the consequences if the bugs are used. If a team uses bugs intentionally then rounds may be awarded to the opposing team.
Bug using
Using bugs is strictly forbidden. If bugs which are not listed below should be used, the admin can still decide to give out penalties, award rounds to the opposing team or replay a half or the entire match.
During the match
- Pushing players through walls, floors and ceilings (including the outer wall off the map) is prohibited. This also applies on 'skywalking'.
- "Silent bombs" (planting a bomb in a certain way to prevent it from making the intended beeping sounds) are prohibited.
- It's not allowed to plant the bomb in positions that are impossible to access. It is allowed to plant the bomb in places you can reach with the help of teammates!
- Climbing and stacking players in order to do so is allowed. It is forbidden to climb into positions that allow for exploitation of clipping errors in the map design. It's also not allowed to perform certain moves in some positions that allow for exploitation of the clipping errors (such as a jumping). (E.g. on de_nuke, upper hall roof, etc., see 5.5.3 Map-specific bugs)
- Flash grenade bugs exploits are prohibited.
- Throwing grenades under walls is prohibited. Note: Throwing over roofs and walls is allowed.
- "Map swimming" or "floating" is prohibited.
- "Pixel walking" is forbidden (sitting or standing on invisible ledges).
Map specific bugs
de_dust2
The following positions are illegal:
- http://gfx.esl-europe.net/stuff/cs_rules/de_dust21.jpg
- http://gfx.esl-europe.net/stuff/cs_rules/de_dust22.jpg
- http://gfx.esl-europe.net/stuff/cs_rules/de_dust23.jpg
It is allowed to have multiple players on this box, but they cannot be on top of each other.
de_train
Looking through the gap underneath the wall is not allowed (http://gfx.esl-europe.net/stuff/cs_rules/de_train.jpg)
de_inferno
This roof is illegal (http://gfx.esl-europe.net/stuff/cs_rules/de_inferno.jpg)
de_nuke
Walking on this wall is illegal (http://gfx.esl-europe.net/stuff/cs_rules/de_nuke2.jpg)
Crash procedures
If the server crashes before three rounds have been completed, the server must be restarted and the game's score will be reset to 0-0. If the server crashes after the third round has been completed, the game must be restarted with startmoney 5000 and the score will be counted from the last completed round. The maxrounds of the half should be changed to equal the remaining rounds left at the point of the server crash.
If a player's computer crashes before the first kill has been made in the first round, the match will be restarted. If a player's computer crashes after the first kill has been made, the server will be paused at the end of the current round. Once the player has rejoined the server and the teams are notified of his or her return, the game will be resumed. It is each player's responsibility to make sure their hardware/software/internet connection is fully functional before participating in a match. If they are in doubt, they should notify their team captain and appropriate actions should be taken.
Overtime
It will be possible for teams to play overtime, in case this happens, the following settings will be used: In case of a draw the maxrounds will be set to 5 and the startmoney to 10000. They will start on the same side (T/CT) as they started at the beginning of the map.
Offline Matches
Problems
If any problems appear with the sound, the network or the computer at all, the player has to notify the admin immediately. If the admin is not notified in time we can not guarantee that the problem will be fixed in time for the match start. Match start times are absolute.
Match Start, punctuality and delays
A match will start at the exact time as stated in the schedule. Participant have to be on the server and ready to play 15 minutes before the match starts. Not being ready to play at the time the match is scheduled will lead to a minor penalty being given. Another minor penalty will be given if the participant is still not ready to play 5 minutes after the match was scheduled. Each additional 5 minutes will lead to 1 minor penalty.
Furthermore it's not allowed to leave the gaming area within 30 minutes before the match start without the permission of the assigned admin. Failure to do so can result in a minor penalty.
Settings
The graphics card color settings should all be default, except for the gamma which can be set to 70%. All other graphic card settings can be changed as long as they do not result in a major and unfair gameplay advantage that is comparable with a cheat.
Demos
For coverage and match administration reasons it is absolutely necessary to record demos! It is obligatory to upload the demos as *.zip file with the name of the player by a prepared link on the desktop to a laptop on the network. Failure to do so can result in a minor penalty.
Penalty catalogue Counter-Strike
Penalties will always be given to a team. Major Penalties ( 10% deducted from prize money )
- Missing, not working, incomplete or modified Aequitas Files
- Illegal client settings
- Changing the server settings
- Leaving the server before a winner has been declared
- Usage of the tactical shield
- Usage of bugs
- Missing point-of-view demo with suspicion of cheating
Minor Penalties ( 3% deducted from prize money )
- Not entering statement or lineups
- Not turning up in time for server search
- Illegal client settings – CVAR
- Illegal client settings – models
- Illegal client settings – scripts and binds
- Missing point-of-view demo
- Missing screenshots
World of Warcraft specific rules
Definitions
Match
A match consists of at least three, at most five maps. The maps are randomly chosen by the built-in arena matchmaking system.
Result
The team which eliminates all opponents from a map wins this map. A team which wins three maps first, wins the match.
Match procedure
Preparing characters
Each player receives one Horde- and one Alliance-account with premade characters. Players may only use the items, abilities, and pets present on the pre-made characters and NPC-vendors. Teams may choose to form their team with any class composition they choose. Every character needs to be renamed so it can be recognized (suggestion: nickname followed by single letters A-X).
Matching up
When both teams are ready they join the queue for a 3vs3 practice game. If several matches are being played at the same time teams must wait for an admin to tell them to „go!“. In case both teams are stalling and refuse to attack eachother in a broadcasted match an admin may interrupt the match and give a one-time warning. Both teams then have 15 minutes to finish the match and if at the end of these 15 minutes there is no clear winner he will be determined based on which team did the most damage to its opponent.
Switching Comps, Respeccing
Each team has a maximum of three minutes between each map to respec their characters, change equipment or even log on other characters. Once the three minutes are over the match must continue.
Disconnects
Should the tournament server crash prior to the completion of a round the round will be restarted. In case a client disconnects or crashes the player has to inform an admin immediately. In case the match was still in the preparation period it will always be restarted. If one of the teams insists on playing the same map in a regame, both teams have to re-queue until said map is randomly chosen again.
Known Bugs and Exploits
Exploiting the "instantcast after leaving the arena"-bug is not allowed. If a player is defeated he may not release his spirit and use an instant cast-spell by spam-clicking while leaving the arena. Exploiting any of this bug may lead to a disqualification. If players believe an opponent has violated a rule during a match, the battle should continue as normal. At the end of the round, the player should notify an admin immediately of the issue.
Match Media
In general match media have to be uploaded to the ESL website in the period of time stated in the rules. Faking or manipulating match media is of course forbidden and will result in severe penalties. Packing the files is allowed. Match media names for demos, Aequitas files, screenshots, etc. have to be chosen in a reasonable way. The name has to be chosen in accordance with the media's content so that it is clearly recognizable whether the file concerned is a demo, an Aequitas file, a round screenshot or a status screenshot etc.
Screenshots
Taking screenshots of the scoreboard after each map is mandatory for both teams. It is the responsibility of both teams to upload all necessary screenshots within 24 hours after the match.
Penalty catalogue
This catalogue is a point of information. The Extreme Masters administration reserves the right to give penalties not covered by this catalogue or give different penalties than the ones listed here.
Violation of the netiquette
The netiquette is a catch-all term for the conventions of politeness recognized on the internet. Violations of the netiquette are punished according to their severity and occurrence.
Insults
All insults that are connected to the Extreme Masters are considered. Especially insults on the Extreme Masters web site and insults in a match are being considered. Also insults that are being done via IRC, ICQ, E-Mail, Forums and similar media can lead to penalties. Extreme cases of insults can result in further penalties up to the exclusion from the Extreme Masters.
Spamming
The excessive posting of senseless, annoying or offensive postings or texts is considered to be spamming in the Extreme Masters and will be punished depending on the severity.
Unsportsmanlike behavior
Spamming in-game
Abusing the in-game chat function of a game to irritate an opponent or to interfere with the course of a game (broadcast or not) is not allowed. Depending on the severity of the in-game spamming a minor or a major penalty can be given.
Kicking of players
Continuously kicking a player out of a game is not allowed. Kicking a player from a server in an on-going game on purpose will be punished with a major penalty.
Ringers/Fakers
Using a player who is not listed on the ESL team page can lead to a disqualification from the Extreme Masters.
Cheating
Modifying the behavior or the appearance of Counter-Strike in any way and/or using third party programs which give the user an advantage over other participants is considered cheating and punished accordingly with a 2 year ban from the Electronic Sports League. Depending on the severity of the cheating, administrators may decide to give out penalties or remove the participant from the current season and ban a participant from playing in the Extreme Masters for more than one season.
Game-specific penalties
See game-specific rules and game-specific penalty point catalogues.
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