General Rules
These rules apply across all tournaments. Game-specific rules can be found on the relevant tournament pages.
- Eligibility
1.1. School eligibility
1.1.1. To be eligible to enter a team into the British Esports Championships, a school must be registered with the Department for Education and be accredited to deliver Level 2 and/or Level 3 qualifications.
1.1.2. A school must be able to provide a unique reference number (URN) if requested.
1.2. College eligibility
1.2.1. To be eligible to enter a team into the British Esports Championships, a college must be registered with the Department for Education and be accredited to deliver Level 2 and/or Level 3 qualifications.
1.2.2. A college must be able to provide a unique reference number (URN) if requested.
1.3. Substitutions
1.3.1. Change of Leader
1.3.1.1. A Leader may step down at any point during the season. In order to do this, they must appoint a new Leader using the team page on www.britishesportschamps.org.
1.3.1.2. If the majority of a team wishes to replace current Leader, admins must be contacted.
1.3.2. Roster Lock
1.3.2.1. Rosters will be locked each week at the check-in deadline (Mondays 18:00)
1.3.2.2. Players may still be removed from team during roster lock without restriction.
1.3.2.3. After the final match of the week has been played, rosters will be unlocked.
1.3.3. Emergency Substitutions
1.3.3.1. After a team’s roster is locked they may request one emergency substitution to be added to their roster.
1.3.3.2. Emergency substitutions must be requested at least one hour before start time of match they wish to play in.
1.3.3.3. An emergency sub must not increase a team over the size limit for that game. However, Leaders may remove a player to reduce their team size before requesting a substitution.
1.3.4. The Spirit of Substitutions
Teams may replace any number of players between weeks of tournament. However teams are expected to select teams with the intent of trying to create competitive and enjoyable games for themselves and their opposition. If we believe teams are being selected for unsporting reasons for example swapping all players between two teams to manipulate seeding, penalties will be placed upon participating players and teams. If unsure about this rule please contact tournament admins before making substitutions.
- Match Rules
2.1. Pauses and Rematches
2.1.1. If a player fails to connect to game, the game must be paused immediately. If this player fails to connect the game may be restarted. The new game must follow rules for a rematch found in section 2.1.3.1.
2.1.2. Teams may use the pause command as follows:
2.1.2.1. It is forbidden to use the pause without an obvious reason like a player disconnect.
2.1.2.2. In the case a player disconnects or is having connectivity issues, it is allowed to use the pause.
2.1.2.3. In the case of hardware or software issues it is allowed to use the pause
2.1.2.4. In the event of a pause, the other team must be informed immediately why the pause has occurred and must be informed of any progress towards fixing the issue causing the pause.
2.1.2.5. Before resuming games both teams must state they are ready to continue.
2.1.2.6. Teams may only pause the game for up to 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes technical issues can not be solved the game must not be resumed. If the game cannot be resumed then admins must be contacted and an automatic win will be awarded to the opposing team.
2.1.3. At the admin’s approval, teams may agree to a rematch.
2.1.3.1. A rematch must be played with the same settings i.e. same maps, heroes.
2.2. No show
2.2.1. Teams must arrive promptly to all games and be ready to play at the start time. Matches are set by default to start at 4pm unless rescheduled.
2.2.2. If a team hasn’t joined the custom game 30 minutes after the agreed start time, a default win will be given to the team that has all of their players in the custom game.
2.2.3. The team who were present on time must have timestamped proof that they were in lobby at the scheduled time in order to claim a default win. This can be a screenshot of the lobby with the Windows clock in the corner.
2.2.4. If neither team has created or joined a custom game within 30 minutes, both teams will receive a loss. For calculating pairing, the higher seeded team will be considered the winner but the match will still count as a loss for calculating final standings.
2.3. Submitting results
2.3.1. After each game, both team Leaders should report results before joining lobby for next game.
2.3.2. Results should be submitted using the tournament companion. If players have any issues in doing this, then a tournament admin should be contacted.
2.3.3. Records should be kept of individual map and overall scores, e.g. through screenshots, in case of a dispute of scores.
2.4. Casting of Games
2.4.1. Tournament admins and people that are explicitly permitted to spectate by British Esports Championships (e.g. shoutcasters or streamers) may ask to spectate. You cannot refuse to invite a tournament admin.
2.4.2. Players must wait for casters to declare they are ready before starting.
2.4.3. Coaches, managers or anyone not explicitly permitted to spectate may spectate with permission from both teams.
2.4.4. Stream delay of at least 120 seconds must be enabled in the streaming software to prevent cheating.
2.5. Tournament Format
2.5.1. Schools and colleges will play in the same tournament. They will no longer be split into two tournaments.
2.5.2. The format of the tournament will now be year-long. Winter will be Qualifiers where each team is placed in large groups and aims to get as many points as possible. The position of the team in the Winter leaderboards will determine which Division they are placed into in the Spring season. Spring divisions will consist of a group stage and playoffs.
2.5.3. Each division will have its own playoffs, leading a Division 1 grand champion and a Division 2 winner. The playoffs will culminate in a live grand finals for both divisions.
- Spirit of the Game
3.1. Sportsmanship
3.1.1. Teams are expected to play at their best at all times within any British Esports Championships match, and to avoid any behavior inconsistent with the principles of good sportsmanship, honesty, or fair play.
3.1.2. The following actions will be considered unfair play and will be subject to penalties at the discretion of the admins.
3.1.2.1. Hacking. Hacking is defined as any modification of the programme by any player, team or person acting on behalf of a player or a team.
3.1.2.2. Ringing. Playing under another player’s account or soliciting, inducing, encouraging or directing someone else to play under another player’s account.
3.1.2.3. Cheating Device. The use of any kind of cheating device and/or cheat programme.
3.1.2.4. Intentional Disconnection. An intentional disconnection without a proper and explicitly-stated reason.
3.1.2.5. British Esports Championships Discretion. Any other further act, failure to act, or behavior which, in the sole judgment of British Esports Championships officials, violates these Rules and/or the standards of integrity established by British Esports Championships for competitive game play.
3.1.3. The following actions will be considered poor sportsmanship play and will be subject to penalties at the discretion of the British Esports Championships.
3.1.3.1. Flaming/toxicity. This shall be defined as any comments in all chat or game lobby that may be considered negative or hurtful.
3.1.3.2. Use of discriminatory language including, but not limited to, comments about a person’s gender, race, sexual orientation, age, hate speech or calls to harmful action.
3.1.3.3. Intentional disconnects. This does not include restarting client in order to bug fix.
3.2. Penalties
3.2.1. Any person found to have engaged in or attempted to engage in any act that British Esports Championships believes, in its sole and absolute discretion, constitutes unfair play, will be subject to penalty. The nature and extent of the penalties imposed due to such acts shall be in the sole and absolute discretion of the British Esports Championships.
3.2.2. If any team or player is suspected of breaking any rules, admins should be informed by the Leader. At this point admins may ask for screenshots or other evidence of misconduct.
3.2.3. Upon discovery of any team member committing any violations of the rules listed above, the British Esports Championships may, without limitation issue the following penalties:
3.2.3.1. Loss of choice of starting side
3.2.3.2. Issue of a warning
3.2.3.3. Forfeit of a match
3.2.3.4. Temporary suspension of a player
3.2.3.5. Permanent ban of a player
3.2.3.6. Deduction of points or seeding for the current or next tournament
3.2.3.7. Disqualification of team from a tournament
3.2.3.8. Disqualification of team from the British Esports Championships
- Spirit of the rules
4.1. These Rules may be amended, modified or supplemented by the British Esports Championships, from time to time, in order to ensure fair play and the integrity of the British Esports Championships.
4.2. All decisions regarding the interpretation of these rules lie solely with the British Esports Championships, the decisions of which are final.
Specific Game Rules
LoL Game Rules
Click here to see the LoL Game Rules —-> LoL Game Rules
Overwatch Game Rules
Click here to see the Overwatch Game Rules —-> Overwatch Game Rules
Rocket League Game Rules
Click here to see the Rocket League Game Rules —-> Rocket League Game Rules
