EPTDon't Get Fined
Blizzard has released their 30 page Player Handbook for WCS 2014. Most of it is fairly obvious and routine, writing it all out at length for the sake of thoroughness. Don't be late, don't be a jerk, don't conspire to fix matches with underground gambling rings – that kind of stuff.
However, there's a real prize money penalty policy this year, so in the interest of helping lazy pro-gamers not lose too much money here's a short summary of the important parts.
Monetary Fines
Before we explore what exactly can be penalized, let's see what there is to lose.Player Tournament Offenses
(page 20, section 18.0)- A. If a player does not follow the rules of the tournament, the player may receive a warning at
the discretion of the tournament organizer. - B. If a player causes a delay beyond the designated exceptions, the player will receive a warning.
- C. Once a warning has been issued, subsequent infractions will accrue a penalty at the discretion of the organizer and Blizzard Entertainment. A continuing or repeated infraction will cause multiple penalties at the discretion of the organizer.
- D. In a single competition day, if a player receives:
- 1. One (1) penalty will result in a 1% prize money deduction
- 2. Two (2) penalties will result in a 2% prize money deduction
- 3. Three (3) penalties will result in a 5% prize money deduction
- 4. Each further penalty will result in an additional +5% prize money deduction
- 1. One (1) penalty will result in a 1% prize money deduction
- E. Penalties accrue cumulatively throughout the season and are deducted from the players total season earnings – e.g. one penalty on Jan 5, 2014 and three penalties on Feb 9, 2014 cause a 1% + 5% = 6% total deduction in prize earnings.
- F. All Prize money deducted via penalties for a season will be added to the Prize of the highest placing Premier player in the tournament with the least penalties for the current season.
- G. Blizzard Entertainment and the tournament organizer reserve the right to eject any player from the league for repeated misconduct or rule violations.
So, not only are there penalties, but they are deducted as a percentage of your total winnings from the entire season. The penalties are added to the prize pool, opening the door for opportunistic pros to goad their opponents into getting penalized (just kidding... or am I?).
Now that we know the stakes, here are some of the important rules:
Player Code of Conduct
(page 19, section 16.0)- A. Language – In all languages, players may not use obscene gestures, profanity and/or racist comments in game chat, lobby chat, or live interviews. This includes abbreviations and/or obscure references. Organizers reserve the right to enforce this at their own discretion.
- B. Behavior – Players are required to behave in a sportsmanlike manner towards other competitors, members of the administration team, media, and fans.
- C. Disputes and Redress – Any disputes a player may have with the current operation of the league should first be addressed by email, telephone or in person to the tournament organizer. If the organizer does not provide an adequate response in a timely fashion,
players and teams should contact Blizzard Entertainment at esportsteam@blizzard.com. - D. Communication & Storage Devices – Players must consult with the organizer before bringing electronic storage devices to any event and are not allowed to use any mobile or external communication equipment during a match. All personal equipment must be in an enclosed bag or be given to an administrator while a match is played.
- E. Illegal substances – Players may not be under the influence or in possession of illegal substances. In addition to the standard Code of Conduct penalties, any offending players may be handed over to the authorities in accordance to the local laws.
- F. Alcohol – Players that are intoxicated during any event may be disqualified at the discretion of the tournament organizer.
- G. Cheating – Any form of cheating will not be tolerated. If the organizer determines that a player is cheating, the player will be immediately disqualified and removed from the tournament and may be restricted from participating in future events.
- H. Software Exploitation – Any intentional use of any bugs or exploits in the game may result in a forfeit of the match and disqualification from the tournament. Bugs and exploits will be determined at the discretion of Blizzard Entertainment.
- I. Collusion and Match Fixing – Players are not allowed to intentionally alter the results of any match. If the organizer determines that a player is colluding or match fixing, the player will be immediately disqualified and removed from the tournament and may be restricted from participating in future events. Players must compete to the best of their ability at all times.
- J. Gambling – Players are not allowed to place wagers on any matches or actions in, or around, the World Championship Series.
Other Things You Should Know
Even for pros who have played in hundreds of tournaments, there are a few rules for WCS 2014 that should be worth taking note of. These include chatting restrictions, restrictions on watching replays between matches, and considerations for race picking players.Online/Offline Tournament Rules
(excerpts from p.14-16, sections 13.0 and 15.0)- Don't be late/don't slow things down
- C. Players must check in and be ready to play 30 minutes before their scheduled match time. Ready to play is defined as being ready to start the game within 60 seconds. (online only)
- D. Players must get permission from the administrator anytime they must leave their computer and provide a return time. (online only)
- S. Players who fail to arrive for their scheduled matches will receive the loss of their first game 10 minutes after the organizer’s match start time. Players will receive one loss for every additional 5 minutes they are late. The player will be considered forfeit if the player does not participate in any matches in that round of play. (online only)
- C. Players must check in and be ready to play 30 minutes before their scheduled match time. Ready to play is defined as being ready to start the game within 60 seconds. (online only)
- Race pickers can blind pick.
- H. Players may request a blind pick where each player will communicate their race to the tournament administration team before map selection.
- I. Players may switch races after each match.
- H. Players may request a blind pick where each player will communicate their race to the tournament administration team before map selection.
- No chatting
- J. During the game, players may not use chat except for a greeting, closing, and request for pause.
- No replay watching between games
- Q. In Qualifiers, replay watching may be considered as a delay of game and be grounds for a warning and subsequent penalties.
- R .In Challenger and Premier League, players may not watch any replays in the middle of a match. If there are any games that remain in the match, players must rejoin the designated
tournament administrator group within 1 minute.
- Q. In Qualifiers, replay watching may be considered as a delay of game and be grounds for a warning and subsequent penalties.
- Replays may be released to the public
- T. Replays of tournament matches can be used for the production of additional contents at the discretion of Organizers and Blizzard Entertainment. Replay packs may be made public after the conclusion of the season in which the original game was played.
Though your job hasn't gotten any easier, there's a little bit of silver lining we can find in the rules....
- The shoutcaster must treat all players with respect and cannot comment negatively on the player’s overall skill or character
Makes controversies a whole lot easier to settle. Good! 
when something happened or what??
