Before reading the rules below please make sure that you understand the following:
These rules and regulations shall govern the EGF DOTA 2 Tournament. By participating in the EGF DOTA 2 Tournament, all applicants and players accept and agree to abide by these rules and regulations, the EGF Terms and Conditions and the Game Specific Rules.
These 2024 EGF DOTA 2 Tournament Game Specific Rules will apply to all players participating in the event. Failure to abide by the rules set forth in this document may lead to penalties outlined in this document. It should be noted that it is the administration of the EGF reserves the right to decide on matters not specifically catered for, or detailed in these rules, or in extreme cases, decision can be made to preserve fair play and sportsmanship.
Should you find conflicting rules or unclear information, it is your responsibility to contact the EGF for clarification before acting.
The Tournament Directors decisions, under the advisory of the Tribunal Officer and Tournament Manager, are final and can even overrule the rules stated in all documents if deemed necessary. The Tournament Director has the authority to give out default losses for single games and matches. The Tournament Director may ban a player from the tournament in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations.
EGF website terms of use apply at all times.
Emergency rule changes might take place without any notice. Players are expected to keep up to date with the rule set at all times (It is the responsibility of the captain to make sure his players are up to date with the rules and fully understand them). Rules may be changed at any time without notification to teams and/or players.
EGF will provide a Tournament manager who will oversee the Tournament Director. The tournament manager reserves the right to advise the Tournament Director during disputes.
The Tribunal officer is a lawyer who will provide the tournament officials with advice during disputes. The tournament officials may refer disputes to the tribunal officer for resolution.
The rules, which are listed below, are to be followed at all times by EGF players. Anyone who registers on the EGF website accepts that they understand and will follow the rules. As many changes happen within the EGF, the following rules are not finalized. Parts, or even all, may be changed, updated or altered at any time, depending on the circumstances. For this reason, all players should regularly check the rules page for updates. Changes will be announced in the news by the administrators.
All players are asked to behave in a humane way towards other competitors, and to any member of the administration team; treat others as you would like to be treated If a player is found guilty of misconduct by an administrator, he/she may receive penalty points. Also, teams risk tournaments kicks, bans and expulsions from EGF competitions.
Every tournament participant must own a legal copy of every game they play. If it is proven that a player is using a pirate or illegal copy, he/she will be immediately removed from the tournament and banned from the website. Unless otherwise stated in each ladder, the latest version of each game (update patch) should be used for matches.
The EGF reserves exclusive right to the coverage of Elite Gaming Fest matches. This includes all forms of transmission, including IRC Bots, Shoutcast-streams, HLTV and Esport-TV Broadcasts. The Elite Gaming Fest can assign the coverage rights of a match or of several matches to a third party or to the actual players themselves. In this case, terms and conditions would have to be arranged with the EGF management before the match.
The EGF reserves the right to change any rule at any time according to the Terms and Conditions. Rule changes can take place during a seasonal event in which case it effective from the date it is introduced. As a general rule, any changes are posted on the main page in the news. If it is necessary, the players will be also informed by email.
By default, all times given are in Central African Time (CAT).
Should a clan or a player have any suggestions for improvement to the rules, it is possible to inform the administrators via either writing an email to info@elitegamingfest.co.za
All texts written in either protest or support tickets, or written by the administrators to members of a certain league or tournament, cannot be published without the permission of the Elite Gaming Fest administration.
All forms of cheating in EGF matches are forbidden and will be penalized by the Elite Gaming Fest. Players found cheating outside of the EGF may be barraged on the EGF depending on the evidence available. Note, we do not accept publicly submitted demo or screenshot evidence in these cases. Should it become known to the EGF administrators that any form of cheating was used to the advantage of a player or a team during an EGF match, the EGF reserves the right to punish them to the full extent of the rules available. By breaking any rule, a player risks being barred or completely excluded from a specific league/tournament. This also includes his or her team.
The use of programs (or "hacks") to circumvent, modify or in any way manipulate Anti-Cheat is forbidden. Any use of such programs will be penalized within the rule. Even testing of such programs in a match not happening within the EGF will be prosecuted.
In general, all programs which are not part of the original game, including custom-data and modifications, are not allowed in any EGF game. All external voice programs are allowed (e.g. Battlecom, Gamevoice, Teamspeak, Ventrilo etc.). Script changes and changes to the game’s configuration are allowed, unless they are partly or completely forbidden by the game-specific rules. Programs that provide an advantage during game play (e.g. drivers that allow the removing of walls such as ASUS or Wallhack) are forbidden. Any programs that change the game itself are forbidden. New programs and/or modifications are forbidden, as long as they are not specifically listed as legal. Additional programs have been developed for some games. These mostly serve the purpose of ensuring fair play. These additional compulsory programs are listed in the game-specific rules. Server modifications that are neither explicitly mentioned as legal nor as illegal in the set of rules are only allowed if they do not affect the normal gameplay.
To play in a tournament, a method of contact must be available and visible to all users in your player sheet. Each player in the EGF must only have one account If a player cannot access his account and then creates a new one, then he/she must write a support ticket explaining in detail the reason for not being able to access the account.
Elite Gaming Fest reserves the right to edit Nicknames and/or URL aliases, if the user fails to comply with the following requirements. Nicknames/aliases are forbidden if they are protected by third-party rights as long as the user has no written authorization, resemble or if they are identical to a brand or trademark, no matter whether it has been registered or not, refer to personalities, consist of names of Elite Gaming Fest, resemble or if they are identical to the names of Elite Gaming Fest employees. Apart from that any nicknames/aliases that are purely commercial (e.g., product names), defamatory, pejorative, offensive, vulgar, obscene, anti-Semitic, inciting hatred, or offending against good manners are forbidden. Names of real persons must not be used as nicknames as long as it is not the user's own name proven by the trusted status. Using alternative spelling, gibberish, or wrong spelling in order to avoid the requirements mentioned above is illegal. We reserve the right to extend, change, exchange, or delete these rules if necessary. The requirements mentioned above also apply to team names.
To play in any of the EGF’s leagues/tournaments, a team must have the following details written in their team sheet: a name, a team short handle, a contact method. The name does not have to be unique, but the EGF reserves the right to refuse clans with the same or similar names as a well-known clan (e.g., If you named your team “Schroet Kommando" or “Schroet Commando” etc, that would not be allowed). Names which are restricted by law will not be accepted and will be deleted and punished with penalty points if found. Also, names which go against all forms of etiquette and good manners will not be accepted. If a team deletes its account because of a certain amount of active penalty points and registers a new account, the penalty points will be transferred to the new account if the team rejoins the same ladder. Furthermore, 1 additional penalty will be added for the attempted deception. As a method of contact, the player's ICQ or the team's IRC channel has to be entered in the team sheet. The logo must represent the team and have some reference to the team's name or to the team's short handle. Copyrighted logos, or logos which go against etiquette and good manners will not be accepted.
Each player can only play in one team per ladder, cup, or tournament. In tournaments with premium duty or trusted obligation, only players with this status are allowed to play. Generally, players who are entitled to the position "Inactive" or "Honorary member" are not allowed to play, therefore they are grayed out in the team sheet.
A team can change its name at any time. This also applies when a team is restructured. The team’s points and score are transferred. Changing a team’s name in order to fool other teams is forbidden. The team’s former name must be mentioned on the team-sheet. Extremely long names, or consistent changing of team names is prohibited and can be punished with penalty points.
Should two teams’ fuse (merge), they are free to choose which of the two accounts they would prefer to keep on using. The other account(s) should then be deactivated. Scores and data can only be adopted by different leagues. If both teams played for the same league, the teams’ match data are erased.
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.
A team-account is owned by the leader or, as the case may be, by the person who registered the account. However, should a squad have qualified for a premiership/cup/pro-series or a competition other than a regular ladder, the squad has qualified in the name of its team. This means that the team that qualified, even if the squad that played is no longer part of that team, will be eligible to play but not the squad which moved to a different team.
The Elite Gaming Fest offers many different game systems. You can find out which one is used in your particular game by visiting the "Info & Details" page of your specific game.
The ladders in the Elite Gaming Fest are based upon the ELO points system. The points calculation of any match is calculated from the position of a player/team in the ladder, their opponent’s position, and the result of the match.
The so-called "challenge spam protection" does not apply within ladders with more than 20 participants and 5 open matches if both teams/players are positioned within the ladder's Top 10. Usually, matches between two players in the Top 10 are obligatory.
Players or teams may enter or leave a ladder at any time during the season.
On leaving a ladder, the team’s/player’s score is automatically put on hold. After leaving a league, a team is normally not able to re-enter the same ladder for 5 days. If a team/player rejoins the same ladder, their score will be automatically reactivated.
A premiership-league participant either qualifies by having performed very well within a ladder or by being nominated by the EGF-Admins to take part in the premiership.
The teams enter the premiership at the beginning of the premiership season. It is not possible to enter the premiership during a running season.
Teams can exit a premiership at any time. All the team’s matches are then deleted.
These rules are guidelines. Special cases are treated and rated separately.
A team can enter a cup according to the established cup-rules.
A team can exit a cup according to the established cup-rules.
In addition to challenging other teams via the Toornament Page, it is also always a good idea to contact the challenged team per e-mail or other means a few days before the match.
All forms of game broadcasting are allowed if both sides agree. If one side wants to broadcast a match, the details of the broadcast should be discussed before the match takes place.
Arrangements must be done before a match takes place. See 8. Arrangements for further information.
In case a game-server is needed for the game, the players must provide a server for the game themselves and come to an agreement on which server to use. In case no agreement can be reached, each team decides on a map which is then played on each of the two team’s servers. The teams can of course play on a completely neutral server, if they decide to do so.
The server settings mentioned in the various game rules (e.g. config. values) must be used. All server settings must be checked before the match begins. As soon as the match begins, the players therewith accept the set configurations.
Should any changes in the server settings take place during a running game, the server administrator is to be informed immediately. In case of a protest, it must be proven using screenshots and/or demos.
The internet is changing continuously and the connection to a server is not always perfect. The teams/players have to agree on a server that offers both sides an equal ping. Nevertheless, every player should know that he sometimes has to play with a bigger ping difference. In this case we have to appeal to the fairness of the teams/players, the right to change server or fakelag does not exist.
The client settings (e.g. config. values) that are listed in the game-specific rules are to be abided by.
Both players/teams are responsible for entering the correct results. Both players/teams may enter a detailed report or statements on the game. The admins are also free to enter a report, either written by themselves or by third parties.
Should the opposing player/team be late to the game, follow rule 5.6.1.
In case of disagreements concerning the score, both players/teams should keep screenshots of the game that can be sent to the admins when requested.
Should a team fail to turn up in time for a game, it receives penalty points which are due after 20 minutes, counting from the previously arranged time at which the game was to commence. Exiting a server during a game without a good reason is forbidden.
As a basic rule, every game is played through to the end. Should problems occur, these must be announced clearly by one of the players by calling “Protest”. As soon as the match is over, the protest form must be filled in on the website. The admins will then check the case with the help of the form and impose a penalty if necessary.
A protest must be handed in within 72 hours after the beginning of a match. A protest must be made using the protest form. It is not possible to use the support form. The opposing team then has 72 hours in which it may comment on the accusations made against it. An additional request by the admin is not necessary, as the notification occurs automatically.
If no response is received within the 72 hours period allowed, the team forfeits its right and the admin alone must decide according to the available data and facts.
The codes of conduct must also be kept to in case of a protest. Verbal misconduct or abuse in any form can be punished with penalty points.
Should a player/team not appear to a match on time, and the other player/team waited for at least 5 minutes, an entry is made in the result sheet. The incident has to be documented with screenshots. You need to hand them to the responsible admin in case of a protest. It is forbidden to enter a result by itself.
Should a team have too few players at a match for any reason, they are nevertheless allowed to compete against the complete opposing team, providing they have the minimum number of players necessary. Unless stated differently in the game’s specific rules, the minimum number of players a team is allowed to compete with is the designated amount minus one. The opposing team may freely decide to take players off their team in order to make it a fairer match. The match may also be postponed, if both the teams are agreed.
Should a team ascertain a game offense, the best procedure is to write a support-mail via the EGF. The match-ID and an exact description of the occurrences must be given in this mail. The accusations must be provable and the page on which the proof can be viewed by the admins must also be given.
The support-function should only be utilized when the problem that occurs is not during a match. Problems that apply to a match directly, must be dealt with using and email to cs2@elitegamingfest.co.za.
Should problems with a server occur, a different server must be found and used. Should no other server be found in a measurable amount of time and should the original game server not be functional for an indefinite time, the game can be resumed at a later time and date.
Should a player drop during a game (e.g. disconnected due to technical problems), then the game is either paused or the map is restarted, if the still complete team wishes to do so. In the event of a drop, a registered substitute may enter the game in the dropped player’s place.
Rules concerning the dates and times of a game, should any exist, are to be found in the specific game rules.
A screenshot of the on-screen results must be made of every game that is played. The screenshots must be uploaded onto the page with the match details as soon as possible after the game has ended. One screenshot showing each result (e.g. per half or map) is needed and can be uploaded by either the winners or the losers.
Non-existent screenshots lead to the assumption of a so-called “fake match”, a match that never took place. The screenshots must be uploaded within 24 hours after the game ends. They are to be kept for at least 14 days and must be presented to a player, or an admin at request.
If your game supports a demo- or replay-function, it is obligatory for all players to use it. The demos are to be kept for at least 14 days and must be presented to the admin at request. If it should come to a protest, the demos must be kept until 14 days after conclusion of the protest.
If a player or team suspects that another player or team is violating a regulation during a game, the demo can be demanded of the opposing team straight away. The admins are only to be called in when suspicions continue to exist even after the demos have been viewed. In this case, the clan or player may proceed and send the admin the game demos. The admin will then take the appropriate action.
It is recommended to voluntarily make all demos available to the public in order to keep the ladders transparent and interesting. For specific rules, please read the respective game rules.
If a player or team disregards or violates one or more of the legal rules of the league, this can have various consequences depending on the severity of the offence. The EGF possesses an official catalogue of penalty points according to which points are given for each offence.
If a punishment affects a player in a team match, the player and the team receive the same penalty points. Up to 6 penalty points may be given per team and player within a single match.
The responsible admin decides whether an offence has affected the game to such an extent that it cannot be assessed and must be deleted. Offences committed by the losing team seldom lead to match deletion.
In addition to penalty points, players and teams may be barred (also known as frozen, locked and barraged) if they have accumulated a certain amount of penalty points:
Barred players and teams must finish playing their open matches. They cannot challenge nor be challenged. Barred players may not take part in team matches.
As a rule, the penalty points are deleted after a certain period of time. There are different clearance periods depending on the number of points:
A player or team can receive a maximum of 11 penalty points. A player or team account that goes above 12 or more penalty points is kicked from all leagues and may not re-enter any of them until the sum of their penalty points drops below 12 again.
Bans are independent of the time of day and expire overnight. A player is not allowed to play as long as the red warning box is still displayed at the team or player sheet.
In particular cases the penalties imposed by the admins may vary from the catalogue of penalty points and can be transferred to other platforms. The admins can impose penalties or delete matches for offences that are not listed here. The same applies for Streak- and Award-Deletions or making pointless Support/Protest tickets.
Penalties (penalty points/barrages/bans) given on EGF platforms are valid on all EGF sub platforms.
All insults that occur in connection with the EGF will be punished. This mainly includes insults during a match but also insults within the EGF website or league/tournament related (forums, match comments, player comments, support- and protest pages, etc.). Insults via IRC, ICQ, e-mail or other media may be penalized, providing a connection to the EGF is given and provable.
Extreme insults such as radical statements or threats to do someone bodily harm can lead to strong punishments including exclusion and account deletion.
Written warning for the first offence
The deciding factor therefore is the amount of active penalties for insults, the extremeness of the insult(s) will also be taken into account.
The excessive posting of futile, annoying or offensive contributions within the EGF is considered as spamming.
Spamming on the website (forums, match comments, player comments, support- and protest pages, etc) is penalized as follows:
The decisive factor therefore is the amount of active penalties for spamming.
Team:
3 Penalty Points. If an opponent fails to appear to a match, it is not necessary to file a protest. Simply enter that your opponent did not show up in the result sheet. When choosing this option, the remaining result panels should be left blank.
4 penalty points. If your opponent should deliberately leave during a match, you must make a protest. You must not enter a result yourself. This may be penalized as entering a fake result. Should the game have advanced to a point at which an evaluation of the result is possible, a win may be granted to the remaining team. The decision whether a match can be evaluated or not is in each case decided by the responsible admin.
Up to 2 penalty points for misusing the in-game chat function for excessive spamming in order to irritate the opponent or to disturb the course of the game. The chat function is solely meant for communicating with your opponent.
4 penalty points. It is forbidden to kick opposing players from the server during a match.
Both parties must check the server settings. Wrong server settings must be corrected before a match. Should the wrong settings be noticed after the game has already begun, they must immediately be corrected. If this is not possible because e.g. the server provider is not willing to make changes, the match may be interrupted in order to file a protest. If the settings concerned are relevant for the course of the game, the match must be restarted as soon as one of the parties wishes it to be.
Should wrong server settings be noticed at any later point in time then both teams are responsible. If possible, the wrong settings must be corrected. The match is, however, only repeated if both teams wish it to be. A completed game that had wrong server settings all along may only be repeated if both teams agree to do so.
2 penalty points. Even deviations from the stipulated server settings that have no or near to no influence on the course of the game are penalized.
4 penalty points if server settings that have a large influence on the course of the game are wrong or have been modified.
Agreements concerning rule 8 that are not complied with are penalized as violations against the according EGF rule.
Attempts to deceive admins or other players with wrong or fake statements, information or data are penalized as follows:
6 penalty points if a match or matches were created for the sole reason of not actually playing but of entering a fake result in order to receive illegitimate points within the ladder.
4 penalty points for entering a fake game result, e.g. when the game was aborted by the opponent or when you do not wish to play the game. If problems should arise that you cannot solve amongst yourselves, a protest must always be made.
Note: If you agree on not playing a match it is forbidden to enter 0:0 or similar as the game result. If no result is entered matches are deleted seven days after the date the game was scheduled at, excluding compulsory games. It is also possible to delete matches yourself, providing both opponents agree to do so. The link for this option is to be found in the match setup of each match.
Match media includes all records e.g. demos, screenshots or logos that are generated within the scope of a match.
The faking of match media is forbidden and is penalized with 1-4 penalty points dependent on the severity of the case. For example: Uploading senseless screenshots, hoping the match will not be checked too closely, is not penalized as heavily as when screenshots are uploaded that are meant to cover up a fake match.
Intensification when cheating is suspected:
6 penalty points when fake match media is handed in and the player/team is strongly suspected of cheating.
Other attempts of deceiving an admin or another player are penalized with 1-4 penalty points depending on the severity of the case and according to the judgement of the responsible admin.
3 penalty points if a player whose status on the team was changed from inactive in the last five days takes part in a match. These players are clearly marked as "inactive" or "barrage" on the EGF team page.
It is, however, possible for these players to take part in a game if the opposing team agrees beforehand (see rule 8.).
This rule is ignored in 2on2 ladders.
6 penalty points if a barred player participates in any gaming activity. It is not possible to make use of barred players by any form of agreement (rule 8.).
3 penalty points if a player who is not listed on the EGF team page, but is known to have been a member of the team for some time, participates in a game.
6 penalty points if a player who is neither listed on the EGF team page nor a member of the team participates in a game. In special cases there may be barrages up to four weeks.
Match media includes all records e.g. demos, screenshots or logs that are generated within the scope of a match.
1 penalty point if the compulsory match media (e.g. screenshots of the results, replays) has not been uploaded within 24 hours after a match. If media of several matches is missing, up to 3 penalty points may be given as a collective penalty. If the match media is filed subsequently, the penalty points may be deleted or reduced on request.
1-3 penalty points if no or insufficient media is handed in on request of an admin. The responsible admin decides which records or match media is necessary depending on the circumstances (e.g. demos, server logs, chat recordings, etc.).
6 penalty points if no or insufficient media is handed in on request of an admin in order to rebut a strong suspicion of cheating.
3 penalty points if a player’s compulsory game account entry is missing or wrong after a match.
6 penalty points if the player’s compulsory game account entry is missing or wrong after a match and there is additionally a strong suspicion that a faker or ringer took part in the match.
These penalties are explained in the game specific rules.
12 penalty points for the player and 6 penalty points for the team. The use of severe cheats (e.g. aimbot, wallhack, multihack) is penalized with a two year ban from the EGF. On top of that all the statistics for the player from the last 12 months will be removed. For the team in question the statistics from the last 3 months will be removed. The removal of the statistics will solely consist of the ladders of the game where the player was caught cheating in.
Rehabilitation is only available to players caught cheating in EGF matches. After at least six weeks the cheater receives the one-off opportunity of handing in an essay on the topic of cheating in multiplayer games. The exact subject of the essay is set by the EGF. The complete essay must be handed in within three months after the subject is decided upon. It will then be reviewed for a week. If it complies with the requirements (form and length) and if its content is convincing, the cheater may receive the chance of rehabilitation. The penalty points for the cheating offence are, in case of rehabilitation, reduced to 7 for the player and 5 for the team. The statistics will however not be reinstated.
In order to retrieve your account, it is helpful to enter non-public information in your account, as admins can then confirm your identity more easily should you forget your login data.
Intense compulsory challenges only become active in ladders with more than 20 participants.
1 penalty point for the challenged if he is positioned within 20 places above the challenger in the same ladder.
2 penalty points for the challenged if both participants are positioned within the top 10 of the same ladder.
These penalties lie within the discretion of the responsible admin and are penalized according to their severity. This type of offence is e.g. the postponement/abortion of matches that were already confirmed.
Certain arrangements between the teams/players are allowed. These arrangements may slightly differ from the EGF rules. Arrangements that differ greatly from the set of rules are however not allowed. Please note that the EFG rules were made to guarantee the same advantages/disadvantages for all teams. 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 you or your team.
Rules that can be changed by agreements are to be found in the game specific (*) rules. Should this not be the case then you are not allowed to agree on changes.
All arrangements between teams in addition to the EFG rules have to be written down in the match comments. The other team has to confirm those arrangements in the comments. To avoid an abuse of the edit function, a third comment has to be written.
Please do also keep screenshots and/or logfiles of your arrangements. If you do not fulfil these restrictions, any protests or supports concerning those arrangements will be rejected.
The following rules cannot be changed by arrangement:
Once the match is concluded, everyone must enter the correct result (in the case of a party, only the party leader should enter the result). It is mandatory to enter the result for the match to be evaluated. If a player enters an incorrect result, they will be penalized. It is also possible to report a player with inappropriate behaviour, and the admin team will decide whether to issue a temporary ban from versus.
The GA is essentially an assurance of who you are playing with. Therefore, it is mandatory to use the same Game Account registered on the EGF profile during the game. Those who do not have it cannot participate in Versus matches. The opposing team can enforce this rule until the start of the match.