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League of Legends Rulebook

Last Modified: September 9, 2023

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 League of Legends-specific rulebook take precedence.

I. Season Structure

CEA Spring 2023 Season Calendar

Week 0 is a mandatory practice week to prepare for regular season. While matchups will be made available, results will not count towards Regular Season standings

Regular Season:

  • September 9: Week 0  
  • September 16: Week 1
  • September 23: Week 2
  • September 30: Week 3
  • October 4: Week 4
  • October 14: Week 5
  • October 21: Week 6
  • October 28: Week 7
  • November 4: Week 8
  • November 11: Week 9
  • November 18: Week 10  
  • November 25: OFF (Thanksgiving)
  • December 2: Week 11
  • December 9: Week 12
  • December 16: Grand Finals

CEA Season Format Overview

  • Pre-Season: One practice match which follows the same rules and weekly structure as the regular season. The pre-season is optional so that the CEA and teams can work out logistic kinks before charity prizes are on the line! Read the specific game rules for the weekly schedule.
  • Regular Season: The Regular Season will be a non-elimination Swiss format.
  • Playoffs: Top teams will compete in a single elimination tournament bracket. Some matches later in the playoffs may be professionally cast.
  • The Grand Finals will be broadcast live on Twitch with professional commentators. Schedule and rough timing will be announced at the beginning of Playoffs.

Weekly Structure of the League

  • Matches will be distributed each week on Monday.
  • On Friday at 12 PM PDT, or 24 hours before your scheduled match, lineup submissions are due.
  • Each team plays one match per week with results due by Sunday at 4pm Pacific. The CEA observes Daylight Saving Time. If not enough players on your roster are able to make the default match time, contact the opposing captain as outlined in our ‘Match rescheduling’ section to see if they’re able to accommodate a reschedule.
  • Replays are due Sunday by 4pm Pacific.

II. League of Legends (LoL) Overview

    1. Player Eligibility: All players participating in LoL competitions must have an active LoL (North America) account in good standing displayed on their tournament interface profile. Only registered team members playing under their main account are allowed to play for a team. If their main account is not in North America, the opposing team must be notified with the op.gg page of their main account.
      1. If evidence of a player using a non-primary account the team on;
      • 1st offense: warning issued and correct summoner name(s) must be updated
      • 2nd offense: CEA Admins and Company rep (if there is one) will be notified and player(s) will be suspended for 2 weeks.
      • 3rd offense: Team is disqualified, all players on team will be recorded and carry on punishments to the 2nd offense if found guilty in following seasons.
    All players must have their playcea.gg accounts linked (or whatever roster tracking method is implemented that season) to the correct summoner name, similar punishments will be issued as above.
  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 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. Floaters: Within the same company and within the same game's tournament, a player may play on multiple rosters with the following restrictions:
    1. All teams must meet the minimum team size without counting any players who are listed on multiple teams.
    2. Shared players still count towards a team’s maximum roster size and must be added to the team's playcea.com roster (or whatever roster tracking method is implemented that season).

    3. A player on multiple rosters may only play for one of those teams of each game in any given week. Violation of this rule will lead to disqualification from the CEA.

    4. If a company elects to have floaters for any of its games, a representative of the company should inform that game's Game Lead which rosters are affected, and inform the game lead each week which team that floater will play on.
    5. The maximum number of floaters allowed across a company's teams in a particular tournament depends on the number of teams that company has in the tournament as well as the minimum roster size for that tournament, and is as follows:
      • 2-3 Teams = 2 Floaters
      • 4-6 Teams = 4 Floaters
      • 7-9 Teams = 6 Floaters

    6. Each floater may be rostered on no more than 3 teams. Each team may have no more than 2 floaters.

    7. Cross-Game policy: Within the same company, players are typically discouraged from playing on teams across multiple games. Doing so may be allowed at Game Leads' discretion as long as the following criteria are met:

      1. All teams must meet the minimum team size without counting any players who are listed on multiple teams.
      2. Teams should understand that relying on a Cross-Game player's availability is not a suitable reason to reschedule a match (all matches occur at Noon Pacific on Saturday by default)
      3. A Cross-Game player should not plan to be a primary player on more than 1 team.

  4. Half-Team / Joint-Team Policy:

    1. A Joint-Team may consist of members from different companies if the following criteria are met:

      1. There are no more than 2 companies represented on the team.
      2. The companies represented are not represented in any other teams in a single game's tournament.
    2. A Joint-Team is subject to all other rules normally surrounding CEA teams.
    3. A Joint-Team may have 1 single captain from either company, or may have 2 captains total (1 from each company).
    4. Registering:
      1. Two Half-Teams may combine and register as a Joint-Team through the normal registration process without first consulting CEA. Please list both companies on the registration form.
      2. Half-Teams may also consult CEA for help with pairing, and upon being paired will register as a Joint-Team through the normal registration process.
  5. Registration: The LoL registration fee will be $200 per team. The captain pays this fee during registration on the CEA website.
  6. Game Version: All players must have their game up to date with the latest patch.
  7. Weekly Structure:
    1. Monday: Matchups for the following weekend are distributed (assuming all previous round match results have been entered).
    2. Friday: Rosters are submitted by 12 PM PDT or 24 hours before your schedule match.
      1. Failure to submit on time will result in the opposing team getting an extra ban that is to be posted in the match chat on the tournament platform.
    3. Saturday : All matches are played on Saturday starting at 12pm Pacific (3pm Eastern) by default.
    4. Sunday: Latest for rescheduling a match and replays submitted by 4pm Pacific.
  8. Season Format: There will be two at minimum two stages: Non-elimination Regular Season (7 weeks) and Elimination Playoffs. Both stages will feature Bo3 matches, see rules below for more details
  9. Tournament Codes: This tournament will employ the use of League of Legends Tournament Code feature.
    1. To receive your Tournament code for a match: navigate to the bracket and click on your team’s match. Copy the code.
    2. To use your team’s Tournament code for a match: Launch the League of Legends game client by clicking play, then selecting custom game, then selecting the trophy icon. Paste the code from the tournament interface page.

III. Rules

    1. Competition Method: 5 vs 5 Summoner’s Rift, Tournament Draft via Custom Game on the NA Server
    2. Game Winner: The result will be as shown on the post-game summary screen.
    3. Series Length:
      1. Matches will be best-of-three(3) during regular season
        By mutually consenting in text chat in the tournament interface or on discord with game lead’s notice, a match may be reduced to a best-of-one(1)
          1. In the event a best-of-one(1), winner will receive 2 game points as second match will just be considered as an auto forfeit from the losing team,
      2. Matches will be a best-of-three(3) for playoffs and elimination rounds, defer to rule 14 for choosing sides each round.
      3. Matches will be a best-of-five(5) for the grand finals, defer to rule 14 for choosing sides each round.
    4. Restrictions: New Items, Champion Releases or game play reworks, Runes, and or summoner spells are not to be used until the next patch from their release date (~2 weeks). This does not include simple nerfs or buffs, only pertains to major game play changes.
    5. Home/Away team: During the regular season, home and away teams will be assigned weekly through the tournament interface. The team on the left side of the page is the Home team and corresponds to Blue Side. The team on the right side of the page is the Away team and corresponds to Red Side. In all best-of-three matches, sides will switch after each game in accordance to rule 14.
    6. Bans/Picks: Snake draft format enforced by the Tournament Draft mode. All selections must be made through the in-game client. Draft mode proceeds in a snake draft format as follows: Blue Team= A; Red Team = B
      1. Bans: ABABAB Picks: ABBAAB Bans: BABA Picks: BAAB
    7. Trading Champions: Teams must complete all champion trades before the 20-second mark during the Trading Phase, or will be subject to a penalty, including having the champion trade disallowed.
    8. Substitute Players: Players are allowed to switch following the completion of a game. In other words, in a best-of-three series, Player 1 could play in game one, get switched for Player 2 for game two, and then come back to play game 3.
    9. Spectator Slots: All games should be configured to allow spectators to allow CEA representatives and casters to participate in the game and address possible issues
    10. Scheduling: The first game of each round must begin at the specified time. A reschedule request should be submitted by the team captain to the opposing captain in writing. Opposing captains are under no obligation to accommodate any request. If both captains agree on a new time they must both notify the organizers via #reschedule-reporting in Discord no later than 1pm pacific on the Thursday before the match and also notify organizers via Discord when they are ready to start the rescheduled match. CEA staff may not be available to assist with issues outside of the Saturday 12 - 1pm window. After playing the match, post the match results to #reschedule-reporting on Discord and indicate that an organizer needs to enter the result. Forfeits will be reported to the #forfeit-reporting channel in the CEA Discord server by the team captain.

      1. After matches for the week are announced, teams can schedule match games any time 4 hours before the result submission deadline, Sunday 12 PM PDT, so long as both teams have submitted their roster line up 24 hours in advance. In light of the best of 3 default matches, teams can play games of a match throughout the week if needed so long as all games are played on the same patch. There will be 4 suggested times to help with scheduling:

        6 PM PDT Thursday
        6 PM PDT Friday
        12 PM PDT Saturday
        6 PM PDT Saturday

        If nothing is said between captains or another time could not be agreed upon the default time will remain 12 PM PDT Saturday.

    11. Forfeits: If a team is unable to play within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, that team automatically forfeits the match. The time period for no-shows may be extended by the captain of the opposing team in writing. ​If a team partially fails to show up by fifteen (15) minutes after the scheduled time, captains should ensure that the situation is documented with screenshots and chat logs.
      1. Teams must choose between:

        1. Playing without the absent members if the game allows.

        2. Forfeiting the first game (regardless of Bo1, Bo3, or Bo5). In a Bo3 or Bo5 this will provide the partially-present team an additional 30 minutes for the rest of their team to arrive. If players don't show up within this time, the team may again choose to play with the currently present members or forfeit the rest of the match.

      2. ​In the event both teams have arrived to play, but one team fails to join the match lobby within the later of twenty (20) minutes after the scheduled match time and five (5) minutes after both teams communicated being ready to play, the opposing captain may submit documentation (screenshots and chat logs) to claim a victory by forfeit as follows:

        1. The opposing captain should provide notice they will be submitting documentation for a victory by forfeit. At this time, the team may still elect to play short-handed.

      3. In the event of a 1v1 game, the opposing captain should provide notice to their opponent's captain that they are submitting documentation for a victory by forfeit.

      4. ​Teams may opt to forfeit a match at any time with the consent of their team's members. In this case please notify the organizers and opposing captain in Discord using #forfeit-reporting.

      5. Teams which forfeit multiple consecutive weeks and do not respond to messages from the organizers may be removed from the season without a refund.

         

    12. Replays: The CEA requires the winning team of each LoL match to save and submit all replays through the website.
      1. Replays are due on Mondays.
        1. If you are unable to obtain your replays due to difficulties, please reach out to your opponent and/or game lead
      2. Replay submission will be through a form for your game, please check your specific game's Discord channel for details.
      3. The penalties are as follows if not submitted by Monday:
        • 1st offense: Opposing team following week gets an additional ban
        • 2nd offense: Game Loss
        • 3rd offense: Match Loss
      4. Replay locations:
    13. Match Reporting: The winning team’s captain must submit results to the tournament management platform no later than 4pm pacific time on Sunday. Failure to submit results will lead to a warning for the winning team and in some cases a double loss. We strongly encourage the winner of each game to record screenshots of the post-game lobby victory screen and save the replay.
    14. Playoffs/Finals: Higher seed teams will have the choice of sides on the first round. Round 2 will be chosen by the loser of round 1. 3rd round (if needed) will be the choice of loser of round 2.

IV. Technical Issues

Stoppage of Play

  1. Stoppage of Play Procedure: A player experiencing technical issues on either team may call for a restart of the game prior to Game of Record (see below) being established
    1. The player requesting the restart must be experiencing one of the following: a hardware malfunction (e.g. any equipment malfunction), physical disruption (e.g. breaking furniture), or game configuration problems (e.g. issues with runes, masteries, and/or summoner spells).
    2. They must then declare in all-chat for a restart. The game should be paused and the Game Lead should be contacted immediately.
    3. In the event of a game server crash or server wide connection issue, the game will be voided regardless of outcome and the Game Lead should be contacted and determine next steps.
      1. If this occurs as part of a best of three match, the rest of the series should be postponed if server issues continue into following game.
  2. Pauses
    1. A team may also pause to allow time for a teammate to reconnect after an unintentional disconnect
    2. Pauses should be limited to problems that can be solved in 1 minute
    3. They must then declare in all-chat the reason for the pause, or the request for a restart. In the event of a restart, the game should be paused and the Game Lead should be contacted immediately. In the event of pause abuse (use of pausing that affects game outcome without conforming to Stoppage of Play 2), the Game Lead should be contacted after the match.
    4. Total pause time should not exceed 10 minutes total elapsed time and pauses should not occur more than 2 times a game. (This can be extended with agreement for both captains, but not required)

Game of Record

  1. A game of record (“GOR”) refers to a game where all ten players have loaded and which has progressed to a point of meaningful interaction between opposing teams. Prior to this point, if a serious issue has occurred, players should pause the game and contact CEA administrators to assess the situation. Once a game attains GOR status, the game will be considered as “official” from that point onward. After the establishment of GOR, game restarts will be allowed only with CEA admin approval.

  2. Examples of conditions which establish GOR:

    1. Any attack or ability is landed on minions, jungle creeps, structures, or enemy Champions.

    2. Line-of-sight is established between players on opposing teams.

    3. Setting foot, establishing vision or targeting skillshot ability in opponent’s jungle by either team, which includes either leaving the river or entering brush connected to enemy jungle.

    4. Game timer reaches two minutes (00:02:00)

  1.  

V. Season format details

CEA Season Format Details

Knowing the format is not critical to your team's success, nor is it necessary to have fun. If you'd like, just show up every week to play your match, and we'll figure out the details to find the best opponents for you. However, for those of you who are curious to understand our matchmaking algorithm, feel free to continue reading.

As per the CEA Captain's Guide, the season is broken up into four phases: preseason (Sep 17, or "week 0"), swiss (generally weeks 1-7) and playoffs (generally weeks 9-12).

  • The regular season swiss phase will look very similar to past seasons. This will be a standard, unseeded, Swiss bracket.
  • Then we get to the big show. The number of teams taken into playoffs for each game will vary based on the number of teams in the tournament, but will be defined by a clear cut off substantially prior to week 8 of the regular season. Some higher seeded teams will receive a bye in the first week of playoffs.
 

*A three round Swiss with 4 teams is equivalent to a round robin, which gives this phase its name.

VI. Contact Info

  1. Discord Server: discord.gg/cea
  2. Email Contact: administrator@cea.gg