FOREWARD

Our intention for this tournament is to provide a highly competitive and highly organized
outlet for players under diamond SR to play Overwatch as it was meant to be played. For
Season 1, most teams will be entering the tournament with a previously established core. The
remainder of teams will be built by the tournament officials in tandem with a committee of
coaches. The goals for many amateur tournaments are to teach players the fundamentals of
organized play. Our tournament, however, is meant to utilize those fundamentals over a longer
season while providing a highly competitive but flexible environment. In order to keep this
tournament as competitive as possible, prize pools will be added in coming seasons. Season 1
is mostly to test the tournament’s infrastructure and to insure its strength before prizes are on
the line.
In making these rules, we borrowed a lot from both many other amateur tournaments as
well as the Overwatch League itself. We want to find a balance between being flexible and fun
as well as fostering serious competition. We want you to test these rules and give us feedback
on what you think works and doesn’t work. As mentioned, Season 1 is a trial season: it is meant
to solidify the rules. By participating in Season 1, you will be able to help shape the future of this
tournament. It also provides security for your teams, as in future seasons, we will be more
selective when it comes to expanding to include new teams.
For broadcasting, the plan is to run this tournament primarily during Overwatch
tournament’s offseason so that we may stream our matches during weekends. We are working
to put together broadcasting duos to regularly cast matches to create a sort of familiarization
with the tournament and its players. These broadcasts as well as your own VODs should be
used to scout teams and help elevate the level of play on a week to week basis.
This tournament will be more of a marathon than a sprint. We want to provide everyone
the chance to play while also understanding real life does get in the way. That’s why we’ve
decided to include larger rosters as well as an inactive list. This will allow players and teams to
adjust for burnout or availability issues. At the end of the day we want everyone to really look
forward to participating and be hungry to compete without feeling overwhelmed. This
tournament will be a commitment; but if you ever wanted to play or coach in a super organized
and competitive environment, this is your tournament.
As we gear up for the inaugural season, take some time to read through what’s here and
give us any feedback or ideas you may have to help improve these rules. We plan to start the
preseason in early June moving into our regular season as OWL ends. If you know anyone who
would like to be a part of this in any capacity (player, coach, referee, tournament official, or
caster) let us know.
1.0 ROSTERS
1.1 Level and SR requirements
1.2 Roster size
1.3 Roster requirements
1.4 Substitutes
1.5 Roster changes
1.6 Player Pool
1.7 Coaches
1.8 Inactive list

2.0​ ​SEASON STRUCTURE

2.1 Divisions
2.2 Scheduling
2.3 Regular Season
2.4 Playoffs
2.5 Preseason
2.6 Prize Pool
2.7 Blizzard Tournament License
2.8 Broadcasting

3.0 PLAYING THE GAME

3.1 Regulation Match
3.2 Map pools
3.3 Substitutions
3.4 Pauses

4.0 IMPROPER PLAY AND MISCONDUCT

4.1 Smurfing
4.2 Bug Exploits
4.3 Tardiness
4.4 Cheating Programs
4.5 Collusion

5.0 REFEREES
5.1 Authority
5.2 Scoring Matches
5.3 Roster Verification
 1.0 ROSTERS

1.1 Players in the tournament must not be lower than level 100. There is no minimum SR.
However, at signup, no player’s SR can be above 2700. During the course of the season,
players SR may rise to 2999. If a player’s SR reaches 3000+ they will be rendered ineligible to
complete the season. They will, however, be allowed to finish the remainder of the stage
currently being played.

1.2 Roster size is capped at a maximum of 10 players. Official rosters must be submitted prior to
the first match. Players may be on multiple rosters only in the preseason, For regular season
matches, players may not be on multiple rosters. Teams must adhere to an average SR for their
roster at the beginning of a each half of the season. This will be decided prior to the preseason.

1.3 In order to remain on a roster, players must participate in at least 5 maps during a stage.
Players who do not meet that requirement will be removed from the roster and placed in the
available player’s pool.

1.4 Non-roster substitutes will be available for scrims and preseason matches only.

1.5 Roster changes, ie adding or dropping players from a roster, may only occur between
stages.

1.6 The tournament will accept new player sign ups indefinitely. Teams may only add registered
players to their teams during the breaks in between stages. After being approved, new players
will be eligible to be picked up by teams. Players removed from rosters (by their own choice or
by their teams) will be added back to the player pool where teams will have access to sign them
during the appropriate phase.

1.7 There are no restrictions for coaches. Teams may employ however many they would like.
There must, however, be a head coach. The head coach will also serve as the main
representative of his or her team to the tournament. The primary responsibility as a
representative is to make sure rosters are kept in order and up to date with the tournament.
Teams may choose to forgo having a coach entirely but must elect one person to serve as the
representative.

1.8 Teams may keep an inactive list of up to 3 players. These lists must be submitted to the
tournament prior to every stage. Players on the inactive list are still considered a part of their
team but will be ineligible to play during a stage where they are marked inactive.
 2.0 SEASON STRUCTURE

2.1 The tournament will divided into two divisions. The first criteria for dividing the tournament
will be time zones. If there aren’t enough teams to divide by time zones, teams will be divided
randomly.

2.2 Teams will play two matches a week on separate dates. Dates and times TBD. Teams will
play each team in their own division 4 times a season or once a stage. Each team will also play
1 interdivisional match each stage.

2.3 The tournament will mirror that of the Overwatch League wherein it is divided into 2 halves
each containing 2 stages. Each stage will have a distinct map pool. In a 16 team tournament,
each team will play 6 matches in a stage. Each stage will last 3 weeks. There will be a break of
7 days between the two halves to mitigate burnout. Standings reset after the 1st half. The total
season length including playoffs is estimated at 4 months, in this case June-September.

2.4 Playoffs will occur at the end of the regular season. The winners of the first and second
halves will receive automatic #1 seeds in the playoffs as well as a first round bye. The remaining
playoff pool will be decided by overall season standings. In a 16 team tournament, 8 teams will
make the playoffs. 3 from each division. The #2 and #3 seeds will play a match to determine
who faces the #1 seed in the semi finals. In the event of a tie, map differential will serve as the
first tie break and head to head score will be the second. The winners of the semi final round will
face off in the championship.

2.5 The Preseason will occur 1 week before the start of the regular season. Teams may choose
whether or not to participate. These matches will essentially be highly organized scrims. Aside
from player requirements, there are no restrictions on rosters or thier size. This gives teams a
chance to trial players in an organized manner.

2.6 There are plans to incorporate a prize pool in the future. Season 1 will not have a prize pool.

2.7 We will be working to acquire a custom Blizzard tournament license for no later than the
start of Season 2.

2.8 There will be an effort to have each match streamed on twitch by the official tournament
page. Teams and players may broadcast their matches as well as long as a delay of no less
than 3 minutes is applied.
 3.0 PLAYING THE GAME

3.1 Similar to the Overwatch League, a regulation match will consist of 4 maps. In the event of
a tie, a previously selected KoTH map will played. Only players, referees, and up to 2 coaches
will be permitted in the lobby. Teams with rosters larger than 6 are permitted to have their
additional players spectate.

3.2 Map pools will be predetermined and stage specific. They will contain one of each map type
as well as a KoTH tie breaker. Playoff map pools will be round specific and decided by random
draw.

3.3 Substitutions may occur between maps only. Teams are allowed and encouraged to cycle
players throughout a match. No substitutes will be permitted in between rounds or once a map
loads.

3.4 Pauses will be granted by the referees for disconnections, technical difficulties, or any other
immediate issue in which a player is unable to play. Pauses may last no longer than 5 minutes.
Referees will give a one minute warning prior to resuming the match. Each team is limited to 3
pauses in a match. These pauses may not be used during team fights or for strategic purposes.
 4.0 IMPROPER PLAY AND MISCONDUCT

4.1 Smurfing is strictly prohibited. Teams will be responsible for vetting and evaluating their
players. Any suspicions should be reported to officials for further evaluation. Any teams found to
be ​knowingly ​harboring a smurf or smurfs will be stripped of any compromised matches. In the
case of a previously unknown smurf being detected, the tournament will evaluate transparently
on a case by case basis.

4.2 Bug exploits are strictly prohibited. Players found using bug exploits will be suspended for
one stage for the first offense followed by a permanent suspension for any repeated violation.

4.3 Teams and officials are expected to the begin their matches on time. A grace period of 15
minutes will be granted. Teams may mutually agree to extend that period if they so choose. A
team that is more than 15 minutes late will forfeit the map of their opponents choosing. After 25
minutes, the offending team will forfeit the entire match.

4.4 Cheating programs or software is strictly prohibited. Any player found using an illegal
program or software will be banned from the tournament. Any teams found complicit will forfeit
all wins which resulted from using said programs and software.

4.5 Teams are forbidden from trying to acquire players from other teams’ rosters in the
tournament. They are also forbidden from fixing matches with other teams. The punishment for
player collusion is a suspension for the player and restricted access to the player pool as well
for the team. For match collusion the punishment will be the forfeiting of wins.
 5.0 REFEREES

5.1 Referees are present for enforcement of the rules. Those rules include roster verification,
cheat or exploit identification, and match management, e.g., pauses. The decisions of referees
cannot be challenged during a match. If there are concerns, matches may be played under
protest for the tournament to review after the conclusion of the match.

5.2 Referees will record the match scores as well as map score for every map played. Those
scores will be used to dictate season standings as well as playoff seeding.

5.3 Before a match can begin, referees must verify each team’s entire roster to ensure all
players in the match are eligible.