RULES & REGULATIONS
INDEX
Behaviour Rules
§ 1 Maturity and Respect
§ 2 Cheating
Tournament Rules
§ 3 Tournament Format
§ 4 Scheduling
§ 5 Maps & Factions
Roster Rules
§ 6 Team Regulations
§ 7 Captaincy
§ 8 Team Rosters
§ 9 Player Names and ID's
§ 10 Multiteaming
Match Rules
§ 11 Match Server
§ 12 Referees
§ 13 Spectators
§ 14 Gathering Players
§ 15 Match Format
§ 16 Substitutions
§ 17 Tie Breaker
Appendices
[anchor=tagBehaviour]BEHAVIOUR RULES[/anchor]
[anchor=tag1]§ 1 Maturity and Respect[/anchor]
(1) Players should respect both the letter and the spirit of the rules. The responsibility for ensuring that this happens lies not with one individual - it involves captains, players and referees. It is through discipline, control and mutual respect that the spirit of the game flourishes and these are the qualities which forge the fellowship and sense of fair play essential to the game's ongoing success and survival.
(2) In order to maintain a serious and professional environment participants must be respectful and polite on the Nations Cup subboard, servers and streams. Every participant of the Nations Cup is advised to refrain from using language that is obscene, foul, vulgar, insulting, threatening, abusive, libelous, slanderous, defamatory or otherwise offensive or objectionable. If someone shows a poor attitude and displays rudeness or immaturity he or she will be punished by the tournament administration. The range of punishments reaches from a warning to a ban from of the tournament for players, depending on the weight of the incident, or respectively removal of streamer accreditation.
(3) Any team that uses, incites or benefits from disruption to the matches, practice sessions or organisation of other teams will face disciplinary action at the admins discretion, up to and including disqualification from the tournament.
[anchor=tag2]§ 2 Cheating[/anchor]
(1) It is strictly prohibited to gain an advantage by modifying texture files or using game modifications such as aimbots or autoblock. Every player that is found to have modified texture files or using game modifications will be banned from the tournament.
(2) Exceptions from § 2 I are listed in Appendix A. Requests for additional exceptions can be made towards the tournament administration in a provided thread.
(3) When requested by the match referee players must take a screenshot of their game view while holding any kind of ranged weapon or, if they have no ranged weapon, their melee weapon, spear or lance. Players should ensure the screenshot contains the referee message, the scoreboard and buildings or players. Concerned players must post their screenshot within 30 minutes of the match ending on the forums or send it to a tournament admin or the match referee. Failing to comply with any part of this rule will result in a one match ban for that player.
(4) If a player is found to have broken any of the rules during a match and the admins determine that a significant advantage was gained, that player’s team will forfeit the relevant rounds.
(5) The admin team reserves the right to decide on the final punishment for each specific case, in the case that a rule is broken.
[anchor=tagTournament]TOURNAMENT RULES[/anchor]
[anchor=tag3]§ 3 Tournament Format[/anchor]
(1) The Nations Cup consists of a group stage followed by a single elimination bracket. The winner of the final will be titled "Nations Cup Champions".
(2) The groups will be determined during a Draw Night. Teams competing will be put into different pots (four or five, depending on the number of sign ups), depending on their seeding. A team from each put will fill a group, meaning that teams in the same pot will not fight each other until the single elimination bracket. The selection will be done using a random number generator. The order of proceedings will begin with the put with the lowest seeded teams and work its way up to the pot with the highest seeded teams.
(3) The group phase will consists of a round robin in which each team plays each other team once. For every group phase match teams will be awarded with 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.
(4) At the completion of the group phase, teams in each group will be ranked one through five based on their cumulative points, and identified respectively as winner, runner-up, third, fourth and fifth. Winner and runner-up advance to the quarter finals of the upper bracket; third fourth goes to the lower bracket; and fifth is eliminated from the tournament.
(5) If at the completion of the group stage two or more teams are level on points, then the following criteria shall be used in the following order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked.
[list type=decimal]
[*]The winner of the group stage match between the two tied teams shall be the higher ranked.
[*]The team which has the best difference between rounds won and rounds lost.
[*]The team which has won most rounds.
[*]The team which has lost least rounds.
[*]Should the tie still be unresolved after these steps the teams must play again to determine the outcome of the group. In case of a tie after the regular match time, tie breaker rules as per § 17 apply.
[/list]
(6) The quarter finals of the upper bracket shall be determined as follows. The teams winning their quarter final matches will advance to the semi finals, the teams losing their quarter final match goes down the lower bracket. The lower bracket follows the same system, but for the lower bracket; the winner of the lowerbracket match, faces the loser of the upperbracket match.
Quarter finals
Semi-finals
Winner & Losers Finals
Grand Final
- Upper-Bracket Quarter Final 1: Winner Group A vs. Runner-Up Group D
- Upper-Bracket Quarter Final 2: Winner Group B vs. Runner-Up Group C
- Upper-Bracket Quarter Final 3: Winner Group C vs. Runner-Up Group B
- Upper-Bracket Quarter Final 4: Winner Group D vs. Runner-Up Group A
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 1st leg 1: Third Group A vs. Fourth Group D
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 1st leg 2: Third Group B vs. Fourth Group C
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 1st leg 3: Third Group C vs. Fourth Group B
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 1st leg 4: Third Group D vs. Fourth Group A
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 2nd leg 1: Winner LBQF 1st leg 1 vs. Loser UPQF 4
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 2nd leg 2: Winner LBQF 1st leg 2 vs. Loser UPQF 3
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 2nd leg 3: Winner LBQF 1st leg 3 vs. Loser UPQF 2
- Lower-Bracket Quarter Final 2nd leg 4: Winner LBQF 1st leg 4 vs. Loser UPQF 1
Semi-finals
- Upper-Bracket Semi Final 1: Winner Quarter Final 1 vs. Winner Quarter Final 2
- Upper-Bracket Semi Final 2: Winner Quarter Final 3 vs. Winner Quarter Final 4
- Lower-Bracket Semi Final 1st leg 1: Winner LBQF 2nd Leg 1 vs. Winner LBQF 2nd Leg 4
- Lower-Bracket Semi Final 1st leg 2: Winner LBQF 2nd Leg 2 vs. Winner LBQF 2nd Leg 3
- Lower-Bracket Semi Final 2nd leg 1: Winner LBSF 1st Leg 1 vs. Loser UPSF 2
- Lower-Bracket Semi Final 2nd leg 2: Winner LBSF 1st Leg 2 vs. Loser UPSF 1
Winner & Losers Finals
- Upper-Bracket Winners Final: Winner UPSF 1 vs. Winner UPSF 2
- Lower-Bracket Losers Final 1st Leg: Winner LBSF 2nd Leg 1 vs. Winner LBSF 2nd Leg 2
- Lower-Bracket Losers Final 2nd Leg: Winner LBLF 1st Leg vs. Loser UBWF
Grand Final
- Grand Final: Winner UPWF vs. Winner LBLF
[anchor=tag4]§ 4 Scheduling[/anchor]
(1) Team captains should post in the scheduling thread for each week by Wednesday, 19:00 GMT, either the agreed time and date of that week's match or the days and times they are available to play if they have been unable to agree or to contact their opponent.
(2) Should the opponent not respond or not post compatible times the admins reserve the right to schedule the match.
(3) Teams are not allowed to agree a date that falls after the deadline for their official match unless allowed by the tournament administration.
[anchor=tag5]§ 5 Maps & Factions[/anchor]
(1) During the group stage maps and factions are determined in advance for each week using a random number generator. Each fixture includes one closed and one open map.
(2) For each knockout match maps will be picked by the teams themselves during a pick night held on Tuesday. Factions will be determined in advance by the tournament administration using a random number generator.
(3) The list of the maps and factions used are listed in Appendix B.
[anchor=tagRoster]ROSTER RULES[/anchor]
[anchor=tag6]§ 6 Team Regulations[/anchor]
(1) Teams must consist of players from one nation. However, alliances may be permitted following an appeal to the admins. Permitted alliances are listed in Appendix C.
(2) Players are expected to play for their home nation. If a team fields a player that is not eligible to play for them they will face sanctions up to and including forfeiting any rounds in which that player participated.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Players new to the tournament with more than one 'home nation' may choose between them.
[*]Players who have participated before must play for the same nation as previously.
[*]Players who have participated for more than one team previously must play for the last nation they legitimately represented.
[*]If the team that a player previously represented has not entered the Nations Cup that player may request an alliance.
[/list]
[anchor=tag7]§ 7 Captaincy[/anchor]
(1) The tournament administration will leave the selection of the team captain to the respective national communities. If a community not able to pick their captain or resolve an issue regarding captaincy by themselves, they may request help or a decision over captaincy by the tournament administration.
(2) Captains are responsible for picking and organising their national teams, arranging matches and handling disputes concerning their team.
[anchor=tag8]§ 8 Team Rosters[/anchor]
(1) Every team has to provide the tournament administration with a roster consisting of eight or more players and their respective ingame IDs before the sign up deadline. Teams that fail to do so will not be entered into Draw night.
(2) Should a player not be on a roster and play for a team, that player, if eligible to play for that team, will be treated as a member of that team and will be added to their roster.
(3) Any player who has not yet played in a Nations Cup match may join their home nation as per §6.2 at any time and be added to their roster by the team captain, with confirmation from the player.
[anchor=tag9]§ 9 Player Names and ID's[/anchor]
(1) Each team member may be listed by one name only in the team roster.
(2) Players must play with the name they are signed up under in the team roster. If a player plays with a different name for the first time, he or she will be warned. For the second time he or she will be suspended for one match.
(3) Players must wear the team tag during official matches. If a player plays with a different tag for without one for the first time, he or she will be warned. For the second time he or she will be suspended for one match.
(4) Any game ID listed to a player in a team roster must be unique to that player. Players using a game ID that has been used by any other player at any point are not eligible to play.
[anchor=tag10]§ 10 Multiteaming[/anchor]
(1) It is strictly prohibited for a player to play for more than one team during the tournament. If a player is found to have played for more than one team at any point he or she will be banned for the rest of the tournament.
(2) Any teams the player does not belong to (i.e. a German playing for Germany and Wales at the same time), will be automatically disqualified (i.e. Wales being disqualified). If the player did not belong to any team to begin with, those teams will still be disqualified.
[anchor=tagMatch]MATCH RULES[/anchor]
[anchor=tag11]§ 11 Match Server[/anchor]
(1) All matches must be played on dedicated Nations Cup servers. It is not allowed to play an official tournament match on another server, unless a tournament administrator agreed beforehand. Teams that play on a server other than a Nations Cup server without permission will be deducted 3 points in the group stage or automatically scheduled to replay 24 hours after the match start in the knockout stage on a dedicated Nations Cup server, however this consequence will be remitted if, within 24 hours of the match start, they provide the tournament administration with the complete server logs of the match day.
(2) Both teams have to agree to play on a particular server. If the teams cannot agree on a particular server, they have to ask a referee or tournament administrator for a decision. The decided server between cross-continent matches will be decided by an admin.
(3) Whilst booking a server is not mandatory, teams that booked a particular server have priority to play on this server even if other teams are already playing there or want to play there. The team that did not book the server has to leave the server if the other team forces them to do so. Teams that refuse to leave the server even though another team with higher priority wants to play on this server will be deducted three points.
(4) The following server settings have to be used during official matches: Combat Speed: Medium, Friendly Fire: %100, Round Time: 180 seconds, Game Type: Battle, Respawn time: 8 seconds, Gold: All set to %100, Camera: team member’s view, forced MoF spawn at 2 minutes 20 Seconds.
[anchor=tag12]§ 12 Referees[/anchor]
Referees are available on request but are not mandatory. Requests for a referee can be made towards the Administrator for Referees by either team's captain or a potential streamer.
[anchor=tag13]§ 13 Spectators[/anchor]
(1) Spectators from both teams are allowed by default. However, if one team requests to have no spectators their request must be granted and all spectators have to leave the server. Should a player refuse to leave the server, documented by footage for example, he or she will be suspended for one official match.
(2) External spectators, so players that do not belong to either team, have to ask for permission from both captains to spectate the match. Should an external spectator join with the tag of either team trying to appear as one of their players, he will be suspended for one official match given he is playing in the tournament.
(3) Spectating the match by joining a team after the spawn period is not allowed at any given point. If a player found spectating by joining a team, documented by footage for example, he will be suspended for one match.
(4) Tournament administrators do not need to get permission to spectate a game.
(5) Referees and accredited streamers do not need to get permission to spectate a game, but they have to notify the relevant teams before joining (this can be done in the match thread).
(6) Accredited streamers will be listed in Appendix D.
(7) Non accredited streamers may stream with the agreement of either both captains or an admin.
[anchor=tag14]§ 14 Gathering Players[/anchor]
(1) Both teams have 15 minutes to gather their players on the agreed server. If a team fails to turn up with at least five players 15 minutes after the agreed match start, the other team has to contact an admin immediately and will be awarded a default win. A team that fails to turn up with at least 5 players for the first time will be given a warning, the second time they will be suspended from the tournament.
(2) Teams are not obligated to wait more than 10 minutes between maps and sets. Teams are allowed to enforce a restart after these periods of waiting.
[anchor=tag15]§ 15 Match Format[/anchor]
(1) The team shown on the left side of the fixture is Team A, the map shown on the left side of the fixture is Map A and the faction shown on the left side of the fixture is Faction A.
(2) Each match consists of 2 sets played on each of 2 maps, thus 4 sets in total. After the first set on each map the teams will swap spawns and factions. Each set will be won by the team that is the first to win 3 rounds. Each match will be won by the team with the most number of rounds at the end of 4 sets.
(3) The team shown on the left side of the fixtures starts on the first spawn on the first map, and on the second spawn on the second map. Except in the case of home/away this may be changed if both teams agree, either through specific agreement or implied action.
(4) In the event of home/away, Team A will play set 1 and set 4 on their home server and therefore sets 2 and 3 on an away server (home/away/away/home). Team A is the first team in the fixture.
(5) Each team may field up to 8 players. Teams with less than 8 players may play on or forfeit the match. The other team is under no obligation to match the other team's numbers. A team is not allowed to go under 5 players at any given point. If a team goes under 5 players they have to forfeit the match, and the remaining rounds will be added in favour of their opponent to the final score.
(6) In the case of a default, rounds played are recorded as played, unplayed rounds are recorded as the defaulter losing all remaining rounds.
(7) Each team captain is responsible for ensuring that a screenshot is made of each set result. Captains must be able to produce such screenshots should they be requested to do so by a tournament admin. In the case of a dispute the team that cannot produce a screenshot will forfeit disputed rounds.
[anchor=tag16]§ 16 Substitutions[/anchor]
(1) Substitution is defined as replacing a player who has not spawned. Substitutions may be made at any point except during the spawn time (first 30 seconds) of any round.
(2) If a player times out or crashes from the server, a replacement may be made. However, the equipment of the dropped player may not be picked up by any member of the same team.
[anchor=tag17]§ 17 Tie Breaker[/anchor]
Due to the nature of the tournament, every match after the group phase may not end in a draw. Should a knockout match end in a tie after regular time, the teams must play a tie breaker as follows.
- The tiebreaker has to be played on Winterburg. Each team will choose their faction from the factions listed in Appendix B. The tiebreaker is a first to three, meaning the first team that wins three rounds wins the tiebreaker and thus the match. The standard match size for tiebreakers is 8v8 unless both teams agree to play with more or less players.
- In case of home/away 3 rounds will be played on the NA server and 3 rounds on the EU server. The winner will be determined by total rounds won. Should this still be a draw, teams will play another 3 rounds with the same setup on each server. Should this still be a draw, teams may reschedule if both captain agree, however the match must be completed before a deadline set by the tournament administration.
