Rules and Format

General Information

Returning coordinators, these are some of the changes to this season’s rules: [top]

• Lineups are due earlier than in the previous season, giving teams more time to prepare for opponents. Saturday matches will be due Monday and Sunday matches due Tuesday.
• Note: playoffs will default to Sunday matches every week, so prepare your schedules ahead of time for the change if applicable
• Every set (except ace) is to be played simultaneously, and without observers. This is in order to both speed up play time to accommodate the change to 2 games a week as well prevent ghosting. Note: both teams may agree to allow observers/casters, but in doing so they will lose their right to contest a result based on ghosting or stream cheating.
• Teams are allowed 3 subs for the entire season (max 1 per match, both 2v2 players count as 1). Extra subs must be explicitly allowed by opponent and appropriately documented for proof.
• Disconnected players have 5 minutes to reconnect and 3 disconnections will automatically forfeit the set
• For 2v2 disconnected games, random players must re-pick the race rolled if opponent has seen their race

Eligibility

Team Eligibility [top]

• Each team must belong to an accredited college or university with a physical address (Online universities are ineligible) Each university must offer at least a two-year degree program Each team must have a minimum of 5 players who are all students at the same university
• SOME exceptions are possible: this will be handled on a case-by-case basis
• If a school or university has a population of less than 5,000, a player may request to join the team of a near-by university. CSL administrators however, will examine each request on a case-by-case basis to determine whether such a move will be allowed.
• Factors of determination include, but are not limited to: the requesting student’s level of skill, the possibility of forming a team at his or university, the average skill of the neighboring university, and the potential of rule-abuse
• Coordinators are responsible for ensuring that all members of the team follow the guidelines outlined in the section “PLAYER ELIGIBLITY” below
• Each of the Top 16 teams in the league must submit a letter using his or her universities letterhead, signed by the dean of the college or university or otherwise appropriate authority figure stating that all competing members of the team are valid, full time students
• Failure to submit this letter to CSL administration will result in disqualification and forfeiture of any and all prize money

Player Eligibility [top]

• Each player must be currently enrolled in a university with a valid university email address
• Players NOT registered as current students can be considered for eligibility under special circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Exceptions can typically be made for players from especially small schools, with a total student population of less than 5000, and that are affiliated with larger universities, such as a community college with a direct feeder program to a nearby 4-year university.
• Players cannot be suspended by CSL for previous infractions outside of the CSL.
• Players must be registered with valid names, school emails, and Battle.net IDs.
• Player registration is open until playoffs.
• Players can only play for one school.
• Each player must not be on academic probation
• Each player must be enrolled as a full time student (a minimum of 12 credit hours, or 3-4 classes, depending on the university’s requirements)
• Players with a professional gaming license are not eligible to participate (e.g. a player with a KeSPA license is ineligible) Players who have spent more than 1 year living in a professional gaming or team house are not eligible to participate Each player must be able to provide proof of education in the form of: school ID, transcripts, and current class schedule if requested
• The CSL staff will check the records of all players who qualify for the playoffs and may ask for these documents at any time during the season
• Failure to provide proof of education will result in the player in question being banned from the league: his matches may or may not be overturned as well.

Format

Teams will compete against each other in one to two weekly matches throughout the season. [top]

• Default times for matches are either Saturday 12:00 and 1:30pm PST OR Sunday 12:00 and 1:30pm PST.
• The form of competition is StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.
• The format of each match is three 1v1s, one 2v2, and one 1v1 closing ace match with unannounced players. The match goes to the team that first gets to three wins in order by lineup.
• Set 1: 1v1
• Set 2: 1v1
• Set 3: 2v2
• Set 4: 1v1
• Set 5: 1v1 Ace
• The playoffs will expand the best of 5 into a best of 7 series, with sets 6 and 7 being 1v1.
• Players MUST be fielded according to the submitted lineup (unless a substitution is used).
• Random racing is allowed.
• Double racing is NOT allowed in 2v2. However, RR, RZ, RP, and RT are allowed.
• Playing two different races in one match is allowed. You must play the race that you specify during lineup submission.
• The first four sets of the match must have 5 unique players from each team.
• A player can play at most twice in one match: once in sets 1-4 and again in the ace match. If playing again in the ace match, the player does not need to play as the same race as the previous game.

Substitutions and Forfeits [top]

• Teams will be allowed 3 subs for the entire season.
• Only 1 substitution is allowed per match, and substitutes must be the same race as the original player specified in the lineup. Extra subs must be explicitly allowed by opposing team and appropriately documented for proof. Subbing out both 2v2 players counts as 1 substitution.
• Substitutes cannot be chosen from the lineup of the match that they are substituting for.
• No set swapping is allowed (e.g. subbing player out of set 1 and into set 2).
• Teams with more than two match forfeits or a total of ten set forfeits will be removed from the league for the remainder of the season.

Season Organization [top]

• Lineups are due earlier than last season. Deadlines are Monday for Saturday matches and Tuesday for Sunday matches
• Teams will only have two late lineup warnings (less than 24hr late) before set forfeit penalties are incurred.
• Only players added on or before the last week of the regular season play are allowed to be fielded in the playoffs.
• In the playoffs, the same rules and procedures as during the regular season will apply.

Administrative Rules [top]

• Each team will have a coordinator that is responsible for organizing his or her team, submitting lineups and results, and serving as a point of contact with CSL staff and other coordinators. Lineups are due 5 days before the date of the match, by 11:59pm PST; thus, a game played on Sunday must have the match submitted no later than Tuesday night at 11:59pm PST, and likewise a Monday deadline for Saturday matches. They may be submitted and/or changed by the team coordinator at any point before the deadline.
• Each division's matches will have a pre-set date and time (see schedule). Matches must be played at the default time unless both teams agree to play their matches beforehand. No matches can be postponed. Exceptions may be granted on a case by case basis upon detailed review by CSL administrative staff.
• Teams are considered no-shows 15 minutes after the proposed time, and are given an automatic set forfeit. This counts the same as a loss.
• IN ORDER TO CLAIM A FORFEIT WIN: provide details and proof and email to admin@cstarleague.com, have the opposing coordinator confirm by CCing the other coordinator.
• Teams will no longer be allowed to intentionally drop a player in the 2v2 set to "mineral feed" their teammate. Players who drop before 5:00 minutes will be considered intentional droppers, and the game will be remade. If you continue to play after 5:00 minutes with the intention to attack using shared resources, it will be a forfeit for the "feeding" team.
• Match results, replays, and a recommendation for the best replay must be uploaded to the website immediately after the match is played. A first instance of late reports will cause a warning, a second instance will result in the late-reported matches being considered null (0-0 for both teams), and a third instance will result in one loss added to the team's record (0-3 replaces the match results for both teams). This rule will be strictly enforced this season.
• Late lineups submitted within a 24-hr grace period will result in a warning for the first two offenses. Any subsequent late lineups will be given an automatic ace loss. For every 24h after the ace loss, another set loss will be recorded in an ascending fashion. If the lineup has not been submitted by the time of the match, it is an automatic match loss.
• Because lineups are locked after their deadline, please submit late lineups via email to admin@cstarleague.com. Include player handles and races as well as set numbers.
• If assistance is needed, please email admin@cstarleague.com. For live assistance, there will be an admin available on battle.net.

Gameplay Rules [top]

• All games will take place on Battle.net North American server
• All games are to be played in game mode 1v1 (except for the Set 3, 2v2 match, of course) and game speed Faster.
• Every set is to be played SIMULTANEOUSLY (other than ACE match) and without observers during normal procedures (CSL reserves rights to observe any game). Teams may agree to allow observers/casters, but by doing so, they will also waive their right to contest the match results due to observer ghosting or stream cheating.
• Streams should be on 5m delay, with both teams consenting, and only the streamer may observe, in order to minimize cheating PLEASE NOTE: any time a game is streamed there is the potential for cheating.
• In-game chat should be limited to pp, ppp, or related (for PAUSING the game) and gg, good game or related (for ENDING the game). Players can ask to remake the game in the first 30 seconds if there are latency issues. Note: This rule is not meant to be strict; however, if a player asks for chat to stop, his request must be obliged. Continuing to chat will result in a set loss, the player is not even allowed to acknowledge the stop request; if even one more chat line is sent, the player can leave and claim a forfeit
• PROCEDURAL NOTE: To claim a set win, please request politely: "please stop chatting or I am reporting you for a chatting violation," and then do not respond to further provocations by other players. If the other player continues to chat and BM, it would be perfectly acceptable to, at that point, leave the game and send us the unfinished game replay to claim a win. In the case that a player is unintentionally dropped, there will be a rematch to determine the winner. In case a game clearly has a winner as determined by CSL staff, the set point will go to that winner. This rule does not pertain to intentionally dropped games.
• Disconnected players have 5 minutes to reconnect before forced to sub or forfeit the set.
• 3 Disconnections becomes automatic forfeit.
• For 2v2 disconnected games, random players must pick the race they rolled the first time if scouted/engaged.
• Money feeding is established as legal, however, teams will no longer be allowed to intentionally drop a player in the 2v2 set to "mineral feed" their teammate before mineral feeding is allowed at the 5:00 minute mark. Doing so will result in a forfeit for the violating team.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember, results will stand if you play through the game. If there are problems or issues (lag, chat violations, etc) that call for a regame or forfeit, please pause the game and ask for a CSL admin. If you play through the game, you CANNOT retroactively request regames or forfeits (unless both teams agree on a regame).

Bannable Offenses [top]

• Smurfing, maphacking, observer hacking, in-game coaching, and any type of behavior that gives an unfair advantage to a player can be grounds for a permanent player ban.
• Severe BM both ingame and outside the game will be treated as harassment and may lead to being suspended or banned, based on severity.
• Depending on how far the season has progressed, the player's team will either be given a match loss or be disqualified from the league (if it is discovered that the player has been using an unfair advantage throughout the season).