Rules | Collegiate StarLeague

These rules apply for Season 5 (Fall 2011 - Spring 2012). Please note that all rules are subject to change.

See our FAQ for more.

Eligibility

All colleges and universities in the United States and Canada can register in the CSL.
Players MUST be enrolled in their respective institutions as students (undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D) at time of registration.
Players NOT registered as current students can be considered for eligibility under special circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Exceptions can typically be made for players from especially small schools that are affiliated with larger universities. Contact us at cstarleague@gmail.com.
Players cannot be suspended by CSL for previous infractions outside of the CSL.
Players must be registered with valid names, school emails, and Battle.net IDs.
The minimum number of players per team is five, but it is highly recommended to have more.
Player registration is open until playoffs.
Players can only play for one school.

Format

Teams will compete against each other in weekly matches throughout the season.
The form of competition is StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.
There will be one season during this school year (Fall 2011 - Spring 2012).
The format of each match is three 1v1s, one 2v2, and one 1v1 closing ace match with unannounced players. The match goes to the team that first gets to three wins in order by lineup.
Set 1: 1v1
Set 2: 1v1
Set 3: 2v2
Set 4: 1v1
Closer: ace
Players MUST be fielded according to the submitted lineup.
Random racing is allowed.
Double racing is NOT allowed in 2v2. However, RR, RZ, RP, and RT are allowed.
Playing two different races in one match is allowed. You must play the race that you specify during lineup submission.
The first four sets of the match must have 5 unique players from each team.
A player can play at most twice in one match: once in sets 1-4 and again in the ace match. If playing again in the ace match, the player does not need to play as the same race as the previous game.
Although CSL prefers games to be played sequentially, note that it is permitted to play all five sets simultaneously if both teams agree. However, match results will be computed as in the sets were played in order.
If the match is decided before all the games are played, teams have the option of playing out the remaining games. However, these games will not be officially counted.

Alternates, Substitutions, and Forfeits:

Each team is given an allowance of six substitutions per season.
Only one substitution is allowed per match, and substitutes must be the same race as the original player specified in the lineup.
Substitutes cannot be chosen from the lineup of the match that they are substituting for.
After the six substitutions are used up, any subsequent substitutions must be agreed to by the opposing team.
Teams with more than two match forfeits or a total of ten set forfeits will be removed from the league for the remainder of the season.

Season Format

The CSL is divided into Regions and further subdivided into Divisions.
Only players added on or before the last week of the regular season play are allowed to be fielded in the playoffs.
The format for playoff matches is the same as the regular season. Regional Finals and Grand Final format is six 1v1s, and an ace match if necessary.
In the playoffs, the same rules and procedures as during the regular season will apply.

Map Schedule

Administrative rules

Each team will have a coordinator that is responsible for organizing his or her team, submitting lineups and results, and serving as a point of contact with CSL staff and other coordinators.
Lineups are due three days before the date of the match, by 11:59pm PST; thus, a game played on Sunday must have the match submitted no later than Thursday night at 11:59pm PST. They may be submitted and/or changed by the team coordinator at any point before the deadline.
Each division’s matches will have a pre-set date and time (see schedule). Matches must be played at the default time unless both teams agree to play their matches beforehand. No matches can be postponed. Exceptions may be granted on a case by case basis upon detailed review by CSL administrative staff.
Teams are considered no-shows 30 minutes after the proposed time, and are given an automatic match loss. This counts as a forfeit loss.
Players are considered no-shows 10 minutes after the preceding set ends and are given an automatic set loss. This counts as a forfeit loss.
This means that if Set 1 ends at 8:50, each team has 10 minutes (until 9:00) to field their next players. If another set loss is awarded, teams have another 10 minutes to field their next players (9:10) and so on.
IN ORDER TO CLAIM A FORFEIT LOSS: screenshot and email us as much information as you can. For example, screenshots of battle.net where their team is offline, chat records, IRC records, confirmation from the opposing team's coordinator. You can also have an admin verify that your team is online while the other team (or player) is not.
Teams will no longer be allowed to intentionally drop a player in the 2v2 set to "mineral feed" their teammate. Players who drop before 5:00 minutes will be considered intentional droppers, and the game will be remade. If you continue to play after 5:00 minutes with the intention to attack using shared resources, it will be a forfeit for the "feeding" team.
Match results, replays, and a recommendation for the best replay must be uploaded to the website immediately after the match is played. A first instance of late reports will cause a warning, a second instance will result in the late-reported matches being considered null (0-0 for both teams), and a third instance will result in one loss added to the team’s record (0-3 replaces the match results for both teams). This rule will be strictly enforced this season.
Late lineups submitted within a 24-hr grace period will result in a warning for the first two offenses. Any subsequent late lineups will be given an automatic ace loss. For every 24h after the ace loss, another set loss will be recorded. If the lineup has not been submitted by the time of the match, it is an automatic match loss.
Because lineups are locked after their deadline, please submit late lineups by email. Include player handles and races.
If assistance is needed, please use our Match Assistance forums for issues before or after match times. During match times (the time when the sets are scheduled to be played), please use the #cstarleague channel on QuakeNet IRC. (Admins can be found in the CSL channel on Battle.Net; however, this is not always the case and IRC should be used instead). Further information can be found in the FAQ.

Gameplay rules

All games will take place on Battle.net North American server
All games are to be played in game mode 1v1 (except for the Set 3, 2v2 match, of course) and game speed Faster.
Only players and CSL commentators are officially allowed in game. If both players agree, observers may join the game. ALL observers unaffiliated with CSL staff can be asked to leave at the players’ discretion, or can be denied entry before the game starts. Failure to adhere to a request to leave the game within a reasonable amount of time will result in an automatic set-loss for the observer’s team.
In-game chat should be limited to pp, ppp, or related (for PAUSING the game) and gg, good game or related (for ENDING the game). Players can ask to remake the game in the first 30 seconds if there are latency issues. Note: This rule is not meant to be strict; however, if a player asks for chat to stop, his request must be obliged. Continuing to chat will result in a set loss.
PROCEDURAL NOTE: To claim a set win, please request politely: "please stop chatting or I am reporting you for a chatting violation," and then do not respond to further provocations by other players. If the other player continues to chat and BM, it would be perfectly acceptable to, at that point, leave the game and send us the unfinished game replay to claim a win.
In the case that a player is unintentionally dropped, there will be a rematch to determine the winner. In case a game clearly has a winner as determined by CSL staff, the set point will go to that winner. This rule does not pertain to intentionally dropped games.
Teams will no longer be allowed to intentionally drop a player in the 2v2 set to "mineral feed" their teammate before mineral feeding is allowed at the 5:00 minute mark. Doing so will result in a forfeit for the violating team.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember, results will stand if you play through the game. If there are problems or issues (lag, chat violations, etc) that call for a regame or forfeit, please pause the game and ask for a CSL admin in IRC or b.net chat. If you play through the game, you CANNOT retroactively request regames or forfeits (unless both teams agree on a regame).

Bannable offenses

Smurfing, maphacking, observer hacking, in-game coaching, and any type of behavior that gives an unfair advantage to a player can be grounds for a permanent player ban.
Depending on how far the season has progressed, the player's team will either be given a match loss or be disqualified from the league (if it is discovered that the player has been using an unfair advantage throughout the season).