1. Anti-Cheat
No additional anti-cheat is required for official matches.
2. Match Procedure
Supported platforms
- PC
2.1. Series Lengths
Matches are played as a best of 1 series for the qualifiers & playoffs and as a best of 3 series during the Finals.
2.2. Game Settings
The home team will host the lobby and invite the away team.
- Lobby: Custom (closed)
- Mode: Standard
- Allow Cheats: Off
- Tournament Mode: On
- Overtime Win by Two: On
- Play All Rounds: Off
In the event that an incorrect rule set is loaded on the server, the match should be stopped and reset. Previously played rounds with incorrect format will not count towards the match outcome.
2.3. Ping Test
If both teams do not agree on a server region to use for their match, the lobby host will go through the available servers in the lobby. Both teams will compare their ping on each server and play on the one that offers the most balanced ping between each team.
If the teams disagree on which server provides the most balanced ping, please reach out to a GenE Admin for assistance.
2.4. Map Selection (Best of 1)
- The home team bans a map
- The away team bans a map
- The home team bans a map
- The away team bans a map
- The home team bans a map
- The away team bans a map
- The remaining map will be played
- The away team selects their side for the game
2.4.1. Multiple Game Series Map Selection (Best of 3)
- The home team bans a map
- The away team bans a map
- The home team selects the game for game 1
- The away team selects their side for game 1
- The away team selects the map for game 2
- The home team selects their side for game 2
- The away team bans a map
- The home teams bans a map
- The remaining map will be used for game 3
- The away team will select their side for game 3
2.5. Map Pool
The following maps are permitted to be used in official matches
- Haven
- Ascent
- Icebox
- Fracture
- Pearl
- Split
- Lotus
3. Tournament Rules
3.1. Game Connections
Refer to 2.2 "Game Connections" in the General Competition Rules.
3.1.1. Account Ownership
Game accounts used in official tournaments must belong to the student participating using that game connection. At no point in time may players share accounts with each other or use an account of another person, regardless of if they are in the tournament or not.
3.1.2. School-Purchased Accounts
Schools may create accounts or purchase game licenses for their students participating in a tournament if they do not already have an active one. These accounts will be considered the students’ personal account and may only be used by one student each. These accounts and licenses may not be transferred to another student upon the previous student’s graduation or leaving the team, as this would be against any publisher’s Terms of Service or End User License Agreement.
3.2. Match Streaming
3.2.1. Spectators
Spectators are permitted in game lobbies for the sole purpose of streaming their team’s match to the School’s Twitch or Youtube channel or to record the match. Spectators may not have any communication with team members while the game is currently being played and must not be a member of the roster participating in the match. All spectator streams must be from their team's player point of view, or a 3rd person chase cam. The use of the skybox camera, director camera, or the point of view of another team’s player is prohibited.
At the end of the match, the stream vod or an unedited copy of the recording must be shared with the other team in the match chat on the match page. The use of the Generation Esports Wizard streaming service is prohibited for broadcasting spectating games.
3.2.2. Player Streaming
Players may stream to their personal twitch or youtube channel if they are participating in the match. The match may only be streamed from the player’s in-game point of view and should have at least a 3-minute delay set to prevent possible incidents of stream sniping.
Players may not at any time stream another player or roster’s match on their personal channel.
3.3. Coach Slot
Coaches are permitted to be in the coach’s slot during official matches with a limit of 1 coach per team. While the game is live, coaches may not have any sort of communication with players or the other team, nor may they call for timeouts or gameplay pauses (see 3.4 "Tactical Timeout"). Coaches are prohibited from streaming while they are in the coach’s slot, any match streaming must be in line with Rule 3.2.1 as stated above. Teams are permitted to have both a coach in the coach's slot along with a spectator, as long as only the spectator is streaming/recording.
If players or coaches notice or suspect misconduct from someone in the coaches slot, please contact a GenE Administrator immediately.
3.4. Tactical Timeout
Each team is allowed to call two (2) Tactical Timeouts per game. During the timeout, the players in the game and their coach may talk with each other. Other roster members are not permitted to be in the timeout meeting. Tactical Timeouts may only be called by an in-game player during the buy phase of a round. Please contact a Gen E Administrator immediately if there is suspicion a team is abusing the timeout feature.
3.5. Playoff Qualification
Teams must compete in and complete 75% of their Regular Season matches in order to be considered for playoff qualification. Teams who do not meet this requirement will be removed from qualification consideration regardless of their final record.
3.5.1. Unplayed Matches
Any match or queue that a team misses or does not complete will result in the match being counted as a loss against the team's record at the end of the regular season.
3.6. Playoff Qualification Tiebreakers
The tie breaker system will be run as a tiered protocol that will be used if multiple teams finish the regular season with the same overall record.
- Wins. (Forfeit wins and bye wins are scored as a 0-0 win)
- Head-to-head record. (If the two tied teams have played each other, their match record against each other is compared)
- Overall game win percentage. (e.g. winning a match 3-0 is better than 3-2)
- This applies to Valorant, Rainbow 6, and CS:GO only: round differential. (A team with 15 rounds won and 10 rounds lost will have a round differential of +5. A higher positive value is better)
- Higher opponents’ game win percentage. (e.g. it is better to beat an opponent who consistently won 3-0 than 3-2)
- Fewer forfeit losses.
- Fewer bye wins.
- The team which had a higher number of wins before their first loss.
- If the first loss is received after the same number of wins, then the team which lost to the stronger opponent (as defined by game win percentage) will be ranked higher.
4. Restrictions
Any Agents, Weapons, Sprays, Weapon Skins, Weapon Buddies, and Maps currently disabled in other game modes are prohibited from use in official matches.
4.1. Blood
Blood must be disabled in the game settings
4.2. New and Reworked Agents
The use of New or Reworked Agents released during the season will be prohibited from use in official matches for the remainder of the season. A reworked operator is defined as an Operator having 50% or more of their kit change that directly impacts game play, for example the Tachanka rework. Normal gameplay patches (buffs/nerfs) are not considered to be reworks.
4.4. Round Rollback
Use of the Round Rollback feature is prohibited unless otherwise okayed by a GenE Administrator. Spectators or Moderators are prohibited from using the Round Rollback feature in official matches.
5. Stoppage of Play
The game may only be paused for the following reasons:
- Player drop
- Player disconnect
- Technical issues
Stoppage of play may be requested at any time for the above reasons. The team initiating a pause must first call the pause in chat. A pause may not be called during combat, or once the Spike has been planted. Player's may not move around the map when a pause is in effect. Once both teams are ready, the team who paused the match will unpause it. Each team will have 5 total minutes of pause time per map. Players pause the game by pressing the Esc key and selecting "cheats". Abuse of the pause feature may result in punishment for the team abusing it.
6. Team Rosters
Valorant team rosters require a minimum of 5 players and are limited to a maximum of 10 players (5 starting players and 5 substitute players). Rosters that do not meet the minimum or exceed the maximum number of players will not be allowed to participate in official matches until their roster size meets the set requirements. Player Substitutions may be made between maps.