1. Ladder Rules

1.1. Challenging

In a ladder any participant may challenge any other. The challenge may be refused by the challenged if they choose. In ladders with more than 20 participants compulsory challenges are activated. If a participant is within 20 places above the challenging participants the refusal will be punished with one penalty point. If both participants are in the top 10 then the refusal will be punished with 2 penalty points.

A challenging participant from the newcomer pool (unranked) is considered as being at the bottom of the ladder, therefore the 20 participants ranked last in the ladder would be punished for rejecting a challenge.

Participants that have more than 5 outstanding challenges in a ladder, no matter if the matches are confirmed or not, may not take on any further challenges. This is scripted into the ESL system and cannot be changed.

1.2. No show

If your opponent does not show after 20 minutes, you must enter the result as your opponent did not appear in time. Do not enter a default win for yourself.

In Instant Challenger matches the no show time is 10 minutes.

1.3. Agreements

Certain agreements between participants are allowed to slightly differ from the ESL rules. Agreements that differ greatly from ESL rules are however not allowed. Please note that the ESL rules were made to ensure a fair match for all participants. You are not allowed to file a protest after the match if you think that the agreements made before the match in the end resulted in a disadvantage for your or your team.

Rules that can be changed with agreements are explicitly stated. Rules that do not explicitly state they can be changed by agreement, cannot have agreements made.

All arrangements between participants, made in addition to the ESL rules have to be written down in the match comments. The other participant has to confirm the arrangements also in the comments. To avoid abuse of the edit function, a third comment must be written.

Please also keep screenshots and/or logfiles of your arrangements. If you do not fulfil these requirements, any protests or supports concerning arrangements will be rejected.

The following rules may never be changed by arrangement: - Entering results for matches that have not been played - Allowing players to play that are barred because of penalty points, or are barred in the league due to a ban - Allowing players to play that in leagues with premium requirement that are barred for not having Premium - Allowing players to play without Wire Anti Cheat

1.4. Several squads (sub-teams) per team in one ladder

Any team may enter as many squads into any one ladder. However, only one squad can qualify for a premiership. A team is not allowed any more than one squad in a premiership.

During ladder play, no two squads from the same team are allowed to play each other.

2. Match Media

2.1. General

All players have to take a screenshot of the final result and save the replay. If any irregularities occur like timeouts / disconnects a screenshot has to be taken.
It's enough if only one of the players uploads the matchmedia as long as in the end at least one correct screenshot and one replay is uploaded within 24 hours.

2.1.1. Screenshot

The screenshot has to show the following elements:
- The BlubGame window with the winner or loser message.
- The written "You Win" or "You Lose".
- The windows taskbar with the clock.
- The ESL Website with the clock on the upper right corner showing the complete time and date.

Examples for a correct and an incorrect screenshot can be found here:
Correct screenshot
Incorrect screenshot

2.1.2. Replay

The complete match replay has to be saved and uploaded. For saving the replay you enter a name for it within the "You win" or "You lose message" and click on save replay. Take the screenshot before this because by clicking this button the window disappears and you will be sent to the BlubGame lobby. Pay attention that you have to zip the replay first with normal compression as otherwise the ESL page won't accept it when uploading.

3. Settings

If all participating players of the match agree in the matchcomments, other settings may be used. If there is no agreement the default settings have to be used.

3.1. 2on2 Ladder

In the ESL Europe BlubGame 2on2 Ladder the following default settings exist and have to be used.

4. Match Rules

Please state your ESL nick as a gameaccount and not your e-mail adresse.

4.1. Timeouts / Disconnects

If a player drops during a game, the remaining player has to take a screenshot and save the replay. Afterwards the match has to be restarted. So you go back to the lobby and start the game as usual. Now you play until you reach the points that have been before the timeout / disconnect.
If the player fails to rejoin within 10 minutes the remaining rounds will be added to the score of the player / team that didn't had a timeout / disconnect.

4.1.1. Results

Only the points that are shown ingame count as points. If BlubGame counts a point and you're sure it was incorrect the point will count anyway. The final scoreboard at the end is all that counts.

4.1.2. Game Accounts

State your ESL nick as a gameaccount.

4.1.3. Server

esl.eu is the official ESL server.

4.1.4. Spectators

Spectators are only allowed if both participants agree to this within the match comments.

4.1.5. Bug Using

Bug using is strictly forbidden and will be punished with 1-4 penalty points. The admin will decide in all cases himself.

4.1.6. Wrong Settings

You have to check the settings before showing your opponent that you are ready. Once the game is running there is no way to protest for wrong match settings.

5. Penalty points

In general, a player (and the team) can receive up to 6 penalty points per match, unless a single violation has a higher punishment. Where a player or (and the team) receives penalty points for multiple violations, the penalty points are added together.