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. 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.

1.4. 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

2. Match Media

All match media (screenshots, demos, etc) must be kept for at least 14 days. In general, you should upload the match media from a match to the match page as soon as possible. Faking or manipulating match media is of course forbidden and will result in severe penalties. Match media should be named clearly based on what it is. It is not possible to file a protest or write a support ticket to complain about bad match media naming. However, if an admin is hindered in their work because of bad match media names then it can be punished for.

2.1. Screenshots

A screenshot showing the score of each map must be taken and uploaded to the match page within 24 hours. This can either be from in-game or from the Quake Live website, but we recommend the in-game screenshot in case of problems with the Quake Live website.

2.2. Demos

It is mandatory for all players to record demos. We recommend setting Auto record action to Demo + SS in the advanced game settings or "cg_autoaction 3" in your config.

Incomplete, defective or manipulated demos will be treated as missing demos. It is up to the admin to decide if a default loss is given or not.

3. Settings

3.1. Client settings

Quake Live subscription requirements:

1. The match line up consists at least out of one PRO account, while the others can be standard accounts.

2. The match line up consists out of players with at least Premium subscriptions.

If a team is not able to invite all players to the server, the team will get a default loss.

3.2. Server settings

It is the team's responsibility to check server settings in advance. Once the match starts, players automatically agree with the server settings.

3.2.1. TDM Settings

• Time limit: 20 mins
• Frag limit: None
• Mercy limit: 80
• Team Size: 4v4
• Server size: 16
• Damage Through Floors: Off
• Powerups: On
• Timeout Count: 3
• Timeout Length: 120
• Instagib Mode: Off
• Ramp Jumping: Off
• Gravity: 800
• Weapon Switch Speed: Default
• Quad Damage Factor: 3x(default)

3.2.2. CTF Settings

• Time limit: 20 mins
• Capture limit: 8
• Team Size: 4v4
• Damage Through Floors: Off
• Powerups: On
• Runes: On
• Timeout Count: 3
• Timeout Length: 120
• Instagib Mode: Off
• Ramp Jumping: Off
• Gravity: 800
• Weapon Switch Speed: Default
• Quad Damage Factor: 3x(default)

4. Match rules

4.1. Before the match

4.1.1. Contacting your opponent

There are several ways to contact your opponent before the match:

• Use ESL Match Chat (Bottom menu -> Matches -> Chat bubble) or through ESLWire
• Use match comments in your particular match
• Join us on IRC #esl.quakelive (Quakenet) and contact your opponent
• Join the opponent’s IRC channel if they put one into their team profile

If you are not able to contact your opponent at latest 20 minutes after official match time, check the "No Show" section in these rules.

4.1.2. Server choice

The ESL does not supply servers for matches, players and teams must provide their own and come to an agreement with their opponent as to which to use.

The match should be played on a European server, where both teams have an average ping below 50ms and the lowest difference in average pings.

A match can only be played on two different servers if:

• there is no server location where both teams have an average ping below or equal to 50ms,
• there is no server location where the difference of average pings is smaller than 20ms,
• there are two servers where the difference in ping and packet loss is the same for both teams

4.2. During the match

4.2.1. Server crash

If the server crashes the match will be continued with the timelimit changed to the remaining time rounded up.

4.2.2. Player drop

If a player drops then the match is continued with the timelimit changed to the remaining time. The remaining time should be rounded up if it was the leading player that dropped or the score was tied, otherwise round to the nearest minute.

4.3. After the match

The results are reported immediately by anyone who has at least "Match Orga" permissions on the ESL website.

• Enter score (bottom menu -> Matches -> Match Settings)
• Enter REAL results (not 0/1)
• Upload screenshots

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. A team is only punished once per violation, regardless of how many players. Where a player or team receives penalty points for multiple violations, the penalty points are added together.