The rules contained on this page only cover this specific game, please review the HSEL General Competition Rules for information covering all official tournaments.
1. Match Procedure
HSEL Supported platforms
- PC
1.1 Series Lengths
Matches are played as a best of 1 series during the regular season and a best of 3 series in the playoffs and finals
1.2. Server Settings
A server owned by the High School Esports League must be used for official matches. Server region and maps played must be determined in advance of the match. The match server will be determined by:
- Location: To be determined by team captains before the match begins in accordance with rule 2.3
- Map: To be determined by map veto in accordance with the tournament stage series length in 2.1. and the corresponding map veto procedure in the sub-rules of 2.4.
No servers other than official HSEL Servers are to be used, without prior notification from HSEL Administration.
* If your server has not spun up after 10-15 minutes after it was launched, please report the issue to HSEL Support. Afterwards, you may play your match on a faceit or popflash server.
1.3. Server Region Veto
The following server regions are available for use in official matches:
- Toronto
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Chicago
- Seattle
- Dallas
If teams are unable to come to an agreement on a server region to play on, the following server veto will be used:
- The home team bans one server region
- The away team bans one remaining server region
- The home team picks one remaining server region on which the match will be played
1.4. Map Veto
1.4.1. Best of 1
Teams will take turns banning (following the "Premier" format) until there is a single map left, starting with the Home Team:
- Home Team bans 2 maps
- Away Team bans 3 maps
- Home Team bans 1 map
- The remaining map will be played
-
Away Team selects starting side
- The Home Team will confirm by selecting the opposing side on the match page
1.4.2. Best of 3
Teams will pick/ban in the following format:
- Home Team bans a map
- Away Team bans a map
- Home picks the first map
- Away picks their starting side for the first map
- Away picks the second map
- Home picks their starting side for the second map
- Home bans a map
- Away bans a map
- The remaining map will be map three.
- Away will choose starting side for map three.
1.4.3. HSEL Nationals Best of 3 Grand Finals
Teams will pick/ban in the following format; "Home Team" is the team coming from the upper bracket.
- Home Team bans 2 maps
- Home picks the first map
- Away picks their starting side for the first map
- Away picks the second map
- Home picks their starting side for the second map
- Home bans a map
- Away bans a map
- The remaining map will be map three.
- Away will choose starting side for map three.
1.5. Map Pool
The following maps are available for play in official matches:
- Ancient
- Anubis
- Dust II
- Inferno
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Vertigo
1.6. Overtime
1.6.1. Best of One
- MR 3 (Three-round halves, win 4 points in overtime)
- $12500 starting money each round
- Ties in OT will lead into another OT series
1.6.2. Best of Three
All matches played in the Best of Three format will be played with overtime in the following format:
- MR 3 (Three round halves, win 4 points in overtime)
- $12500 starting money each round
- Ties in OT will lead into another OT series
1.7. Connecting to the Server
Follow the pick/ban process as outlined above in the match chat. Once the map(s) and region have been agreed upon, one team will use the match page tool to "propose" the map(s) and region. The other will accept the proposal if it is correct. Once the proposal is accepted, a server will be generated and a green "Copy IP" button will appear on the page. Click this button.
For more instructions on how to connect to the game server, see this article.
2. Restrictions
2.1. Configuration/Start Parameters
The following commands are not permitted:
- mat_hdr_enabled
The following start parameters are not permitted:
- +mat_hdr_enabled 0/1
- +mat_hdr_leven 0/1/2
All other configuration changes are allowed as long as they do not give the player or their team an unfair advantage in the match. If three or more players of the same team are found with forbidden settings their team will forfeit the match. High School Esports League administration may decide under special circumstances to give a forfeit to a team even if they have less than 3 players with forbidden configurations.
2.2. Scripts
The majority of scripts are not permitted except for buy, toggle, and demo recording scripts. The following scripts are prohibited for use including but not limited to:
- Anti-flash
- Bhop, or bunnyhop
- Burst Fire
- Center View
- FPS
- No Recoil
- RateChanger
- Stop shoot
- Stop sound
- Tooltips
If you are unsure on whether or not a script is allowed or not, contact a member of the High School Esports League administration before playing an official match. A player can be penalized for scripts in any config file regardless if it is used or not.
2.3. Character skins
The use of character skins is prohibited. All players must use the default CT/T skins during play. If skins are being used, the offending team must be notified of this as it is discovered. The map where the discovery was made, is to be reset with the same settings and players with the skins removed. Multiple violations of this rule may result in the forfeiture of the map, please contact an HSEL Admin if a violation persists.
3. Stoppage of Play
3.1. Technical Pause
If a player has a problem that prevents them from playing they may use the pause function to pause the game at the next available freeze time. When pausing teams must announce that it is a technical pause, why the pause was called, and approximately how long the pause will take either immediately before, or after using the pause command. If no reason is given it can be assumed that the pause is instead a tactical pause. Both teams are prohibited from having any tactical conversations during a technical pause.
3.2. Tactical Pause
Each team is allowed 4 tactical pauses of 30 seconds each per game. When pausing teams must announce that it is a tactical pause immediately before, or after using the pause command. If no reason is given, or the 30 seconds has expired the opponent may unpause the game and continue playing. If a team exceeds their 30 second limit by more than 5 seconds it will count as using another tactical pause.
3.3. Match Disruption
If a player drops before the first kill of the round the round will be restarted if possible. If a player drops after the first kill of the round the game will be paused in the next freeze time.
If a match is disrupted (e.g. a server crash) at any point, then the match should be restarted.
4. Organization Rosters
Counter-Strike 2 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.