Clash of Leagues – Official Ruleset

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

The following terms and conditions serve as the official rules for Clash of Leagues 2021 (“CoL”) and will be valid for all tournament phases. All participants agree to abide by the conditions set forth. Breaking any of these rules may result in immediate disqualification and/or forfeiture of all prize money earned.

Tournament Administration reserves the right to amend, remove, or make changes to these rules for any reason at any time. Any material changes to this document will be communicated to the competitors via the appropriate channels. Participants are always expected to understand and operate on the latest version of these rules.

In the event of any discrepancies between the English version and national version of the ruleset, the English version will prevail for purposes of interpretation.

2 General Overview

2.1 Definition of Terms

  • Organizer: Clash of Leagues will be organized by Skilled Events & New Media GmbH on behalf of all licensed tournaments: A1 eSports League Austria, A1 Gaming League, A1 Adria League, Swisscom Hero League and VOKA League.
  • Tournament Administration: The Administration Team will be employed by Skilled Events & New Media GmbH or licensed tournaments and will be responsible for organizing and administering the whole tournament. Skilled Events & New Media GmbH is the sole point of contact for all participants.
  • Player: A person participating in Clash of Leagues.
  • Active Player: A player participating in an official matchday of Clash of Leagues.
  • Game Device: Approved Game Devices are mobile phones and tablets. Players are not allowed to use any emulation or PC to participate in Clash of Leagues.
  • Team: Refers to a group of three (3) or four (4) players, including substitutes who participate together in the tournament.
  • Team-Captain: Each Team is required to designate a Team Captian. The Team Captain will be the primary point of contact for all Admins for all matters concerning the team.
  • Game: Refers to a single instance of competition that is played until a winner is determined.
  • Game Mode: Refers to a single game mode, playable in Supercell’s Brawl Stars.
  • Set: Refers to a series of Best-of-three (Bo3) or Best-of-five (Bo5) games.
  • Round Robin: In a round robin tournament format, every team will play against each other for a pre-set amount of times.

2.2 Communications & Support

All Players will be prompted to join the official Clash of Leagues Discord during their registration. Discord is the main platform for communication and to contact the Tournament Administration regarding Tournament issues and questions. Admins and Moderators will be available to answer questions related to tournament structure, schedules, disputes and rule clarifications. Questions will be answered as soon as possible, spamming messages in one of the chats or the private messages of Admins and Moderators will not speed up the answer process and will result in a warning.

2.3 Broadcasting rights

Any match and/or qualifier in Clash of Leagues is subject to being selected for broadcast purposes. Tournament Administration will inform teams if their match is selected for broadcast. Players agree to fully cooperate with Tournament Administration to have these matches broadcasted. Only if matches are not selected for broadcast, Players and teams are permitted to stream their own matches, with the understanding that they do so at their own risk.

2.4 Data Protection

The League Administration, consisting of skilled Events and New Media GmbH (Olympiaplatz 2 / 4 / 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria) and A1 Telekom Austria AG (Lassallestraße 9, 1020 Vienna, Austria), will process personal data, such as first name, last name, email address, Discord username, telephone number, of competing Players and Team-Captains. Personal data will be used to contact Players / teams via email, Discord messages or SMS with the purpose of League Administration for Clash of Leagues (e.g. information regarding the tournament, check-in notifications, changes within the schedule, interview requests, …).

Participants have the right to gain access to their stored data or ask for deletion of their personal data any time by writing an email to a1esports@skilled.at.
Data will only be stored within the EU for the purpose of the administration of Clash of Leagues. Personal data will not be transferred to third parties.

3 Participation Eligibility

3.1 Player Eligibility

To be eligible to compete in the Clash of Leagues, players must be 16 years of age or older and have to meet following requirements:

  • Players may only play for one organisation participating in Clash of Leagues. If a Player has already played at least one Match for a Team qualified for the Group Stage or Finals, the Player is not eligible to participate with another team.
  • Players may not be temporarily or permanently banned by Supercell.
  • Players may not be banned by the law or rules of licensed tournaments participating in Clash of Leagues – A1 eSports League Austria, A1 Gaming League, A1 Adria League, Swisscom Hero League and VOKA League.
  • League Administrators or employees of licensed tournaments (A1 eSports League Austria, A1 Gaming League, A1 Adria League, Swisscom Hero League and VOKA League) must not compete in Clash of Leagues.

3.2 Accounts

Each Player participating in Clash of Leagues has to register with his full name, nickname and Brawl Stars ID on the homepage http://clash-of-leagues.com/. All Players must own the Brawl Stars ID and linked Supercell ID they are participating with. They must use the same account throughout the whole tournament.

Account sharing is strictly prohibited. Players who are found guilty sharing the account or acting against Supercell’s Terms of Service will be removed from the competition.

3.3 Regional restrictions

Participating Players will be split into 5 regions depending on the league they are participating.

  • A1 Adria League: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North-Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia
  • A1 eSports League Austria: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg
  • A1 Gaming League: Bulgaria
  • Swisscom Hero League: Switzerland
  • VOKA League: Belarus

Administration may request a proof of residency at any time during the tournament. Following documents will be accepted as proof of residency:

  • Official government documentation (Passport, Personal ID, etc.)
  • School ID or International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

3.4 Roster restrictions

Teams participating in Clash of Leagues must consist of at least 3 active players. Two (2) active Players have to be residents in one of the countries covered in point 3.3 Regional restrictions. All additional Players must also be European residents.

Teams may remove players at their leisure, but must maintain at least three active players at all time. Therefore, Teams are allowed to add at total of one new player during the Tournament.

It is recommended that all Teams maintain a four (4) player roster in case they need a substitute. Teams may rotate their starting line up with no limitation in-between matches, but must not rotate the line up in the middle of a match.

3.4.1 Emergency Subsitutes

If a player is not able to play his matches due to an emergency and a substitute player is needed, the Team Captain must notify an Admin immediately via Discord. If approved by Tournament Administraton, the emergency substitute will play for the remainder of the match day, the original Player will not be allowed to return.

  • The substitute must meet all the requirements stated in the official Clash of Leagues ruleset.
  • The substitute will count towards the new Player added to the roster.

3.5 Team & Player Aliases

Team and Player Aliases are subject to approval by Administration. Administration reserves the right to deny the use of a Player Alias and require a change for any reason. In case of severe violations Administration reserves the right to disqualify the Player.

Player Aliases must adhere to the following rules. Using alternative spelling to avoid compliance with the following rules is strictly prohibited.

  • Player Aliases may not include a sponsor name of brands operating in following sectors: tobacco, alcohol, gambling or pornographic content
  • Player Aliases may not contain vulgarities or obscenities in any way.
  • Player Aliases may not contain insults.
  • Player Aliases must be possible to pronounce and should not include a chain of characters

3.6 Slot Ownership

All nominated slots in the Tournament belong to the licensed partners participating in Clash of Leagues – A1 eSports League Austria, A1 Gaming League, A1 Adria League, Swisscom Hero League and VOKA League.

Teams who earned their slot through the International Qualifier must abide by the roster restrictions in Sect. 3.4 to maintain their slot.

4 Tournament Structure

Clash of Leagues will consist of 4 stages.

  • Nomination Stage
  • International Qualifier
  • Group Stage
  • Finals

4.1 Nomination Stage

All licensed tournaments (A1 eSports League Austria, A1 Gaming League, A1 Adria League, Swisscom Hero League and VOKA League) are able to nominate 2 Teams for Clash of Leagues till 12th July 2021 in consideration of the region described in Sect. 3.3 Regional restriction.

Nominated teams will be split into First Seed and Second Seed Teams. First Seed Teams will directly advance to the final stage and participate in the quarterfinals, second seed teams will advance to the group stage.

4.2 International Qualifer

The International Qualifier will be played across two (2) days up to eight (8) hours each day. There is no limit on the number of Teams who may enter the International Qualifiers. Teams have to register on clash-of-leagues.com with their full roster.

Tournament structure may be subject to change, due to significantly higher or lower participant numbers.

4.2.1 Day 1

Signed-Up Teams will be randomly distributed to one (1) of four (4) brackets. There they will play a Double-Elimination Bracket. All matches played will be in a Best-of-Three (Bo3) set with best-of-three games format. This means each Set will consist of three games and a team must win two of the games to win that Set. Teams will then be required to win two sets to win the match. In case the number of teams participating is too high, Tournament Administration may change the format to Best-of-One (Bo1) Set, with Best-of-Three (Bo3) games format for the first rounds.

The Top 4 teams of each bracket will advance to Day 2.

4.2.2 Day 2

The Top 16 Teams advancing form Day 1 will be randomly seeded into a Double Elimination Bracket. All matches played will be in a Best-of-Three (Bo3) set with Best-of-Three (Bo3) games format, with the Semi-Finals and Finals being played in a Best-of-Five (Bo5) set with Best-of-Three (Bo3) games format.

The Top 3 Teams will advance to the Group Stage.

4.3 Group Stage

5 nominated teams and 3 teams, who qualified through the international qualifier will play a Round-Robin group stage. So, each team play against each of their seven (7) opponents once. All matches played will be in a Best-of-Three (Bo3) set with Best-of-Three (Bo3) games format. This means each Set will consist of three games and a team must win two of the games to win that Set. Teams will then be required to win two Sets to win the match. Each win will rewards 3 points. The Top 3 Teams in the ranking will advance to the next stage.
If any Teams are tied in points after the group stage, ties will be broken per the following rules in order of priority:

  • Head to Head: If the tie consist of only 2 Teams, their Head to Head match will decide the tie break.
  • Game Win Percentage: If the tie consists of 2 or more teams, the sum of all the games a team has won is divided by all the games the team has played. For example Team A has won 4 out of 10 games they have played, this means their Game Win Percentage ist 40%. This number will decide the ranking, If teams also tie here, the next tiebreaker will apply.
  • Tiebreaker match: If the tie still consists, teams will play a single Best-of-Three (Bo3) match against each other to determine the ranking.

4.4 Finals / Playoffs

The Finals will be split into two (2) days. The first day will cover all four quarterfinals and will be played online. The second day will cover both semi-finals and the grand final and will be played offline in Salzburg, Austria. The exact location will be announced during the group stage. Participation is mandatory. If a Team is not able to participate in the Offline Finals, the Team will be disqualified and the runner-up Team will take over the spot.

Each Team participating in the offline finals must have their own jersey. This may be a jersey provided by the organization or a jersey provided by the league they are representing.

4.5 Tournament Schedule

4.5.1 International Qualifier

The international Qualifier will be played online. Day 1 will have 4 timeslots with 8 teams advancing from each slot. Top 16 Teams will compete on Day 2 starting at 14:00 CEST for 3 spots in the next stage.

  • July 17 – Elimination Bracket
  • July 18 – Top 16 Bracket

4.5.2 Group Stage

The Group Stage will be played online. Starting time for the first match will always be 18:00 CEST.

  • July 27 – Group Stage Day 1
  • July 30 – Group Stage Day 2
  • August 3 – Group Stage Day 3+4
  • August 6 – Group Stage Day 5
  • August 10 – Group Stage Day 6
  • August 13 – Group Stage Day 7

4.5.3 Clash of Leagues

Quarterfinals will be played online. Starting time for the first match will be 14:00 CEST. Semi Finals and Finals will be played offline. Participating Teams will receive a detailed schedule upon reaching the semi finals.

  • August 14 – Quarterfinals
  • August 21 – Semi Finals + Finals (offline)

5 Prize Money

5.1 Prize Money Distribution

For Clash of Leagues there will be a total prize pool of € 5.000,-. Teams will receive prize money based on their final rankings:

  • 1st Place: € 2.000, –
  • 2nd Place: € 1.000, –
  • 3rd-4th Place: € 500, –
  • 5th-8th Place: € 250, –

5.2 Payments

All prizing will be paid directly to the Team. If the Team is playing for an organization, they may have their prize money paid to their organization.

Following the completion of the Clash of League Finals, Teams will receive a prize money form within seven (7) days. In case of prize money being paid to an organization, the organization has to send an invoice. All prizes will be distributed within 30 days after receiving all necessary payment information (invoice, filled out prize money form, etc.).
Disqualified Teams may not claim prize money.

6 Game Settings

6.1 Setup

The official match lobby will be created by the Team on the left side of the match page in Toornament. The opponent’s Team Captain will then be invited to the lobby. During the International Qualifier the Team Captains have to exchange their Brawl Stars ID or Supercell ID pre-game to be able to invite each other via text chat in Toornament. For the Group Stage and Finals Tournament Administration will provide a ingame club for the Team Captains to exchange information and invite the opponents to the match lobby.

After the lobby is created and all members of both Teams joined, the game mode and map is selected and the match starts.

6.2 Game Modes and Maps

All game modes included in the Game Mode Pool, may be used during Clash of Leagues. During the International Qualifier all game modes and maps will be pre-selected by the Tournament Administration Team. For the group stage and Finals only the maps will be pre-selected, the modes will be picked by participating teams, as stated in Sect. 6.2.2 Mode Selection.

6.2.1 Game Mode Pool

Following Game Modes are available for play in all phases of Clash of Leagues.

  • Gem Grab
  • Knockout
  • Siege
  • Heist
  • Brawl Ball
  • Hot Zone
  • Bounty

Possible future additions to the Game Mode pool:

  • Volley Brawl
  • Basket Brawl
  • Hold the Trophy

Changes will be announced via social and Discord

6.2.2. Mode Selection

While the maps for each Game Day will be pre-selected by the Administration Team, game modes will be selected by the participating Teams with Pick & Ban. Before starting the mode selection process, there will be a coin-toss to decide if a Team is either Team A or Team B.

Mode Selection Process for Best-of-Three (Bo3) Sets

  • Team A removes one game mode from the map pool
  • Team B removes one game mode from the map pool
  • Team A selects the game mode for the first set
  • Team B selects the game mode for the second set
  • The third game mode, if required, will be chosen at random from the full game mode pool.

Mode Selection Process for Best-of-Five (Bo5) Sets

  • Team A removes one game mode from the map pool
  • Team B removes on game mode from the map pool
  • Team A selects the game mode for the first set
  • Team B selects the game mode for the second set
  • Team A selects the game mode for the third set
  • Team B selects the game mode for the fourth set
  • The fifth game mode, if required, will be chosen at random from the full game mode pool.

6.3 Brawler Picks and Bans

For Clash of Leagues all Brawlers will be available during the official Clash of Leagues matches. The only exception are newly released Brawlers, who will be global banned for all matches for at least 2 weeks or until further notice from Tournament Administration.

Teams will be allowed to change their Brawlers in-between games.

6.3.1 Brawler Bans

After the game mode is selected, each Team may pick up to two (2) Brawlers to ban for the upcoming match. Banned Brawlers apply to both Teams and will last for the duration of the entire match. Teams may ban the same Brawler.

Brawler Bans during International Qualfier:

  • Coin Toss to decide which team starts the ban
  • Team A bans one Brawler
  • Team B bans one Brawler

Brawler Bans during Group Stage / Finals:

  • Team B bans one Brawler
  • Team A bans two Brawlers
  • Team B bans one Brawler

6.4 Draws

In the rare event a game ends in a Draw, an extra game will be played to determine the winning Team. The extra game will be played with the same Brawlers and Star Powers.

6.5 Match Reporting

Match results must be reported on the Toornament platform as soon as possible; if matches are officially streamed, all Teams must still report their matches. Screenshots of each post-game lobby should be posted by the winning team in the match lobby on Toornament. All unreported or unfinished/pending matches will result in a loss for BOTH teams. Unreported playoff matches will result in BOTH teams being removed.

6.6 Pauses and Disconnects

6.6.1 Technical Pauses

All Players are responsible for ensuring they are in good condition to play – this includes functioning hardware, software, stable internet connection, etc.

Each team is allowed unlimited technical pauses up to a total duration of five (5) minutes. Technical pauses may only be made in between matches of a Set.

6.6.2 Disconnects

In case a Player disconnects during a game, the game will continue without the player. In case the player disconnects at the start of a match, the Team Captain may contact Tournament Administration and request a restart. If a restart is approved, the teams will have to pick the same Brawlers and Star Powers.

7 Code of Conduct

When participating in or communicating about Clash of Leagues, participants must maintain the highest standards of competitive integrity. Teams are expected to act in a manner, that is respectful of other participants, attendees, viewers, as well as Tournament Administration with the principles of good sportsmanship, honesty and fair play.

7.1 Account Sharing

Players must use the account, they used to register for Clash of Leagues. Players may not share their account with any other Players, members of their team, friends, family or any other individual. Doing so will result in a disqualification from the tournament.

7.2 Unfair Play

Behaviour or actions by Players which are considered unfair play, will be subject to penalties including potential disqualification. Unfair play includes Collusion and Cheating.

7.2.1 Collusion

Agreements between players or teams to intentionally alter the result of a match are prohibited. Teams found breaking this rule will be subject for disqualification and temporary ban from Clash of Leagues. Collusion includes match-fixing – losing a match for compensation, or any other reason, or attempting to convince another Player to do so.

7.2.2 Cheating

Using any software or hardware to gain benefits that are otherwise not available in-game are prohibited. This includes 3rd party software and any kind of modification of the Brawl Stars game client

7.2.3 Bug Exploitation

Intentionally using any in-game bug, whether known or newly discovered, to seek an advantage is strictly prohibited.

7.2.4 Intentional Disconnection

Intentionally disconnecting from the game without a proper and explicitly stated reason, may result in penalties.

7.3 Unprofessional Behaviour

Players are expected to act accordingly to the competitive environment, they are playing in. Any kind of unprofessional behaviour will be reviewed by Tournament Administration, and may result in penalties including disqualification.

7.3.1 Punctuality

If any team is not ready within 15 minutes of the designated time, their opponent can take a default win by contacting the tournament administration.

7.3.2 Harassment

Any behaviour that is hostile, humiliates or embarrasses other players, visitors or members of Tournament Administration is prohibited.

7.3.3 Sexual Harassment

There is zero tolerance for any sexual threats or the promise of advantages in exchange for sexual favors. Players found guilty of sexual harassment will be permanently banned from any Clash of Leagues and partnered tournaments.

7.3.4 Discrimination

Players may not offend the dignity or integrity of a country, private person or group of people through contemptuous, discriminatory or denigrating words or actions on account of race, skin color, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, financial status, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason.

7.4 Criminal Activity

Player may not engage in any activity which is prohibited by common law and lead to conviction in any court of competent jurisdiction. This includes actions which deemed to be immoral, disgraceful or contrary to conventional standards of proper ethical behaviour.

7.5 Poaching or Tampering

No Team Member or Affiliate of a Team may solicit, lure, or make an offer of employment to any Team Member who is signed to any other participating Team, nor encourage any such Team Member to breach or otherwise terminate a contract with their said Team. Doing so may lead to penalties and/or disqualification.

7.6 Proof of identity / documents

If the proof of identity or other requested documents appear to be forged or not completed to the standards set by the Tournament Administration, then a Team may be subject to penalties.

8 Penalties

Any Player found guilty of any act of unfair play or infraction of this ruleset, will be subject to penalty. Upon discovery of any Player commiting rule violations, the Admins may issue the following penalties:

  • Warning
  • Removal of Brawler Bans
  • Prize Money Deduction(s)
  • Suspension(s)
  • Disqualification
  • Permanent Ban for all participating licensed tournaments

Repeated violations are subject to escalating penalties, up to disqualification and restriction from future participation in Clash of Leagues and participating licensed tournaments. The Tournament Administration can disqualify a Player for a first infraction, if the action of said Player is deemed to be worthy of disqualification.