Rules

This page was last updated October 1, 2023

EZ ESPORTS LEAGUE

CODE OF CONDUCT & REGULATIONS GUIDELINES

EZ Esports League is a non-profit organization in collaboration with multiple NYC High Schools, providing students the opportunity to game at the competitive level. Participation gives them the opportunity to gain communication skills, improve teamwork, and gain exposure to meeting students from different high schools.

THERE IS A ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY ON CYBERBULLYING 

GENERAL RULES TO FOLLOW

1. Team Member Eligibility 

To be eligible to compete in the Esports League hosted by EZ Esports, each player must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1.1 Player Age

No player shall be considered eligible to participate in any EZ Esports affiliated match if they're not enrolled in high school. Players must be in the ninth to twelfth grade. And no super seniors!

2. Team Ownership and Roster Rules

High Schools can have as many teams as they so please, however they must filter said teams from A to C with A being the best and C being lower tier. This applies to both League of Legends and Valorant. After Rosters have been finalized, there can be no changes to said rosters by any means necessary unless during special circumstances by the Committee. The League, EZ Esports, shall have the right to remove any players if in violation of any rules within this Rulebook upon notification of Team Captains and High School Faculty per the team’s HS.

2.1 Roster Requirements

Each High School is required to maintain, at all times during the season, one Roster Manager, one captain per team, five players per team, at least 2 substitute players and three teams registered on the roster. *Note these are recommendations* Team A, Team B. No individual may simultaneously hold two or more of the roles listed above.

Rosters will be displayed on ezesports.org. Rosters on the website will be updated upon proper filing of documentation by High School Faculty. Players will allow up to 3 business days for rosters to be updated and no later than the start date of the new season.

3. Player Ethics

All players on the roster provided by each school’s Presidents, and are associated with a team, are subject to these rules.

3.1 Player Code of Conduct

3.1.1 Offensive Language

You cannot use language, nicknames or other expressions that insult another player’s gender, gender identity, origin, physical ability, sexual orientation, religion, or age

3.1.2 Positive Team Engagement

If you lose a match, don’t blame another person on the team for your loss but realize your mistakes and fix it in the future. Always support your team by communicating in a positive and respectful manner.

3.1.3 Cheating

Players are not allowed to use any in-game bugs for advantage and exploit that same bug over and over to gain an advantage. If you are seen cheating or hacking, the team is subject to disqualification for the remainder of the season.

3.1.4 Private Information

Do not share account information of any players that can expose or endanger someone. Doxing an individual, for example, is strictly prohibited. The player responsible will be removed from the league permanently.

3.1.5 Harassment

Do not harass any players within the League, including the directors. There is also a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to harassing another individual by sexual means. Any sexual threats, coercion, or the promise of game advantages in exchange for sexual favors is not allowed

4. Player Conduct

All players on the roster provided by each school’s Presidents, and are associated with a team, are subject to these rules.

4.1 Unfair Play

The following dictates what will be considered unfair and will be subject to penalties at the full discretion of the Regulations Committee.

4.2 Collusion / Match fixing

Collusion is defined as two or more players aiding each other from opposing sides for whatever reason. Match fixing is defined as "the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result (Wikipedia)"

4.2.1 

Agreeing to having one side win by playing sloppy, or impeding the standard of competition in a game

4.2.2 

Texting someone from the opposing side through means not regulated by the League during the game

4.2.3

Intentionally losing a game for any reason.

4.3 Competitive Integrity

Collusion is defined as two or more players aiding each other from opposing sides for whatever reason. Match fixing is defined as "the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result (Wikipedia)"

4.3.1 

Playing under another player’s account or soliciting, inducing, encouraging someone else to paly another someone else’s account

4.3.2 Exploiting

Using any in-game bug to seek an advantage. Certain games have different bugs however if seen caught using one, there will be consequences.

4.3.3 Outage

Intentionally disconnecting without any reason/proof of a game, for the sole purpose of giving the team more time to discuss strategies, or for whatever reason is not allowed.

4.4 Penalties

Upon discovery of a Team Player committing any violations of the rules are subject to the following consequences:

4.5 Subject to Consequences 

Anyone that has been found in violation of the rules listed on this handbook is subject to consequences. The extent and nature of said consequences is made in the supervision of the Board of Regulations and the Game Directors for the game that the violation was taken place. All offenses are to be documented and exist for the longevity of your membership.

4.6 Consequences 

Failure to follow these rules will result in the following:

4.6.1 Warnings

Offenses that are deemed low severity or players with their first-time offense may be sent a warning through email or a private message through Discord.

4.6.2 Maximum Warnings

Players are given a maximum of two warnings. After two warnings have been given, the League’s Board of Regulations Directors reserves the right to inflict more severe consequences.

4.6.3 Loss of Side Selection for Present/Future Games

Opposing Team loses privilege of side selection

4.6.4 Immediate forfeit of game/match

Game Directors have the right to call for an immediate forfeit due to violations or misconduct

4.6.5 Player Suspension from Tournament

The player that was deemed violating code of conduct may be suspended, depending on Regulations Directors decision, and will be replaced by substitution.  Whether suspension carries out throughout each season of the League is up to the Founder

4.6.6 Team Disqualification

Three or more players violating Code of Conduct, entire team is disqualified

4.6.7 Administration of Consequences

Game Directors must submit proof of a player violating code of conduct whether it’s through photos, video recording, etc., to the Regulations Directors. They will review the processed evidence and determine whether such consequences stated above are deemed serious. If Regulations Directors cannot find a common ground, the Founder will be called in

4.6.8 Protocol for Administering said Consequences 

Email: After Regulations Directors has reached common verdict, they will send said verdict to the Founder. The founder will notify the guilty party stating the rules violated + consequence + reason for consequence + evidence. Letter will also be sent to Game Directors + Player’s School Esports Club Faculty for safekeeping/records.

Discord: Guilty Party will speak with Regulations Directors via Discord and can object to any consequences made.

4.6.9 Objection of Consequences

If the guilty party believes that they are not in violation of the code of conduct, they may object to the verdict that was given by the Regulations Directors via Discord Call. Guilty Party must have reasonable testimony + substantial evidence to back their claims. They are allowed only ONE person from their team or school to speak to their character + personal wellbeing. Guilty Party can type a one-page essay with 12 Times New Roman font, single spaced, as to why they are not in violation and shouldn’t be held accountable for consequences made by the Regulations Directors in lieu of Discord Call

4.6.10 Evidence

If you are part of the guilty party and would like to object to the verdict following Rule 2.6. you can have Burden of Proof beyond a reasonable doubt in order to substantially convince all members of the Committee of your reasoning or have Preponderance of Evidence.

5. Accounts

Players must participate in the match with their own ID as stated in their registration details

5.1 Configuration of Matches

All participants please read the rulebook per their games for its own set of rules

5.2 Connection Issues

The following provides a guideline as to what players can/cannot do in the event of a connection issue however depending on the game being played, certain rules can be changed. If a player disconnects in a match, the entire match is to be paused until the disconnected player rejoins. The game itself, must not be resumed until both parties agree. The player will have at a minimum of 5 minutes, no more than 10, to reconnect. (This rule can be changed depending on the circumstances of the game.)  The party with the disconnected player must notify the other party and its team captains through DM and list the following: Player who disconnected, and reason.  If the player does not return within the 5–10-minute period, the game must resume without the disconnected player. If the player does join back, they must leave heron after. Each player will have a 5–10-minute time limit. This means that if Player A disconnects for 2 minutes, and then disconnects again for another 8 minutes, they’ve used up their 10-minute time limit. If time limit is passed, the opposing team may continue the game, unless supervisor demands opposite.

5.3 Voice

All players MUST use the official EZ Esports Townhall Server dubbed “NYC High School Esports League” and join their respective Game + School through Discord. No spectators are allowed whatsoever. Anything you say within the channels can be recorded and used against you in the scenario that you violate our rules

5.4 Change of Rules

These rules and regulations apply to the organization dubbed “EZ Esports”, and can and may be altered in the following:

6. Operations

a) Pre-match Prep Work

b) Interruptions with Game

c) After the Match

PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES

by: Timothy Leung, Matthew Liang, Edison Zhong

-

This section is intended to complement the rules in the Code of Conduct. Here, players, organizers, and parents can get practical tips on how to take action to make Esports more open and welcoming. It is not intended to be a list of exhaustive requirements that you must meet, but rather a means to develop your role in Esports.

A. TIPS FOR BECOMING A BETTER PLAYER

The following tips are good to remember when tournaments and matches are at their most intense. Esports can create joy, frustration, anger, and happiness. What is important is how we deal with these feelings and that we make an effort to contribute to a more welcoming environment.

In addition to making Esports a better place, your own performance will benefit from a positive mindset — put simply, you will win more if you are a constructive player!

If you currently are or are aiming to become a professional player, it is also easier to get sponsorship if companies feel that you are well-behaved, responsible, well-spoken, and mature.

1. Online is the same as offline

Remember that it is each player’s responsibility to behave in a way that creates a good environment in chat rooms and in the game. Treat teammates, opponents, and admins in the same manner both online and offline, based on how you would behave if you met them in an everyday situation, even when playing/talking/chatting online.

2. Accept when others feel offended

Accept that people can feel offended about things that you yourself would not react to. People have different backgrounds and experiences, and this makes us perceive language in different ways. Even if you are accustomed to a way of joking or talking during contests, it is not certain that everyone involved in the game will experience it the same way. Keep in mind that even those who cannot directly communicate with you (other players and the audience) are affected.

3. Encourage instead of mock

Remember — we are all human, and we all make mistakes. We are all new to a game at some point. To be constructive and give helpful hints instead of showing frustration helps new players, and contributes to creating a positive environment, as well as increasing the chances of victory.

4. Show empathy

If you are angry, try to control it before directing your anger at another player. There are no rights and wrongs when it comes to feelings, and you will experience both anger and joy when playing. However, there are rights and wrongs when it comes to how emotions such as anger are expressed - think about how it feels when another player takes their anger out on you. One rule to remember is to treat people the same way online as you would offline.

5. You win more matches with positive words

When you play in a team, try to be positive and lift your teammates with constructive dialogue and encouragement. It’s much easier to win if the dialogue in the team is open and tolerant — statistics show that players with constructive attitudes during difficult moments in the matches win 10% more than the average!

6. Be a good winner

It’s a great feeling to win a game or a contest, and you should enjoy that feeling! But at the same time, don’t rub your opponent’s nose in it. Think about the frustration you feel when nothing works, and a game ends in defeat. In that situation, taunting can be tough to take.

7. Influence others

Spectators and players that see you behave well toward other players, organizers, and admins will be inspired to do the same. Even outside the game, such as on social media, the way you conduct yourself makes an impression, good and bad. Your behavior makes a difference — so choose to be a good role model.

8. Analyze instead of complaining

If you are angry at a loss, do not take it out on your teammates or find ways to pass the blame — try instead to look at the statistics or the replay and consider how you could have played differently. You’ll often find that the skill of your opponents was probably a much bigger factor in the defeat than the performance of you and your fellow players. Also, find ways to analyze your own game with an open mind and consider that there are ways in which you personally can improve on mistakes you made.

9. Respect referees and organizers

If you participate in a tournament, treat the referees and organizers in a respectful manner. You are, of course, entitled to criticize what you see as a miscarriage of justice, but flaming or acting aggressively toward referees or organizers during a tournament does not benefit anyone. The verdict will not change, and you will lose focus on your performance. 

VALORANT RULEBOOK

VALORANT Directors: Claire Liang, Kevin Jiang, David Hu, Jason Kim, Luis Gonzalez, Benny Zhang

Finality of Decisions

All players agree that any decisions made by EZ Esports regarding any action shall be final and binding on all Players or Teams. A public announcement shall be made in the name of transparency.


Series Lengths


Game Settings

One school will invite the other school to a custom lobby, with preferably a Valorant director or trusted executive as lobby owner with moderating powers. Below are the lobby settings: 

Lobby: Custom (closed)

Mode: Standard

Allow Cheats: Off

Tournament Mode: On

Overtime Win by Two: On

Play all Rounds out: Off

Show in Match History: On 

PC Only


Map Selection 

The following map selection process will be used after the first game for the best of three series.

Coin flip to decide A and B. Winner chooses. 

Team A bans one map

Team B bans one map. 

Team A picks Map One, 

Team B picks a side for Map One. 

Team B picks Map Two, 

Team A bans another map

Team B bans another map

Final map remaining will be played; Team B chooses the side


Map Pool

The following maps can be used in official matches

Bind

Split

Haven

Ascent

Lotus

Breeze

Sunset


Team Communication


Results

Competitors will be responsible for accurately reporting all game and match results to a Valorant director right after the game, with a 24-hour time allotment to submit the results. 

The winning team must report the game results on the discord channel in the following format: 

Winning school Name (W-L) vs Defeated School Name (W-L)

Map 1: Map Name (Winning Team Side)

Map 2: Map Name (Winning Team Side)

Map 3: Map Name (Winning Team Side)

Result: W-L of this match

MVP: First “Valorant Name” Last 

Screenshots of all games played in BO3

Format if a team forfeits

Winning school Name (W-L) vs Defeated School Name (W-L)

Defeated School Name FF


Spectators

Coach as Spectators


Spectator Pausing

One person (owner/EZ Esports director) may pause the game if necessary. Review Stoppage of Play section. 

Stoppage of Play

The game may only be paused for the following reasons:

Stoppage of play may be requested at any time for the above reasons. The team asking must first call the pause in chat. Then, an EZ Esports executive will deem whether the pause is necessary.  A pause may not be called during combat or once the Spike has been planted. Players may not move around the map when a pause is in effect. Once both teams are ready, they will let the moderator know, and they will unpause it. Each team will have ten total minutes of pause time per half. 

Playing Player Down

If a Team cannot field the required number of players by the final match start time, the team will be needed to start the match “player down” or forfeit.


Team Rosters



Reschedules

Forfeits

Forfeits will happen at the discretion of the Valorant directors. If a team needs to forfeit, they should contact a Valorant director immediately. 

Game Restarts

Game restarts will happen at the discretion of the Valorant directors. If an individual believes a game restart should happen, they should contact a Valorant director as soon as possible. 



Streaming and Spectating

EZ Esports will hold exclusive rights to broadcast any game of its choosing, including the finals match for the season. If a game is selected to be streamed by EZ Esports, a participating team in that match will not be allowed to stream. Games chosen to be broadcast cannot be rescheduled and must be played at that time. 


Streaming by Schools


Disciplinary Action




LEAGUE OF LEGENDS RULEBOOK

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS Directors: Lucas Moore, Jason Lee, Sungroh Ryu, Andy Huang 

Introduction


Cheating

Any form of cheating by one or more members of a team will disqualify all the school's team from all EZ Esports matches for one school year. In addition, the individual player caught cheating will receive permanent expulsion from all future play in EZ Esports related events.



Series Lengths

Regular season matches are played as best of 1 (BO1). 

Playoffs season matches will be played as a best of 3 (BO3). Finals will be best of 5 (BO5).



Map Side

Map side will be determined by a coin flip, with the team first to arrive being able to call heads or tails. This can be done by captains, or a director if necessary.



Playoffs

The higher seed will choose the map side for games 1,  3, and 5. The lower seed will choose the map side for games 2 and 4.



Drafting

Prodraft (Draftlol (dawe.gg) ) is permitted, only if both captains agree to its use, in order to account for draft order and champion ownership and swapping between players.


If prodraft is not being used, the custom game must be played in Tournament Draft format. 

The game is only allowed to be restarted during champion selection for:


Team Communication

All teams will use the EZ Esports League of Legends Discord server for communication and must stay within those calls for the entire duration of the game. There will be a max of FIVE players in this call during a game. A director or trusted executive can be placed in the call to moderate the voice chat if necessary. A team found not using this call to communicate in game will have the match forfeited. 



Spectators

Spectators are allowed to spectate in-game, with only one spectator per school.

Spectators cannot have communication with team members while the game is currently being played.

All spectators must state who they are when entering the lobby, as well as confirm with any executive available at that time. Any unidentified/unauthorized spectators will be kicked from the lobby. 



Stoppage of Play

The game may only be paused for the following reasons:

Stoppage of play may be requested at any time for the above reasons. The team requesting must first call the pause in chat. Then, an EZ Esports committee may determine whether the pause is necessary.  A pause may not be called during combat. Once both teams are ready, they will let the moderator know and they will unpause it. Each team will have 5 total minutes of pause time per game. 



Substitutes

All B team players are NOT PERMITTED to sub into A team games. All A team players are not allowed to sub into B team games either.


If there is a player that plays between games, the other team MUST be informed of a new player before the game starts. 


Once the game starts, a new player is NOT allowed to subbed in and must wait until the next game. A team cannot swap a player during champion selection. 



Team Rosters

Schools have A and B teams. Size of roster and number of subs available to swap in is up to the discretion of the League of Legends directors. 


Students cannot be a player for both A and B teams. Students must play on their main account.


Subs will be allowed to be swapped-in between games, but the player’s name must be listed on the team’s official roster in order to be subbed in (Playoffs only).


In order for the sub to play, the opposing team must be notified about the sub in advance.


Any game with an unregistered player/ign will be a forfeit. This includes ign changes mid season. Doing so will result in a two-week ban.



Reschedules

Reschedules are allowed between teams.


Reschedules must be completed before the end of the regular season. Failure to report a score by the deadline will result in a forfeit for both teams.


Any games that are not started by fifteen (15) minutes after the scheduled match time can result in a forfeit by the team that is not ready to compete.


Teams must request reschedules prior to 24 hours before the match is scheduled to begin. 


Teams are not required to accept a rescheduling under certain circumstances. If a match cannot be played at the originally scheduled time or rescheduled, the requesting team will lose by forfeit.


Reschedules may be implemented by EZ Esports in the instance of an uncontrollable event, such as a server or power outage, inclement weather, or other reasonable unforeseen circumstance, or holiday. This will be at the sole discretion of the EZ Esports committee.


In the event of a rescheduling mandated by EZ Esports, the rescheduling must occur within 7-days of the original match time.



Forfeits and Lateness

To ensure every match begins at the agreed time between captains, late teams will be punished based on lateness:

For every five minutes they are late past the start time, the offending team will lose one ban, up to 3 lost bans


After 15 minutes the offending team will forfeit the game. 


Forfeits will happen under the discretion of the League of Legends directors. If a team would like to forfeit, they should contact a League of Legends director as soon as possible. 



Results

Captains are responsible for accurately reporting all game and match results, in the format provided, to their respective game results discord channel in the EZ Esports League of Legends Server. Directors will submit and update results on a Google sheets and website.



Technical Issues

Players are responsible for any of their own technical issues, including hardware, software, or internet issues. 



Streaming and Spectating

EZ Esports will hold exclusive rights to broadcast any game of its choosing, including the finals match for the season. If a game is selected to be streamed by EZ Esports, a participating team in that match will not be allowed to stream. No VC spectators are permitted in streamed games.



Streaming by Schools

Schools may stream their matches to their Twitch page following the guidelines listed below.


Streams must be saved to the school’s Twitch page for a minimum of 14 days in the event of a match dispute.


Spectators are allowed to use the 3rd person chase cam to provide the best possible experience for viewers.


Spectators are not allowed to have any contact with their team during the broadcast. 


Please use the EZ Esports Discord for all communications.


The stream title must include "EZ Esports".



Player Streaming

If a student would like to personally stream their EZ Esports match, they must directly message a Director. This will be up to the discretion of the League of Legends Directors, if they deem appropriate at such times. 



Rules and Conduct Violations

Players and Teams agree to fully cooperate in any investigation regarding violations of any Rules associated with EZ Esports. Any player found to not be truthful, or withheld, destroyed, or tampered with any evidence related to the investigation will be subject to disciplinary action.



Disciplinary Action

Any punishments or disciplinary action taken by EZ Esports pursuant to the Rules or any violations listed above will be in the sole and absolute discretion of the EZ Esports committee.


In the event of repeated breaches of violations by a Player or Team, the EZ Esports may hand out increasing disciplinary action, up to and including permanent expulsion from all future play in EZ Esports related events.



TEAMFIGHT TACTICS (TFT) RULEBOOK

TFT Directors: Ivy Chen, Natalie Liu, JiaWei Chen, Edison Zhong 

Introductions: 


Tournament Outline: 


1st=10pts, 2nd=8pts, 3rd=7pts, 4th=6pts, 5th=4pts, 6th=3pts, 7th=2 pts, 8th=1pts


Rules: 


Roster: 

                     2)   Roster Changes

  Set Changes: 

TETRIS RULEBOOK

Tetris Directors: Curt Lin, Ling Jie Fang, Rain Chen, Jayden Ng

Introductions: 


Rules: 

Eligibility: 

Tetr.io Doubles Tournament Format:

Additional Information:


Any typos? Let us know here!