Support for all events can be found here.
We reserve the right to change, modify, or adapt all rules as deemed appropriate by ESEA in order to uphold and maintain a spirit of overall fairness and good sportsmanship.
The Event Administrators also reserve the right to make a judgment on cases that are not specifically supported, or detailed in these Event rules, or even goes against these rules may be taken in extreme cases, to preserve fair play and sportsmanship.
If any provision of the Event rules shall be invalid or impracticable in whole or in part this shall not affect the validity of the remaining part of these rules. In lieu of the invalid or impracticable provision, an appropriate provision shall apply which is nearest to the intent of to what would have been the intention in keeping with the meaning and purpose of the Event rules.
Unsportsmanlike conduct of any type, including but not limited to racist or abusive remarks and attempts to circumvent or abuse any Event policy as determined by ESEA is not tolerated and is subject to punishments including forfeits, expulsions, bans, or any other action deemed appropriate by ESEA.
With his participation, the participant states that he understands and accepts all rules. Additional rules may apply for specific events, for example, an age restriction, a limit to the number of team licences per organisation etc. These will be detailed on each event.
The Event administration is not responsible for any additional agreements, nor do they agree to enforce any such agreements made between individual players or teams. We highly discourage such agreements from taking place, and such agreements that are contradicting the Event rules are under no circumstances allowed.
Unless told otherwise by an administrator matches will be played back to back until the event is complete. Some events may be split up over multiple days and contain multiple different formats. If so this will be posted on the event page.
Unless told otherwise teams will begin second round matches immediately if both teams do not have an opponent for the first round (ie both teams have received a BYE).
You receive your seed at the beginning of the event and it will last the duration of the event. Teams may be reseeded between days for multi-day tournaments.
Rosters will be locked at the time of registration closing until the event is complete. Teams may be eligible to add players between days in multi-day tournaments, this will be stated on the event registration page.
An admin will state the time when forfeits will be accepted for each round at the beginning of the event. This will vary depending on the size and pace of the event.
Starting a match later than the scheduled time does not remove a team's right to pause the match for their designated pauses per half.
Game Servers - all matches must be played on the assigned ESEA game server. The entire match must be played on the assigned server - you cannot play each half on a different server. The server will initially be assigned to a central ESEA location for the region that the event is played on. If both teams agree on a new location then they should contact the Event administration in order to move to a new server. If the average ping difference between two teams is more than 25, teams should contact an admin in order to evaluate and potentially re-assign the match to a server with the most fair pings. If you would like to have a server change because of a ping imbalance, be sure to have a screen shot with you so that an admin can verify your situation. Failure to do so and starting the match will lead to both teams having accepted the state the server is in, and the match will be continued under these settings. Both teams must begin a match with five players.
Steam ID - be sure your Steam ID in your ESEA profile is consistent with the Steam ID you are using to compete with. All rosters are automatically validated by Steam ID upon joining the server. Only registered and eligible participants from the assigned teams will be allowed in the assigned game server.
Client - all participants must be running the ESEA Client at all times during their matches or they will automatically be kicked by the server. Any attempt to circumvent the Client will results in a forfeit loss and expulsion from the event. You join your assigned match server through the ESEA client.
An event match cannot end with a draw. A winner and a loser are to be set for each event match.
Once a match goes live, it cannot be restarted, if a player disconnects during the pistol round, pause the match during the next freeze time. Teams are limited to 2x 5 minute pauses per each half that can be initiated by typing ".tech" and 1 pause per each overtime. A pause can last no longer than 5 minutes. Teams may also use 4 x 30 second pauses by typing ".tac"
Players can be changed at any time during a live Event match provided they are already on the team’s roster page on the ESEA website for that specific event. All matches must be played to the end (where a winner and a loser have been found). A team leaving the event match before a winner has been found will forfeit the remaining rounds.
Coach - Teams are able to use the coach feature in event matches. The player acting as a coach must type .coach (instead of .ready) during warmup in the game server. The coach must be on the event roster in order to be a coach on the gameserver.
Dispute Resolutions - all disputes should be filed upon the match ending.
Exploit & Infraction Penalties - exploits and infractions will be dealt with on a case by case decision, but standard resolution for the below infractions include overturning the round in which the infraction occurred (if the infraction had a direct impact on the outcome of that round) in addition to the subsequent three rounds in which half the infraction occurred. At the admin's discretion, the player who committed the offense can be banned for a week.
Flash Bang, Smoke Grenade, and Hand Grenade Bugs - it is illegal to use any flash bang, smoke grenade, or hand grenade bugs, regardless of intent. All servers will have the latest known version of fixed maps.
Players should not attempt to rotate players in and out of the server in order to abuse money mechanics.
Illegal Bomb Plants - it is illegal to plant the bomb in a position that cannot be defused by the opposing team or in a position in which the bomb is floating and not touching the ground.
Joining opponents team - Players joining their opponent's team during a live round shall be treated as a standard infraction. Players joining their opponent's team during a pause shall be examined on a case by case basis looking at the frequency of occurrence, the length of the incident and the user's history of such incidents.
Illegal Bomb Defuses - the bomb cannot be defused through any solid objects.
Illegal Bomb Defuses - it is illegal to intentionally distort your hit boxes while defusing the bomb. Each dispute will be handled on a case by case basis, reviewing multiple aspects, including, but not limited to, the speed at which movement is made, the action of movement made, as well as the outcome of the exploiting action.
Walking / Boosting Through Walls - walking or boosting through walls, floors, or roofs is not allowed.
Rules for the ESL One qualifiers are available here.
Rules for the IEM qualifiers are available here.
Players cannot compete with a CS:GO VAC ban which was placed under 2 years ago.
Teams may add players between the Open and closed qualifier as long as a core 3 players remain during each match.