Format:

• Players will be seeded according to a mixture of their In-game Ladder Ranking and their ATR, if they have one.
• At 16 or fewer participants the players will compete in a double elimination bracket.
  • If there are more than 16 players the rounds before the top-16 will be single elimination, and then move to double-elimination once down to 16 remaining players or fewer.
• Up to the finals all matches are Best of 1 (Bo1).
• The Winners and Grand Finals are Best of 3 (Bo3).
• All matches must be observable and have at least a 1-minute in-game delay.
• Maps are drafted first, then Civs.
• Map restarts:
  • Each player has 1 restart for crashes before the 10-minute mark.
  • Each player has 1 restart per series for map generation before the 3-minute mark.
  • If any crashes happen after 10 minutes, the replay will be reviewed with the following potential outcomes:
    • If both players crash: A restart is made.
    • If the Advantaged player crashed: The player is entitled to a restart.
    • If the disadvantaged player crashed: The player is given a loss.
    • If the state of advantage is unclear: The map is deemed a draw and a new map & civilizations draft is made.

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 Maps:

• Map Pool: Dry Arabia, EGC - Cauldon, RBW - Gorge, Highview, Baltic
• First in order is the Higher seeded player.
• For Bo1, each player takes turns banning maps until one remains. That map will be played.
• For Bo3, each player first picks a "home map", then takes turns banning the remaining maps until one remains. That map will be the tiebreaker.
• Maps cannot be repeated in Bo3

Civilizations:

• Draft Link
• Bo1:
  • Players draft 2 civs each.
  • They each snipe 1 from the other.
  • The remaining civs are played.
• Bo3:
  • Players draft 2 civs each.
  • They each snipe 1 from the other.
  • The remaining civs are played.
  • After each map, a new draft is made.
  • Players cannot draft a civilization they had already won within the series.