24 May 2019 RULEBOOK CONTENTS Preamble ......................................................................................................................... 4 1. General .................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 League Administration .......................................................................................... 4 1.2 Validity of the Rules ............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Local Laws ............................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Confidentiality ...................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Code of Conduct ................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Communication ..................................................................................................... 5 2. League Specifications .............................................................................................. 5 2.1 Home Country/Region .......................................................................................... 5 2.2 Time Zone ............................................................................................................. 6 2.3 Nicknames ............................................................................................................. 6 2.4 Player Accounts .................................................................................................... 6 2.5 Changes to the Team Accounts ............................................................................. 6 2.6 Publisher Bans ....................................................................................................... 7 2.7 Minimum Age ....................................................................................................... 7 2.8 Mature Content...................................................................................................... 7 3. Prize Money............................................................................................................. 7 3.1 Payment of Prize Money ....................................................................................... 7 3.2 Prize Money Distribution ...................................................................................... 7 3.3 Withholding of Prize Money ................................................................................. 9 3.4 Transfer of Prize Money ....................................................................................... 9 4. Match Procedures .................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Match Start / Punctuality ....................................................................................... 9 4.2 Request a New Game Server................................................................................. 9 4.3 Determining the “Better Seed” for the League Finals .......................................... 9 4.4 Ranking during the Regular Season .................................................................... 10 4.5 Storage and Keeping of Match Media ................................................................ 11 Page 1 24 May 2019 4.6 Interviews ............................................................................................................ 11 5. League system ....................................................................................................... 11 5.1 Stages .................................................................................................................. 11 5.2 Regular Season .................................................................................................... 11 5.3 Finals – Group Stage ........................................................................................... 13 5.4 Finals – Playoffs .................................................................................................. 13 5.5 Relegation ........................................................................................................... 13 6. Match Protests ....................................................................................................... 14 6.1 Definition ............................................................................................................ 14 6.2 Contents of a Match Protest ................................................................................ 14 6.3 Deadline for Match Protests ................................................................................ 15 7. Event Rules ............................................................................................................ 15 7.1 Punctuality .......................................................................................................... 15 7.2 Causing Delay ..................................................................................................... 15 7.3 Equipment ........................................................................................................... 16 7.4 Config and Drivers .............................................................................................. 16 7.5 Clothing ............................................................................................................... 16 7.6 Administrators ..................................................................................................... 16 7.7 Player Brief ......................................................................................................... 16 7.8 Technical Checklist ............................................................................................. 16 7.9 Team Communication Tool ................................................................................ 17 7.10 Media Obligations ............................................................................................... 17 7.10.1 Missing Media Obligations ....................................................................... 17 7.11 Stage Matches ..................................................................................................... 18 7.12 Gaming Areas...................................................................................................... 18 7.12.1 Food, Drinks, Smoking and Behavior ....................................................... 18 7.12.2 Removable Media ...................................................................................... 18 7.12.3 Mobile Phones, Tablets, Cameras or Similar Devices .............................. 18 7.12.4 Unused items ............................................................................................. 19 7.12.5 Internet Access........................................................................................... 19 7.13 Warm-Up Period ................................................................................................. 19 7.14 Demos and Replays ............................................................................................. 19 7.15 Demo and Replay Rights .................................................................................... 19 7.16 Photo and Other Media Rights ............................................................................ 19 7.17 Winners Ceremony.............................................................................................. 19 7.18 ESL-provided Areas ............................................................................................ 19 8. Game Specific Rules Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ....................................... 20 8.1 Game version ...................................................................................................... 20 8.2 Anti-Cheat ........................................................................................................... 20 8.3 Map selection procedures .................................................................................... 20 Page 2 24 May 2019 8.3.1 Map pool ......................................................................................................... 20 8.3.2 Offline Stage ................................................................................................... 21 8.3.3 Best-of-One (Bo1) Matches ............................................................................ 21 8.3.4 Best-of-Three (Bo3) Matches .......................................................................... 21 8.3.5 Best-of-Five (Bo5) Matches ............................................................................ 22 8.4 Match settings ..................................................................................................... 22 8.5 Overtimes ............................................................................................................ 23 8.6 Match server ........................................................................................................ 23 8.7 In-Game chat ....................................................................................................... 23 8.8 Coaching ............................................................................................................. 23 8.8.1 Online Competition ......................................................................................... 23 8.8.2 Offline Competition .......................................................................................