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1.1 Introduction

WardiTV would like to welcome you to the WardiTV Team League Season 8 (WTL8). We are coming into the new season fresh with a complete makeover of the team league. From new branding through to an entirely new format, we are ready to take the WTL to the next level, and we hope you are too! For the first time in the history of our team league we have a dedicated team to help produce the league! The are going to be helping in multiple ways: making sure matches are being played; creating content for the league; helping track statistics and more. We are taking many steps forwards from previous seasons to ensure that whether you are a viewer, a fan or a competitor, that this season you will have the best possible experience with the league.

We have two main goals for WTL8. Firstly we want to push out a high production quality, super easy to follow and watch, high level tournament. The WardiTV Team League S8 will see ten of the best teams in the world fighting for a prize pool of over $2500. Our second goal is to make the WardiTV Team League Open a competition in which teams of any level can take part in a fun and friendly, yet competitive, environment. We have always believed that being part of an active team is one of the best ways to experience StarCraft - being able to play alongside others with a common goal on a regular basis. We hope to light the competitive flame in players from all leagues with a tournament that is designed to bring fair and regular competition, so there is always another match to look forward to.

We really hope you enjoy Season 8 of the WardiTV Team League and we are really excited to have you with us.

 

1.2 Prizes

WardiTV Team League Season 8

1st - $1750

2nd - $750
Base prize pool shown. With our Matcherino campaign we are hoping to raise this prize pool and add prizes for 3rd and potentially 4th place finishers.

WardiTV Team League Season 8 Open

1st - 65%

2nd - 35%
Prize pool to be determined by number of teams which register - 50% of entry fees will be put into the prize pool.

 

1.3 League Format

WardiTV Team League Season 8

Pre-Season

The pre-season will consist of a qualifier (format TBD) which will seed four teams into the WardiTV Team League Season 8. They will be joined by six invited teams (four teams invited from Season 7 and two teams invited after the qualifiers.)

Main Event

The Main Event will be split into two rounds.

Round 1

  • Teams are split into two groups of five.
  • Each group plays in a round robin format (four matches per team.)
  • Matches are BO7 all-kill, no revives.
  • Top three teams from each group advance to Round 2.
  • Teams who finish 4th in the group are invited to the post-season qualifier for Season 9.
  • Teams who finish 5th in the group are completely eliminated from the league.

Round 2

  • Six teams which advanced from Round 1 are placed into a group.
  • The group plays in a round robin format (five matches per team.)
  • Matches are BO5 pro league format, with a revive available in the ace match.
  • The fourth map of each match is always played, even if the score is already at 3-0. (The ace match is not played unless required to determine a winner.)
  • Top four teams advance to the post-season as well as securing an invite to Season 9.
  • The teams finishing in 5th and 6th are invited to the post-season qualifier for Season 9.

Post-Season

The post-season consists of playoffs to determine the final placing of teams in the WardiTV Team League Season 8 as well as a closed-invite qualifier for Season 9.

The playoffs are a gauntlet-style format, seeded from where teams finished in Round 2. There will be three matches : 4th vs 3rd, winner vs 2nd and then winner vs 1st. The first two matches are BO7 all-kill, but the Grand Final match is a BO3 format made up of a BO7 all-kill match, a BO5 proleague match and if required a BO7 all-kill ace match.

The format for the closed-invite qualifier for Season 9 is still TBA.

WardiTV Team League Season 8 Open

Main Event

The Main Event of the WTL8 Open is played in a Swiss group format.

  • All teams are added into a large Swiss-style group and randomly allocated first matches.
  • In a Swiss group your next match is determined by your current score, creating fairer matches as the league progresses.
  • The number of rounds will depends on sign-ups but we are looking at 7 or 8.
  • Matches are BO7 all-kill, no revives.
  • Top 12 teams will advance to a playoff bracket (top 4 will be seeded into RO8, 5th-12th will be seeded into RO12) with the prize pool on the line.
  • Teams below 12th will be seeded into other single elimination brackets (of 16 or fewer teams). E.g. teams 13th-28th will make up a 16 team bracket, as well as 29th-44th. These brackets have no prize pool, but are there to continue encouraging competitive play in an elimination format. 

Each season consists of qualifiers (Global First Division only), a round robin group stage and a single elimination playoff stage.

 

1.4 Format rules & further information

  • Round robin position is based on Match Wins-Losses -> Map Score ->  Head to Head if necessary.
  • There is no region lock in either competition.
  • There is no league-lock in either competition.
  • Teams may enter multiple teams (for example a main team and academy), but may not interchange players throughout the season.
  • There is a $10 entry fee to the WTL8 Open.
  • The official time zone of the WardiTV Team League is CET (GMT+1). Please communicate through this time zone. (NOT CEST UNLESS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS IS ACTIVE.)
  • In the WardiTV Team League Season 8, matches will generally be played at a start time of 1pm CET through to 9pm CET, depending on the region of teams (we will work hard to make times work for teams.)
  • In the WardiTV Team League Season 8 Open, matches are to be played every other Sunday at 6pm CET. Teams may arrange alternate times/dates if there is an issue with the set time. 

The following servers should be used based on the location of the two players playing : 

EU vs EU : Europe
EU vs NA Central / East : Europe
EU vs NA West : NA East
EU vs KR : NA Central
EU vs SEA : NA Central
AM vs AM : NA Central
AM vs KR : NA West
AM vs SEA : NA West
KR vs KR : Korea

 

1.5 TEAM COLLABORATIONS / MERCENARIES

There will be no alliances or mercenaries allowed for any point in the Open competition.

In the title event, collaborations and mercenaries (players not from their team) may be used for teams who have limited players, but only in the following ways.

  • Teams with an active roster of only four players may use one mercenary.
  • Teams with an active roster of only two or three players may use two mercenaries, or collaborate with a team which has two or three active players on their roster.
  • A set of individual players who are not tied to a team participating in the league may join up to create a team solely for the purpose of the league. The team must have a core set of players and will be restricted on the amount of roster changes. It must be discussed and accepted by an admin prior to the tournament, who will consider the team on a case-by-case basis. The team must be named and have some form of logo.

All mercenaries and collaborations must be accepted by an admin before the pre-season or main event begins. A player cannot act as a mercenary for another team if they already represent a team who is active in the WTL8 or in the WTL8 Open.

In the case of a team losing an active player during the season, special circumstances will be allowed for them to find another active player. A league admin must be contacted and agree to any additions in this case.

 

1.6 Schedule

3rd January - Sign-ups open.
13th January- Sign-ups close for the pre-season qualifiers close. 
15th-24th January  - Pre-season qualifiers.
27th January - Sign-ups close for the WTL8 Open.
8th February - Official start of Team League Season.

 

1.7 Contact

You should all have access to the admins on Discord through the WardiTV Team League Discord Server. Otherwise you can contact the WardiTV team on the following emails:

jonathon@wardi.tv - Jonathon 'Wardí' Ward (Head Admin)

lynne@wardi.tv - Lynne 'Mjolkie' van Vuuren (Support Admin)

mart@wardi.tv - Mart 'Thalandros' Siemerink (Support Admin)

2.1 Line-up & Players

A team may only use players who are part of their official team roster. Rosters must be submitted before the competition begins and any changes must be submitted as well. Roster updates will take one 'match week' to come into effect - so if you submit a change during the second match week, you will not be able to use your newly submitted player until the third match of the competition. Teams roster pages will hold the information including which week a player is eligible from.

Only players on a teams roster can play in matches and players should play under their ID on the roster. (If a player is playing away from their home server, playing under a different name is allowed.)

All roster changes must be done through the proper channels (there will be more information on this closer to the start of the competition.

Teams found to have an untrue player line-up / to be swapping players into their line-up just for matches / to be exploiting the system in any way will be removed and punished in future WardiTV events. Players should be an official member of a team to represent the team in the league, unless they are part of an alliance / mercenary set-up.

A player may play as Random. If a player wishes to play a specific race against his opponent race he should make this known ahead of time and before the opposing team pick a player & map. 

Players only have one ‘life’ per clan war, i.e. no revives.

Players should play on their main account listed in the roster if playing on the EU Server. On NA/KR players may play under a different ID, but any exploitation of this will result in a ban from the league.

 

2.2 Starting Player

Teams should state their starting player at the beginning of the match at the same time as their opponents in the in-game chat channel (or another agreed upon location of communication.) Once a starting player has been announced they cannot be changed, unless both teams agree to re-do the announcing of the starter.

3.1 Match Deadlines

In the main tournament, we will work personally with teams to get matches played on a regular basis while working around major events etc. We are usually aiming to play one match per team every week.

In the Open tournament, every match is on a strict deadline of around 12-14 days to be played (you will be notified of specific dates for each match week.) An initial match date and time will be set and if a team cannot play they must rearrange with their opponents or contact an admin.

 

3.2 Playing a Match

3.2.1 Servers

Servers have been covered in section 1.4.

3.2.2 Meeting Channel

Managers should contact each other before the match to confirm an in-game chat channel to meet in. We recommend to meet on the EU server and then to swap if required due to player locations. Please keep a record (chat logs, etc.) of agreeing where to play, so that if issues arise we can compare with screenshot evidence if a team was not present.

3.2.3 Starting the match & no-shows

Games should start within 10 minutes of the previous games, unless both teams agree to wait. This means no waiting on players etc. for ridiculous amounts of time. The first match should start within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time. A team which delays the start of the match past 15 minutes will start 0-1 down in the series. After 30 minutes a free-win can be claimed by the other team. Please provide screenshot evidence to admins for these claims to an admin.

If a team is a no-show for 15 minutes after a scheduled time then the other team starts with a 1-0 advantage. The team who starts 1-0 up should name their first player and the team 0-1 down will pick their '2nd' player and the map, as though they had lost the first game and were picking for map 2. If the team is still a no-show after 30 minutes then a free-win goes to the other team. Please take screen-shot evidence and report it to an admin. Screen shot evidence should include proof of agreed time & chat channel as well as a visible in-game timer and in-game channel where your opponents are not.

3.2.4 Maps

The higher seeded team should start vetoes, seeds can be seen on the Challonge Page for the tournament. Players should veto until one map remains, this will be the starting map for the clan war. Following this it will be losers pick. Maps may only be played once during a series.

In the lobby the Game Privacy setting should be set to 'No Match History' at all times.

Map pool will always be the current ladder map pool at the time a match is played.

3.2.5 Disconnects / Battle Net issues

If a player disconnects during the game due to issues outside of the players control the disconnecting player has 10 minutes to be ready to restart the game. This should be plenty of time for internet/computer restarts. Should the same player disconnect a second time they will have 5 minutes to prepare to start again. A third disconnect and the map will be forfeited, unless the issues are Battle.Net wide and are affecting both players, in which case we ask managers to be patient and to understand the circumstance.

A game should not be re-hosted for any other reason than a disconnect, unless agreed upon by both players.

If there are issues getting back onto SC2 due to Battle Net then a player may pass the guidelines set above, but should take screenshot evidence that Battle.Net is the reason for the delay, in case the other team wishes to dispute it.

When re-hosting a game players should not for any reason enter any replay. Should this happen a screenshot should be taken and this can result in a forfeit of the map from the player entering a replay.

Generally we expect teams to be cooperative with each other. The rules are here as guidelines. If you feel any situations have been missed here please contact an admin as we would be happy to fill any gap.

In the event of a draw a game should be replayed on the same map with the same players.

3.2.6 Reporting Results

Results can be reported through the results channel in the WardiTV Team League Discord.

 

3.4 Observing Rules

When an official streamer is in the game then no other observers will be allowed. If there is not an official streamer present then one manager / designated player from each team may observe each game.

If there is excessive talking during the game from observers in observer only chat, replays must be submitted (if requested) from the players perspective.

Teams may stream their own matches as long as they follow some simple streaming rules outlined in a later section of these rules (Section 5.)

 

3.5 Postponing Games

If there is a valid reason for having to cancel/postpone last minute then you should contact the admins and we will make judgement on what will happen. Should an admin require that a game be delayed for any reason they have the right to do so. 

Teams should not delay a map being played for more than 10 minutes while waiting for a player to be ready. If a team does not have enough players to complete the Clan War they should forfeit remaining games when they run out of players.

 

3.6 - Bad Manner

The WardiTV Team League is meant to be a fun and friendly environment and acts of bad manner will result in penalties and in repeat offences removal from the league. Admins will to decide penalties on a case by case basis.

We count bad manner as acts of maliciousness towards opponents, such as verbal insults etc. Anything which causes a negative atmosphere can be considered bad manner. Teams are responsible for their players conduct. Some examples of bad manner are : swearing at opponents, flaming opponents, offensive GGs, un-pausing before opponent is ready, starting games before opponent is ready, starting games without streamers (unless they are delaying the match) and so on. Admins have the final say on BM cases. We do not count manner mules, dancing or other in-game acts with units/buildings as bad manner.

Replying to BM with your own BM will not help anybody. Disputes are to be settled by admins / the information in the rules. Screenshot evidence of BM is required to be sent in to the WardiTV Team League Discord for action to be taken against the team.

To find a starting map teams should veto until one map remains. Following maps will be decided by losers pick with no winner’s veto.

The map pool will always be the current ladder maps at the time of a match.

Matches in the Open event may always be covered by a teams casters who are following the streaming rules. In the main tournament casters must all be accepted ahead of time by Wardi.

5.1 - STREAMING RULES

Streamers should not disrupt the game in any way and if they begin to lag they should tap out of the game until the lag issue is sorted.

Streamers should not hold up the games in any way. A team should only have to wait 2 minutes for a streamer before continuing the series without them.

Streamers should stream all games with at least a 90 second delay.

Streamers may not have more than 2 accounts per stream in a lobby.

Streamers must use a WardiTV Team League logo (available in the Discord) during their streams of matches from this tournament.

We will also be setting up a channel in the Discord where teams can look for streamers for their matches / streamers can look for matches needing casters.

Final Words

The WTL is meant to be a place for fun, competitive gaming. We will take action if we feel it is necessary in cases of cheating, bad manner and so on. Admins decisions are always final and they have the right to make calls based on these rules and their own judgement. Wardi will always have the final say in any complex situation, we ask that once a decision has been made you accept it and move on.