HSEL Premier 2025 Overview

This article explains the key dates, times, game information, and more for the HSEL Premier 2025 competition. Please ensure that all team members are aware of the HSEL GENERAL TOURNAMENT RULES before registration. Please see the HSEL Registration Guide for more details on signing up.

Key Dates

Rocket League West Division must have their outstanding match scores submitted by Thursday, April 3rd. Their playoff bracket will be seeding the following day (Friday, April 4th).

Game Info 

All games utilize regional divisions (East, Central, West)

Tournament Format

Match Times

5:00pm in the region's dominant time zone (Eastern, Central, Pacific). 

Match Rescheduling, Grace Periods, and Forfeits

From HSEL General Rule 3.1.1: HSEL Premier is intended for established and structured scholastic esports Organizations. Players/rosters that receive two no-show forfeits during a season will be removed from the tournament and deemed ineligible for any postseason events.

• All participants are expected to be on time for their scheduled –or rescheduled– match. A grace period of 15 minutes will be given past the match time before HSEL will approve a no-show forfeit. 
• All reschedule requests must be initiated before the end of week 1 on Friday, excluding unforeseeable events (eg. power/network outage, severe weather, etc.). 
  • Teams are encourage to work together to find a new day & time for the match, granted the request was presented within the appropriate window of time. 
  • Emergency reschedule requests must be sent to HSEL admins via a support ticket.
• Regular season matches may be rescheduled to any point during the regular season up until the start of the final week if agreed upon by both teams in the match chat and requested via a support ticket.
• Teams are not in any way obligated to accept a reschedule request made outside the week 1 window. 

Playoffs

Click here to see the Playoff schedule

The top 4 from each group (per region), 8 total, will compete in a double elimination bracket. Rocket League and Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate Grand Finals have the potential for a bracket reset. For VALORANT, there is no potential for a bracket reset, but the Grand Finalist coming from the Upper Finals will have a map pick/ban advantage (see VALORANT rules 1.4.1. "Multiple Game Series Map Selection").

Playoff Reschedules

You may only reschedule a playoff match if you meet all of the following criteria: 

• Your competitor must agree to the new time in the match chat on the Generation Esports platform.
• You notify and receive approval from HSEL admins for the new time here.
  • Generation Esports Support is available 10am-11pm Eastern Time Monday through Thursday and 10am-10pm ET Friday during the playoffs. We will attempt to staff reschedules outside this period with advance notice.
• The match score must be reported before midnight Pacific Standard Time the day prior to the next round (i.e. reschedules must not impede the bracket from advancing).
• Grand Finals matches must be completed by 11pm ET Friday, April 25th.

Playoff Roster Locks

• Per HSEL General Competition Rule 2.8.4: "Roster changes may be made at any point during or in-between seasons except during the time a team has queued for their match, during live matches, or once the playoffs have been seeded." Roster changes are prohibited for single-player tournaments.

• In the case an emergency substitute is needed, the Team Administrator must reach out to competition@highschoolesportsleague.com to request permission.