CS2 Tournament Rules

Introduction

These rules are the official Counter-Strike 2 rules of the Finnish Esports Federation - SEUL ry, slightly modified for the Lahti LAN tournaments. Every participant must read and understand the rules below and conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner throughout the tournament.

1.General rules

1.1 Game: Counter-Strike 2 (5vs5 Bomb Defusal)

1.2 Team size: 5 main players. Optionally, up to two substitutes and a coach.

1.3 A team may replace at most two main players with pre-registered substitutes.

1.4 An individual player or coach may only be on one team during the tournament.

1.5 In a multi-stage tournament (e.g. qualifiers and main event), a team must retain the majority of its starting roster through to the end of the tournament.

1.6 Kaptam The Kaptam Gamers Discord server can be used for communication & VoIP. Tournament staff can also be reached via the Challengermode chat.

1.7 Any software that modifies game files or provides an unfair advantage is prohibited and is grounds for immediate disqualification from the tournament.

1.8 So-called "ghosting" (e.g. watching the official stream during a match) is prohibited.

1.9 Players must use their own equipment (keyboard, mouse, mousepad, headset and earbuds). At offline tournaments the coach must use their own earbuds.

1.9.1 At an offline tournament, the organiser may provide computers and monitors. The organiser may also provide noise-cancelling headphones or noise-cancelling booths.

1.9.2 At an online tournament, players are responsible for providing their own computers, monitors, peripherals and internet connections and for ensuring they function properly. The organiser is not responsible for any technical issues.

1.10 Players must have a valid CS2 licence on their personal Steam accounts unless otherwise stated.

1.11 In-game names and avatars

1.11.1 Teams and players must use only their official nicknames during the tournament. Team and player names must not contain sponsors related to alcohol or tobacco products, gambling, adult entertainment, or anything else inappropriate for children and young people.

1.11.2 Players must use a broadcast-appropriate Steam profile picture, such as the team logo or a personal photo.

1.11.3 In-game items must not display anything prohibited under rule 1.11.1.

1.12 A player who has received a CS:GO or CS2 VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) ban less than two years ago on any of their game accounts may not participate in or play in the tournament.

1.13 Coaching

1.13.1 At an offline tournament, the team coach is entitled to watch the match from behind the players, but may not communicate with the players in any way except at half-time, during a tactical timeout, or when requesting a timeout.

1.13.2 Kaptam The coach may only follow the match via CSTV stream with a 90-second delay. The coach may still speak to the players via VoIP at any time before, during, and after a round.

1.14 During a match, players and the coach may communicate only with match-relevant persons: their own team's players, their coach, tournament organisers, referees, and the opposing team via the in-game chat channel. Communication must comply with rule 7.1.

1.15 Schedule

1.15.1 At an offline tournament, the team captain, the entire team, and the coach must be present 30 minutes before the scheduled match start time to complete the map selection and receive tournament and match information.

1.15.2 At an online tournament, the team captain must be present and available on the official tournament platform (e.g. Discord) 30 minutes before the scheduled match start time to complete the map selection and receive tournament and match information.

1.15.3 If a team is not ready when the match is due to start, the team will first receive a warning and then penalties as determined by the referee.

1.15.4 The tournament organiser and referees must inform teams of break lengths between maps and matches. The organiser and referees reserve the right to change the stated times if circumstances require.

1.16 In extreme situations, referees have the final say on all matters. Referees reserve the right to modify these rules in cases where, in their judgement, doing so is necessary to ensure fair play.

2.Game rules

2.1 Game format: mr12.

2.2 Up to 24 rounds in regulation, with sides switching at half-time (after round 12).

2.3 Starting money: $800.

2.4 Match timings

2.4.1 Round duration: 1 min 55 s

mp_roundtime_defuse 1.92
mp_roundtime 1.92

2.4.2 Freeze time: 20 s — mp_freezetime 20

2.4.3 C4-timer: 40 s — mp_c4timer 40

2.4.4 Round restart delay: 5 s — mp_round_restart_delay 5

2.4.5 Half-time break: 15 s — mp_halftime_duration 15

2.4.6 Overtime half-time break: disabled — mp_overtime_halftime_pausetimer 0

2.5 The first team to reach 13 rounds in regulation wins the map.

2.6 If the map ends in a tie (12-12), overtime is played.

2.6.1 Teams continue on the same side as in the second half of regulation.

2.6.2 The first team to win four rounds in overtime wins the map.

2.6.3 Format: mr3.

2.6.4 Starting money: $12,500.

2.6.5 Overtime continues until a winner is determined.

2.7 Side selection

2.7.1 In Best of 3, Best of 5, and Best of 7 formats, the side is chosen by the team that did not pick that map. On the final (decider) map, sides are determined by a knife round.

2.7.2 Kaptam In a Best of 1 format, sides are determined by a knife round before the match starts, unless both teams agree on which side each starts on.

2.8 A player may carry at most 4 grenades, including:

Flashbang, max 2
HE-grenade, max 1
Smoke grenade, max 1
Molotov/Incendiary, max 1
Decoy, max 1

3.Other rules

3.1 Scripts (excluding buy, toggle, jump-throw, and demo scripts) are prohibited. If you are unsure whether your script is allowed, ask a tournament referee before matches begin.

3.2 External programs that affect the game state or execute actions within the game are prohibited.

3.3 Intentionally disconnecting during a match is prohibited.

3.4 Planting the bomb in a location where it cannot be defused is prohibited.

3.5 Defusing the bomb through an obstacle (e.g. a wall or ceiling) without line of sight is prohibited.

3.6 Exploiting bugs that alter fundamental game principles (e.g. spawn bugs) is prohibited.

3.7 So-called pixel walks are prohibited.

3.8 Boosting is allowed, except where it causes game textures, walls, ceilings, or floors to become transparent or passable.

3.9 If a team or player discovers a new position and is unsure whether it is permitted, they must contact the tournament referee before using that position to confirm it complies with the rules.

4.Timeouts

4.1 Kaptam Both teams have 2 × 5-minute technical timeouts, which may only be used for technical issues. A player who has lost their connection has as many minutes as there are timeouts (10 min total) to rejoin the match. Always contact an admin via Discord when using a technical timeout.

4.1.1 Players must state the reason for the timeout in the in-game chat before or immediately after requesting it.

4.2 The match resumes when both teams are ready, when the timeout timer expires, or when the referee decides the game continues.

4.3 Kaptam Each team has 3 × 30-second tactical timeouts per map. A timeout is requested with the command /pause. Each team receives one additional tactical timeout per first two overtime periods. Unused timeouts from regulation do not carry over to overtime.

4.5 In online tournaments, a technical timeout may last at most 15 minutes, during which the competitor must resolve the issue. If the technical issue cannot be resolved within the allotted time, the team must use a stand-in, play short-handed, or forfeit the map and/or match.

5.Maps

5.1 Kaptam The map pool is CS2's current official Active Duty map pool.

5.1.1 de_dust2
de_inferno
de_mirage
de_nuke
de_overpass
de_train
de_ancient

5.1.2 The most recently known map pool is used unless otherwise announced.

5.1.3 If the map pool changes during the tournament, the tournament organiser will decide which map pool is used to complete the tournament.

5.2 Kaptam The map pick & ban process uses Valve's official system in both BO1 and BO3 matches.

5.2.1 The home team is the higher-seeded team. The away team is typically on the right side of the match page or lower in the bracket.

5.2.2 The team that starts the map selection (Team A) is either the team that lost the coin flip or the away team (lower seed).

5.2.5 Kaptam The map veto begins in Challenger Mode after players have marked themselves as ready.

6.Protests and penalties

6.1 All protests must be submitted within 10 minutes of the match ending. Timeouts are not used during a match to file protests. Cases are handled by referees after the match.

6.2 When a protest has been filed about a match, the teams involved may not continue in the tournament until the protest has been resolved.

6.2.1 The head referee may allow a team to continue in the tournament before the protest is resolved.

6.3 Penalties

6.3.1 Warning, round loss, map loss, match loss, disqualification of a player or team from the tournament, ban for a player or team.

6.3.2 A round loss is deducted from the final map score.

6.3.3 Tournament referees apply penalties at their own discretion.

6.4 Players may not request demos during the tournament. If a player is suspected of cheating, the captain of the suspecting team must report the suspicion to the tournament referees immediately after the match ends.

7.Fair play

7.1 Verbal abuse, racism, religious insults, and all other disruptive behaviour are prohibited and will result in penalties from the tournament organiser. So-called trash-talk that exceeds the bounds of good taste is also prohibited and will result in a warning, and continued behaviour will result in further penalties.

7.2 Tournament participants must always communicate with the tournament organiser and referees politely and respectfully.

7.3 If a participant deliberately tries to sabotage games, other players, or the tournament organisers in any way, the participant will be disqualified.

8.Broadcasts

8.1 If a match has an official broadcast or an official broadcast partner, teams and players must wait for production to be ready before starting the match.

At Lahti Lanit, this only applies potentially during the finals

8.2 The tournament organiser reserves the right to decide who may broadcast the tournament and its matches.

8.3 In online tournaments and tournaments where referees are not directly supervising players, broadcasts must have a delay of at least two (2) minutes, which can be set either via CSTV or directly on the stream.

8.4 Kaptam Players and teams may stream their own matches, but the stream must have a minimum 90-second delay.