TOURNAMENT FORMAT & RULES

Double Elimination

• The event will be played as a double elimination (a “Double Elimination”) bracket competition, in which Players compete in Matches (the “Match Sets”) starting from what is known as the winner’s side of the bracket (the “Winner’s Bracket”). If a Player loses a Match Set while in the Winner's Bracket, that Player will be moved to the loser’s side of the bracket (the “Loser’s Bracket”). If a Player loses a Match Set while in the Loser’s Bracket, that Player is eliminated and will no longer advance further in the bracket for that Tournament Event. The winner of the Winner’s Bracket will play against the winner of the Losers Bracket in the Grand Finals of the Tournament Event, as set forth below.

Match Play.

• All Match Sets will be best-of-three, in which the Player who wins two (2) Matches first wins the Match Set, with the exception that the Winner’s Bracket finals, Losers Bracket finals, and Grand Finals of each Tournament Event bracket will be best-of-five, in which the Player who wins three (3) Matches first wins the Match Set.
• The winner of any single Match is determined when the Game awards the win to that Player or upon the opponent causing a match disruption or other violation of the Rules as determined by the Tournament Organizer staff member.
• During a Match Set, the winner of any single Match must comply with the following winner lock rules:
  • At the start of a Match Set: For offline Matches: Players select their sides. Players may mutually agree on who sits on left and right side, corresponding to Player 1 and Player 2, respectively, at the start of a Match. Players are committed to this selection for the entirety of the Match. If Players cannot agree to a Side Selection, they will play a Best-of-Three Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who picks their side for the first Round. For all subsequent Rounds and Matches, the winner may select a side first.
• Each Player selects their character and the stage is selected at random;
• After any single Match, the winner is "locked" into their character and they are not permitted to switch their character until or unless they lose a subsequent single Match;
• All single Matches are loser's choice; and
• The loser of any single Match may choose between rematching with the Player’s previous characters and stage, rematching with the Player’s previous characters but with a new stage of their choice, or returning to character select to choose a new character and a new randomly selected stage.
• All Matches must use the following in-Game Settings:
  1. Rounds: 3 out of 5
  2. Time Limit: 60 seconds
  3. Stage: Random (Required for first game of Match)
  4. Character Customizations: Off
  5. Character Preset Costumes are legal for Tournament use with the exception of the following:
     • Jack-7 Preset 3 & 4 cannot be used.
     • Gigas Preset 3 cannot be used.
     • Players cannot use the same Preset. Should both Players wish to use the same Preset, they will play a tiebreaker as determined by the Tournament Organizer or Tournament Event Organizer (as applicable) to determine who may use their preferred Preset Costume for the duration of the Match.
• If a Character Customization or one of the above listed Presets that cannot be used are used, the Match is subject to not being scored. Players are responsible for immediately finishing the Match with one (1) Player holding forward for the remainder of the rounds to quickly return to the lobby and restart the Match.

Player Options.

• Prior to commencement of a Match Set, Players may exercise the following options:
  • Blind Pick. Players may request a method of character selection known as blind pick (“Blind Pick”) to keep their character selection secret until the first Match begins. In the Blind Pick process, the Players will each tell a Tournament Organizer staff member, in secret, their character selection for the first Match. Players will then select their character with the Tournament Organizer staff member validating their selections. If a Player purposely does not select the character they told the Tournament Organizer staff member, that Player will forfeit that single Match.
• Draws. In the event of a tied Match declared by a Double K.O. or timeout on the Game screen, the Match will not be scored and both Players will replay the tied Match with the same character selections and same stage.
• Grand Finals. The “Grand Finals” (excluding Regional Finals) is a Match Set series comprised of up to two (2) best-of-five Match Sets between the final two (2) Players left in a Tournament Event. In the event the Player from the Winner’s Bracket wins the first Match Set, the Grand Finals immediately ends, giving the Player from the Loser’s Bracket their second and eliminating loss, and making the Player from the Winner’s Bracket the overall winner of the Tournament Event. In the event that the Player from the Loser’s Bracket wins the first Match Set, thereby giving the Player from the Winner’s Bracket their first loss, a second best-of-five Match Set will be played. The Players may choose different characters and exercise any pre-Match Set options for this new Match Set. The Player that wins this final Match Set, thereby giving the other Player their second and eliminating loss from the Tournament Event, is declared the winner of such Tournament Event. For the sake of clarity, the foregoing shall not apply to Regional Finals and details regarding the structure and format of the Grand Finals for a Regional Finals will be provided at a later date.
• Missing Players. Players must be present at the call time for a Match Set. Players that are not present and ready to play within ten (10) minutes of this call time are subject to Match Set forfeiture.
• Match Disruptions. If a Player intentionally or accidentally causes a pause in a Match, whether by pressing the Options button or by experiencing a controller disconnection, the Player that caused the pause will forfeit the current round of the Match. If a Match disruption occurs that is out of control of the Players of the Match Set, such as action of another Player’s un-desynced controller or a Game software crash or console hardware failure making Players unable to continue a Match, the Tournament Organizer staff member shall order the Players to restart the Match.
• Coaching. Players may designate one (1) individual to be their coach during a Match Set. Players may consult with the coach for a maximum of one (1) minute in between Matches in a Match Set. Coaching while a Match is in play is not allowed and is subject to Match forfeiture.
• Button Binds. Sequence mapping is banned. A Player may not program functions on a controller using methods outside the basic functions of the Game, including, but not limited to, programmable and turbo controllers.
• These rules are subject to change if necessary, Tournament administrators reserve the right to make additional decisions outside the defined ruleset if necessary.

Progression.

• Top 8 from this tournament will advance to participate in the Finals on 3rd December