ZOTAC StarCraft II NA Cup Rules & Regulations
- General
1.1 Tournament
The ZOTAC StarCraft II Cup is a one day tournament on a weekly basis and will be called "ZOTAC Cup" in the following.
1.2 Participants
Everybody who owns a legal copy of the game is allowed to participate in the ZOTAC Cup and will be called a "participant" in the following.
1.3 Referees
Everybody who is authorised by Freaks 4U Gaming to administrate the ZOTAC Cup based on its rules and regulations will be called a “referee” in the following.
1.4 Commitments
1.4.1 Every participant has to own a legal copy of StarCraft II with a North American Battle.Net Account to participate in the ZOTAC StarCraft II Cup.
1.4.2 By attending the ZOTAC Cup participants acknowledge without limitation to comply with the rules and regulations of the ZOTAC Cup and with the decisions made by the referees. The application of these rules and regulations is at the sole discretion by the referees. Any decision may supersede the following rules and regulations to preserve the spirit of competition. Participants have to obey instructions made by the referees.
1.4.3 Every participant acknowledges the right for Freaks 4U Gaming to modify the rules and regulations for adjustments at any time without notice.
1.4.4 Every participant has to show the needed respect towards other participants and referees. Insults and unfair or disrespectful behaviour towards referees and other participants are not tolerated and will be punished with penalty points and/or an immediate disqualification for a certain period of time from the ZOTAC Cup.
1.4.5 Every participant has to be available during the ZOTAC Cup until elimination. Longer absence due to well-founded reasons needs the approval of the referees.
1.4.6 Every participant has to be at least 14 years old.
1.5 Game Account
1.5.1 Every participant is bound to enter their North American StarCraft II Account (nickname.identifier) that is used to participate in the ZOTAC Cup to their profile. Real-ID emails will not be accepted and may results in immediate disqualification from the ZOTAC Cup.
1.5.2 Every participant is responsible to update their game account if they use a new game account to participate. It is forbidden to use a different game account than the one mentioned in the profile and it may result in immediate disqualification from the ZOTAC Cup.
1.5.3 It is forbidden for participants to play with a smurf game account if they cover up their known synonym. Using a smurf account will result in a disqualification from the ZOTAC Cup for three (3) months. By repeatedly disregarding this rule a participant will be barred for lifetime from the ZOTAC Cup.
1.5.4 It is forbidden for participants to use several accounts for the same ZOTAC Cup and will result in a disqualification from the ZOTAC Cup for three (3) months. By repeatedly disregarding this rule a participant will be barred for lifetime from the ZOTAC Cup.
1.5.5 By attending the ZOTAC Cup participants acknowledge the visibility of their game account for third party individuals. - Competition Format
2.1. Pool System
2.1.1 The ZOTAC Cup is played in a single Elimination pool system in “Best-of-One” (Bo1) mode until the quarterfinals.
2.1.2 Every participant that advances to the next round will face another participant randomly.
2.1.3 Well-known participants might be seeded by the referees before the tournament starts to ensure that top players will not eliminate each other in the early stages of the ZOTAC Cup.
2.2. Grid
2.2.1 Starting with the quarterfinals a single elimination grid will be used. The grid will be arranged by the referees after all previous rounds are closed.
2.2.2 The quarter- and semifinals are played in “Best-of-Three” (Bo3) mode.
2.2.3 The final is played in “Best-of-Five” (Bo5) mode.
2.2.4 Starting with quarterfinals participants are not allowed to play other tournaments at the same time in order to prevent delays in the tournament. If a player gives default win to the opposing participant in order to play another tournament, he will not receive ranking points for the Monthly Final.
2.3. Monthly Final
2.3.1 After each month a Monthly Final will be held with the best sixteen (16) participants from the European and North American ZOTAC Cup. Participants can gather ranking points in order to qualify for the Monthly Final.
2.3.2 In case a participant forfeits his match, the participant only earns the ranking points from the previous round.
2.3.3 Ranking PointsCup winner: 5 Points Runner up: 3 Points Semi-finalist: 2 Points Quarter-finalist: 1 Point
2.3.3 Prize Money Distribution for the Monthly Final1st Place: 500 Euro 2nd Place: 200 Euro 3rd Place: 100 Euro - Match Regulations
3.1 Game Settings
3.1.1 All matches will be played on the North American StarCraft II Server with the latest game patch of “StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm”.
3.1.2 The match settings have to fulfil the following specifications:- Category: Melee
- Mode: 1on1
- Game Speed: Faster
- Locked Alliances: Yes
3.2 Hosting
3.2.1 One of both players hosts the match during the early stages of the ZOTAC Cup. A referee is always allowed to host any match or to be promoted as host if the referee requests it.
3.2.2 A referee hosts the matches for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. It is forbidden to start a match without a referee and will not count at this stage of the ZOTAC Cup. The match has to be replayed with a referee present.
3.2.3 The host is allowed to start the match when both participants are ready. If a referee is present in the match his approval to start the match is also necessary.
3.2.4 If the host picks the wrong map the match has to be replayed with the correct map. Both participants have to check if the correct map is hosted. A protest after the match is played for one (1) minute will be turned down.
3.2.5 If one of the participants has temporary problems during the match he has to tell this to the opposing participant by taking a timeout. If the problem cannot be fixed a referee has to be included.
3.3 Mappool & Mapvoting
3.3.1 The mappool consists of the following seven (7) maps:- Whirlwind LE
- Star Station
- Neo Planet S LE
- Derelict Watcher TE
- Bel'Shir Vestige LE
- Akilon Wastes
- Daybreak
3.3.2 Mapvotes will be done before the match starts. In case of “Best-of-Three” (Bo3) or “Best-of-Five” (Bo5) mode a referee has to be involved.
3.3.2.1 For "Best-of-One" (Bo1) each participant eliminates three (3) maps (A-B-A-B-A-B) with A being the participant that is mentioned first (1st) and B being the participant that is mentioned second (2nd) in the matchdetails. The remaining map will be played.
3.3.2.2 For "Best-of-Three" (Bo3) each participant eliminates two (2) maps (A-B-A-B) with A being the participant that is mentioned first (1st) and B being the participant that is mentioned second (2nd) in the matchdetails. The order of the remaining three (3) maps is decided by A picking the first (1st) map and B picking the second (2nd) map of the series. The remaining map is the third (3rd) map if necessary.
3.3.2.3 For "Best-of-Five" (Bo5) each participant eliminates one (1) maps (A-B-A-B) with A being the participant that is mentioned first (1st) and B being the participant that is mentioned second (2nd) in the matchdetails. The order of the remaining five (5) maps is decided by alternately picking one (1) map until only one (1) map is left (A-B-A-B). The participant mentioned first (1st) in the matchdetails starts with the procedure. The remaining map is the fifth (5th) map if necessary.
3.3.3 Short overview for the mapvoting procedure:- Bo1: veto (A-B-A-B-A-B); 1 map remains
- Bo3: veto (A-B-A-B); pick (A-B); 3rd map remains
- Bo5: veto (A-B); pick (A-B-A-B); 5th map remains
- A is mentioned first (1st) in the matchdetails
- B is mentioned second (2nd) in the matchdetails
3.3.4 A map may only be played once during “Best-of-Three” (Bo3) or “Best-of-Five” (Bo5).
3.4 Match Results
After finishing a match the losing participant has to report his defeat on the website. If the result is not entered in an adequate period of time it will be punished with one (1) penalty point.
3.5 Replays
3.5.1 Every participant has to save and keep replays until the tournament is finished in case they are requested by the referees for analysis. If participants are not able to provide replays it will be punished with one (1) penalty point.
3.5.2 By participating in the ZOTAC Cup every participant agrees that all replays of the regarding tournament may be distributed to the coverage partners.
3.6 Disconnects
3.6.1 In case of disconnects in the first 4 minutes of the match, it will be restarted if there was no first-opponent-contact. The participants have to involve a referee if the problem appears frequently.
3.6.2 If a participant disconnects after 4 minutes into the match, it is the choice of the opposing participant whether the match will be restarted or not. A referee has to be informed in any case!
3.6.3 If the disconnected participant obviously won the match, the replay must be uploaded to a referee who then will decide whether the match will be restarted or not.
3.6.4 For the rematch participants have to choose the same races as in the first match. In the case of random races participants have to choose the race that was chosen by the game in the previous match.
3.7 Defwins
Under the following circumstances participants are allowed to claim defwins by creating a support ticket:- The opposing participant does not show up until 15 minutes after the match was created on the ZOTAC Cup webpage and might be punished with one (1) penalty point. Referees are allowed to increase/decrease this deadline under certain circumstances.
- The opposing participant has entered an invalid or different game account in his profile and might be punished with one (1) penalty point. Referees are allowed to set a deadline in order for the participant to change his game account properly.
- The opposing participant is not available on Battle.net due to the privacy setting "Only allow friends to send me chat messages" and did not contact the opposing participant until 15 minutes after the match was created on the ZOTAC Cup webpage.
- Coverage
4.1 In general observers are permitted unless one participant forbids it.
4.2 Referees, official broadcasting partners (videostreams) and coverage partners are always permitted to observe any match.
4.3 Official broadcasting partners (videostreams) have to set a delay of one (1) minute.
4.4 In case an observer is lagging participants have the right to tell them to leave the game in order to preserve the competitive environment.
4.4.1 Official coverage partners, broadcasting partners and referees have to follow this demand as well.
4.4.2 In case referees have to leave a match participants have to provide replays immediate after the match if it is requested. - Cheats & Barring
5.1 The use of cheats, maphacks, third-party-tools or violations against rule 4.2 is strictly forbidden and will result in disqualification from the ZOTAC Cup for three (3) months. By repeatedly disregarding this rule a participant will be barred for lifetime from the ZOTAC Cup.
5.2 It is forbidden for participants to watch videostreams or listen to shoutcasts of your own matches during the match.
5.3 Freaks 4U Gaming reserves itself the right to bar participants from the ZOTAC Cup who are barred in other leagues and tournaments because of cheating or unfair behaviour. - Rule Violation & Punishment
6.1 Any breach of the rules might be punished with a default loss and/or disqualification from the ZOTAC Cup for a certain period of time or for lifetime.
6.2 Protests of any kind have to be reported to the referees via support ticket.
6.3 Penalty point (PP) & punishment index:- One(1) penalty point and/or discqualifikation
- missing match result by the losing participant
- not being able to provide replays if requested by referees
- delay of the ZOTAC Cup for an improper period of time
- invalid or different game account in the profile
- Two(2) to six(6) penalty points and/or disqualification for a certain period of time
- disrespectful behaviour towards opposing participants or referees
- Three(3) month disqualification
- using smurf accounts to cover up known synonyms
- use of several accounts for the same ZOTAC Cup
- use of cheats, maphacks, third-party-tools or violations against rule 5.2
- Lifetime disqualification
- repeatedly using smurf accounts to cover up known synonyms
- repeatedly use of several accounts for the same ZOTAC Cup
- repeated use of cheats, maphacks, third-party-tools or violations against rule 5.2
In case a participant has collected six (6) penalty points he will be disqualified for three (3) month.
Freaks 4U Gaming has the right to adjust the degree of penalty under certain circumstances. - Prize Money Distribution
The participant finishing first place in the ZOTAC Cup will get the prize money of 100USD. The prize money transfer is handled via PayPal or bank transfer. Under certain circumstances a transfer via Western Union is also possible but needs the approval of a ZOTAC Cup Supervisor. Other payment methods are not accepted. - Legal Process
Legal proceedings are not permitted.
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Last Update: May 17th, 2013
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