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Counter Strike: Global Offensive Rulebook

Last Modified: March 8, 2022

These rules are subject to change at the administrator’s discretion. If rules should change, all captains will be notified accordingly.

The Handbook’s General Rules apply to all CEA games, please read them first! However, any direct contradictions mentioned in this CS:GO-specific rulebook take precedence.

I. CS:GO Overview

  1. Player Eligibility: All players participating in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitions must have an active Steam (North America) account in good standing displayed on their Battlefy profile. Only registered team members playing under their own account are allowed to play for a team.
  2. Team Roster Size: A team may start the season with 5-12 participants. Rules for qualifications for rostered members can be found in CEA general rules.
    1. After the beginning of Regular Season play (Week 1 matches), a player rostered on a team in Battlefy may not transfer to another roster within the same company for the same game with out the Game Lead's approval.
      1. The main circumstance permitting a transfer would be a team losing players and falling below the minimum team size.
      2. Companies with multiple teams playing the same game may have players on multiple rosters as outlined in the general rules under “Team Eligibility.” Being a floater is not considered transferring.
    2. After Week 5, removing players from the roster does not free up additional spots.
  3. Registration: The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive registration fee will be $200 per team. The captain pays this fee during registration on the CEA website.
  4. Game Version: All players must have their game up to date with the latest patch.
  5. Weekly Structure:
    1. Monday: Matchups for the following weekend are distributed (assuming all previous round match results have been entered) and map will be assigned for the weekend matchup. Times for each match will be assigned.
    2. Saturday: Times for each match will be assigned. Matches may have variable time slots depending on how many servers we acquire. Typical game times will be 12-2pm and 2-4pm Pacific. The CEA observes Daylight Savings.
  6. Season Format: Exact season format will be announced before the season begins when we know the exact number of teams. This section will be updated along with an announcement email for all captains. There will be two at minimum two stages: Non-elimination Regular Season (~8 weeks) and Elimination Playoffs.

II. Rules

  1. Starting Sides: Prior to the start of the game, opponents will have a knife-fight round that determines the starting side. The last player standing will determine their starting side by using chat as their intended starting side.
  2. Game Winner: Each map will be played in two stages of 15 in-game rounds. For each stage (half), the teams play alternatively Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists and score one point by winning one in-game round. The winner of a map is the first team who reaches a total of 16 wins. The remaining rounds will not be played after a team has won the map. If the map ends up in a tie, meaning that both teams have won 15 in-game rounds, overtimes will be played until a winner is decided.
    1. During overtime a MR3 (6 rounds) will be played, which means the first team to 4 wins will be declared the winner. After the start of overtime, teams will remain on their current side until 3 rounds have been played, and then teams will switch sides. If there is a tie after the 6 rounds (3-3), the teams will switch sides again and restart overtime, playing MR3 until a winner has been decided.
    2. Note: At the start of overtime and whenever teams switch sides, starting overtime money will be restocked.
  3. Series Length: Regular season matches will be played on a single map while playoff matches will be played in a best of three format across multiple maps with a 5 minute break between maps. The break time is subject to change if the situation requires it.
  4. Player’s Settings
    1. Players are restricted to modifying/adjusting the following game settings
      1. cl_bobcycle 0.98
      2. weapon_recoil_model 0
      3. mat_hdr_level 0/1/2
    2. Players are allowed to modify/adjust only the following overlay settings:
      1. net_graph 0
      2. cl_showpos 1
      3. cl_showfps 1
      4. cl_showdemooverlay 1/-1
    3. Players are allow to adjust the following PCs or monitor settings:
      1. Brightness;
      2. Digital Vibrance;
      3. Contrast;
      4. Gamma;
      5. 3D Settings (aliasing, vertical sync, etc.);
      6. Game scaling;
      7. USB HZ;
      8. Sound;
      9. Mouse Settings + Mouse Drivers;
      10. Keyboard;
      11. Headset.
  5. Regulation Match Server’s Settings
    1. mp_startmoney 800
    2. mp_roundtime 1.75
    3. mp_roundtime_defuse 1.75
    4. mp_freezetime 15
    5. mp_buytime 1
    6. mp_forcecamera 2
    7. mp_maxrounds 30
    8. mp_c4timer 35
    9. sv_pausable 1
    10. ammo_grenade_limit_default 1
    11. ammo_grenade_limit_flashbang 2
    12. ammo_grenade_limit_total 4
  6. Overtime Match Settings
    1. mp_maxrounds 3
    2. mp_startmoney 10000
  7. Settings used for warm-up
    1. mp_maxrounds 199
    2. mp_maxmoney 65535
    3. mp_startmoney 60000
    4. mp_buytime 15
    5. mp_freezetime 0
    6. mp_forcecamera 1
  8. Maplist: The current competitive playlist rotation will be used as the maps. Maps will be assigned each week as the matchup is generated.
  9. Replays. The CEA does not require CS:GO teams to submit replays.

III. Technical Issues

Players are encouraged to record their in-game perspective unless the recording causes server delay. The Game Lead will investigate server lag concerns.

  1. Pausing
    1. During an official match the players can use the command “pause_game” from either the console or using it as a message with “say”. The match will be automatically paused after the round has ended.
    2. A team can request 2 pauses per map; each pause can last up to 5 minutes. If a team pauses the game more than 2 times on a map or if the pausing time is greater than 5 minutes each, the team in question will receive a warning or penalty.
    3. Only the players from the team that requested the pause may unpause the game and only once both teams have agreed to resume. Unpause by writing “unpause_game” either in console or using it as a message with “say”. Unpausing without the approval of both teams will result in a map loss.
  2. Match Interruptions and Restarts
    1. Players should not leave a game until it has been won or lost, or they have been instructed to do so by the Game Lead.
    2. If a map is involuntary interrupted (player’s PC crash, server crash, power outage, network issues, etc.) the match officials may decide to replay the map according to the following rules:
      1. If the problem occurs in the first round of either the first or second half-time, the half-time in question will be replayed;
      2. If the problem occurs in the first round of the overtimes, the section in question of overtime will be replayed;
      3. If the problem occurs in any other round, the players need to pause that round and wait until the problem is solved or until the match officials tell them to continue the game
      4. If multiple players are dropped or the server crashes, the team’s coaches or captains should communicate and determine the best path forward. If they are not able to do so, the match officials will decide for them and the teams must respect this decision. NOTE: If a player disconnects on purpose from the server during an official match, the team in question will forfeit the map.

IV. Forbidden In-Game Actions

The following actions are strictly prohibited during a game and will result in round loss, which will be deducted at the end of the match, and a warning:

  1. using console is forbidden (except to record game or pause game);
  2. any form of script is forbidden;
  3. using bugs which change the game principle (i.e. spawn bugs) is illegal;
  4. moving through walls, floors and roofs is strictly forbidden. This also includes skywalking;
  5. "silent bombs" (i.e. the planting of a bomb which doesn't make a sound) are illegal;
  6. planting bombs so that they cannot be defused is illegal. This does not include plants where multiple players are needed to defuse;
  7. boosting with the help of team mates is allowed in general, but it is forbidden in places where the textures, walls, ceilings, floors become transparent or penetrable;
  8. "fireboost" (i.e firing below a player to push him) is strictly illegal;
  9. "flashbugs" are forbidden;
  10. throwing flash grenades under walls is not allowed, throwing grenades over walls or roofs is allowed;
  11. "mapswimming" or "Floating" is illegal;
  12. "pixelwalking" is illegal (Sitting or standing on invisible map edges);
  13. using 16bit graphics;
  14. Binding "+duck" to the mouse wheel is illegal;
  15. Using custom (game) files is illegal.

V. Contact Info

  1. Discord Server: discord.gg/cea
  2. Email Contacts:
    1. Game and Rules related: tournaments@cea.gg
    2. Business, money, and sponsorship related: business@cea.gg
    3. Other: administrator@cea.gg