2014 WCS Player Handbook

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Table of Contents
General Information..................................................................................................................................... 4
World Championship Series Format ............................................................................................................ 7
WCS League Structure and Format – America and Europe ...................................................................... 7
Qualifiers ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Challenger ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Premier League ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Advancement and Fill Policy ................................................................................................................. 9
Region Switching ................................................................................................................................. 10
GSL Structure and Format – Korea.......................................................................................................... 11
Qualifiers ............................................................................................................................................. 11
Code A ................................................................................................................................................. 11
Code S ................................................................................................................................................. 11
GSL Fill Policy ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Region Switching ................................................................................................................................. 12
WCS Global Finals Structure and Format ................................................................................................ 13
Online Tournament Regulations ................................................................................................................ 14
Online Event Equipment and Settings .................................................................................................... 14
Online Tournament Rules ....................................................................................................................... 14
Live Event Tournament Regulations .......................................................................................................... 16
Live Event Equipment and Settings......................................................................................................... 16
Live Event Tournament Rules ................................................................................................................. 16
Player Rules and Responsibilities .............................................................................................................. 19
Player Code of Conduct........................................................................................................................... 19
Player Code of Conduct Offenses ........................................................................................................... 19
Player Tournament Offenses .................................................................................................................. 20
Player Disqualification............................................................................................................................. 20
Player Forfeit Policy ................................................................................................................................ 20
General Player Rights and Responsibilities ............................................................................................. 21
Live Event Player Rights and Responsibilities ......................................................................................... 222

Table of Contents
Prize Pool, Points, WCS Global Events ....................................................................................................... 25
WCS Prize Pool ........................................................................................................................................ 25
WCS Points .............................................................................................................................................. 26
WCS Global Events .................................................................................................................................. 27
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................... 28
Certification ................................................................................................................................................ 343

General Information
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIESThe World Championship Series (WCS) is the featured destination for StarCraft eSports, consisting of
two parallel leagues in Europe and America, while the Global StarCraft II League (GSL) operates in South
Korea. The WCS is dedicated to creating the best competitive experience for both players andspectators around the world.
CHARTERTo ensure fair administration and sportsmanlike conduct during the tournaments, the following
documents outline the rules, regulations, and player responsibilities for the World Championship Series.
Each participant of the league agrees to abide and be subject to these rules and regulations, which may
be amended from time to time by Blizzard Entertainment and its partners.
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.:
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, andDiablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard(NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creatingsome of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes
sixteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service,
Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
Blizzard is responsible for the coordination of partner management, direction, and government of theWorld Championship Series.
PARTNERS / TOURNAMENT ORGANIZERSThe Official Partner for WCS America 2014 is North American Star League
The North American Star league (NASL) was established to foster the prominence of eSports andprofessional StarCraft II play in North America through highly visible organized and invigoratingcompetition. Determined to bring the best experience possible, NASL is committed to building a lasting
relationship with our audience and supporting players to become the best they can be.
The Official Partner for WCS Europe 2014 is Electronic Sports League
The Electronic Sports League (ESL) (http://www.esl.eu/) is the largest and most important league forgamers in Europe consisting of around 4 million registered members and more than 800,000 registered
teams. ESL is operated by the company Turtle Entertainment GmbH since 2000 and offers more than
3,500 professional leagues and amateur ladders from a variety of games. Nearly 400,000 matches permonth are being played worldwide using the ESL technology. The ESL website currently reaches above
2.5 million unique visitors a month and about 35,000 new players register every month.
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The Official Partner for Global StarCraft II League is Gom eXP
Gom eXP (then named GOMTV.net) launched in 2008 with the StarCraft ‘Star Invitational’ Tournament.
Gom eXP’s goal is to bring diverse high quality content to international viewers by making use of theready accessibility of Internet media. Gom eXP’s service includes live streaming as well as a VOD
database with full English commentary, offering the highest quality eSports content to our fansworldwide.
After becoming the official Korean broadcasting partner of Blizzard Entertainment in May 2010, Gom
eXP began planning the Global StarCraft II League (GSL) with the goal of providing the best eSports
content possible. The GSL had its inaugural season in September 2010, boasting some of the highest
prize pools and largest scale tournaments. In 2011 the GSL officially started its regular season and hassince then developed into one of the most prestigious StarCraft II leagues in the world, setting astandard in the industry and becoming a pillar of competition in WCS.

OPEN COMPETITION
The World Championship Series is open to all participants that: (1) have an active Battle.net accountthat is in good standing; (2) who are over the age of majority in their country of citizenship and in thehost country of their WCS Region as of January 1, 2014, or who have written permission from theirparent or guardian; and (3) who earn their spot through Qualifiers. Players may also qualify throughtheir performance in previous seasons of WCS.
NON DISCRIMINATION
The World Championship Series provides equal opportunity to qualified individuals regardless of race,color, age, religion, gender, national origin, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, physical ormental disability, military status, and all other grounds of discrimination provided by local legislation.
GENERAL RELEASEAs a condition to being allowed to participate in the Tournament, participants are required to agree torelease and hold harmless Blizzard, the North American Star League LLC, Turtle Entertainment GmbH,
Gretech Corporation, OnGame Network Co., Ltd., and any of their respective parent companies,

subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agencies from any and all liability related
to the participation of the participant in the World Championship Series whatsoever, and waive any andall causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of orin connection with the World Championship Series or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, useof or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages
related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy,
defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory ofcontract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory. Participants must also consent to theuse of their name, biographical or occupational description, picture, portrait, likeness, voice or phrases,or any or all of them for promotional or commercial uses by Blizzard.
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AMENDMENTS
The rules, regulations and code of conduct of the World Championship series may only be amended,
repealed or modified by Blizzard Entertainment.

6World Championship Series Format
The World Championship Series consists of three tournaments running in three different regions. WCS
America and WCS Europe serve their respective regions, while WCS maintains a direct partnership with
the Global StarCraft II League as a sister tournament in South Korea. Per season, each region
independently operates Qualifiers, Challenger matches, and the Premier League. Participation in thePremier League and selected sanctioned tournaments will earn various prizes and points. There arethree seasons per year. Players may also participate and earn prizes and points in WCS Global Events
run by tournament organization around the world, which must comply with competitive criteria. At theend of all the seasons, tentatively October 5th 2014, the top players in the official WCS Point Standings
will be invited to participate in the Global Finals.

WCS League Structure and Format – America and Europe
1.0 Qualifiers
The Qualifiers will take place online and will determine the top 16 (24 players in Season 1 of 2014)
players that will advance into the current season’s Challenger matches.
A. Qualifiers will be open to players that are Master-level and above on the official hostregion’s, or Qualifier region’s, StarCraft II preceding or current ladder season.
1. If a player determines their opponent does not meet the Master League
Requirement, the player can request a review from a tournament administrator
before the match starts. Players cannot request a review for games already played.
B. Qualifiers will be free to enter.
C. Apart from any special invitations, Qualifiers will be filled on a “first come, first serve” basis.
D. Players may only participate in one region per season. Once a player participates in one
region's Qualifier, they will be ineligible to play in other WCS regions until the start of thenext season.
E. WCS Europe Only – A majority of the positions in Challenger will be filled via Qualifiers for
citizens and legal residents. If you are not a citizen of the region, please email
esportsteam@blizzard.com for an evaluation of your residency status.
F. WCS America Only – A majority of positions in Challenger will be filled via Qualifier for
citizens and legal residents of various regions around the globe with an emphasis on theAmericas. If you are not a citizen of the region, please email esportsteam@blizzard.com foran evaluation of your residency status.
G. AM/EU Ladder Wildcard: players with 200 wins on the region’s host ladder (“Americas”
server for WCS America and “Europe” server for WCS Europe) in this or the past season will
be eligible to compete in Ladder Wildcard Qualifiers for all remaining spots without meeting
any residency or citizenship requirements.
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H. The distribution of Qualifiers by region and type is below:
WCS America
USA/Canada/Latin America
China
Oceania/Southeast Asia
Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau
Ladder Wildcard

ServerAmericas
China
Southeast Asia
Korea & Taiwan
Americas# of Slots
8
2
2
2
2

S1 Exception*
12
3
3
3
3

WCS Europe
Europe/Africa/Middle East
Ladder Wildcard

ServerEuropeEurope# of Slots
124

S1 Exception*
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6*Season 1 exception will have 24 players advancing from the Qualifiers

2.0 Challenger
Challenger matches will determine the Premier League players for each season. Challenger matches takeplace immediately prior to each Premier League.
Over the course of the Challenger matches, there will be a total of 32 (48 in Season 1 2014) players in 16(24 in Season 1 2014) single elimination matches.
- 16 (24 in Season 1 2014) players from the current season’s Qualifiers- 16 (24 in Season 1 2014) players that lose in rounds from the previous season’s Premier League.
The competition will take place online and will determine the 16 (24 in Season 1 2014) players that will
earn a spot into this season’s Premier League.
A. Challenger matches – Format
1. All Challenger matches will be a “Best of 5”.
2. Each match will include at most one player from the previous season’s Premier
League.
3. Players that win their match will advance to Premier League. Players that lose their
Challenger match must participate in the next season’s Qualifiers if they wish toparticipate in that WCS region.
3.0 Premier League
The Premier League is the featured tournament of the World Championship Series. Premier League will
include 32 players: 16 (8 players in Season 1 2014) players from the previous season’s Premier League
and 16 (24 players in Season 1 2014) players from Challenger. (See Appendix for Group Selection) Thereare 3 rounds of the tournament:
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A. Round of 32 – Group Stage
1. 8 groups of 4 players each, using the Dual Tournament format (See Appendix).
2. The top 2 players from each group advance to the Round of 16 and are guaranteed aspot in next season’s Premier League.
3. The bottom 16 players are placed into the next season’s Challenger matches.
B. Round of 16 – Group Stage – Players will be required to be on-site
1. 4 groups of 4 players each, using the Dual Tournament Format (See Appendix).
2. The top 2 players from each group advance to the League Finals.
C. League Finals – Single Elimination Bracket – Players will be required to be on-site
1. The top 8 players are placed in a single elimination bracket.
2. The matches will be a “Best of 5” until the finals which will be a “Best of 7”.
4.0 Advancement and Fill Policy*Season 1 – Transition
As part of the transition from 2013, Season 1 Challenger of WCS America and WCS Europe
will have a total of 48 players. The 24 players from each respective Season 3 2013
Challenger League will be taking on 24 new players from Season 1 Qualifiers. The top 24
players who win their Challenger match will join the 8 existing players in order to fill out afull 32 player Premier League roster in each region. In subsequent seasons, the system willrevert to the bottom 16 players of Premier taking on a fresh set of 16 Qualifiers in
Challenger up-and-downs. Any extra spots that need to be filled will be taken from the 2013
WCS Ranking and Ladder Qualifiers.
A. Advancement policy – a player will be advanced in a bracket in the event that the opponent
in their last recorded match forfeits the subsequent match or is disqualified before thesubsequent match can be played. In the case of group play, the player directly below theadvancement cutoff in the group will be advanced.
1. If the advancement occurs mid-season for the vacating player, the advancing player
will receive all Prize money and Points for the new placement, but none for theirprevious placement.
2. If the advancement occurs post-season or pre-season for the vacating player, theplayer will gain all advancements via the Premier and Challenger fill policies, but nochanges to Prize money or Points.
B. Premier fill policy – any positions vacated by a player in the Premier League will be filled by
the player directly below the advancement cutoff in that player’s last group.
C. Challenger fill policy – any positions vacated by a player in the Challenger matches will befilled by a player from the Qualifiers. To compensate, the number of Ladder Wildcard spots
in that region will be increased by the number of vacancies.

95.0 Region Switching
Players may only participate in one region per season. Players may declare to Blizzard Entertainment
their desire to switch regions any time between their final day of play for their current season and thecommencement of play in the region they wish to switch to. Once a player declares a switch, the player
forfeits all future placements in their current region and may enter the Qualifiers for their new region. If
a player does not complete their current season of play, the player will be subject to the Forfeit policy.
Any player wishing to switch should email their current tournament organizer and Blizzard
Entertainment at esportsteam@blizzard.com.

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GSL Structure and Format – Korea
6.0 Qualifiers
The Qualifiers will take place offline and will determine the top 24 players who will advance into thecurrent season’s Code A matches.
A. Qualifiers will be open to players that are Master-level and above on the official Korea
Region StarCraft II preceding or current ladder season or players who are registered to
KeSPA/eSF
1. If a player determines their opponent does not meet the Requirement, the player
can request a review from a tournament administrator before the match starts.
Players cannot request a review for games already played.
B. Qualifiers will be free to enter.
C. Apart from any special invitations, Qualifiers will be filled on a “first come, first serve” basis.
D. Players may only participate in one region per season. Once a player participates in one
region's Qualifier, they will be ineligible to play in other WCS regions until the start of thenext season.
7.0 Code A
Code A matches will determine the Code S players for each season. Code A matches take place
immediately prior to each Code S.
Over the course of the Code A matches, there will be a total of 48 players in 12 groups.
- 24 players from the current season’s Qualifiers.
- 24 players that lose in rounds from the previous season’s Code S.
The competition will take place offline and will determine the 24 players that will earn a spot into thisseason’s Code S.
A. Code A – Format
1. 12 groups of 4 players each, using the Dual Tournament format (See Appendix).
2. The top 2 players from each group advance to the Code S.
3. The bottom 24 players must participate in the next season’s Qualifiers if they wish
to participate in GSL.
8.0 Code S
The Code S is the featured tournament of the World Championship Series. Code S will include 32
players: 8 players from the previous season’s Code S and 24 players from Code A (See Appendix forGroup Selection). The competition will take place offline and there are 3 rounds of the tournament:
A. Round of 32 – Group Stage
1. 8 groups of 4 players each, using the Dual Tournament format (See Appendix).
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2. The top 2 players from each group advance to the Round of 16.
3. The bottom 16 players are placed into the next season’s Code A.
B. Round of 16 – Group Stage
1. 4 groups of 4 players each, using the Dual Tournament Format (See Appendix).
2. The top 2 players from each group advance to the Round of 8 and are guaranteed aspot in next season’s Premier League.
3. The bottom 8 players are placed into the next season’s Code A.
C. From Round of 8 to Final – Single Elimination Bracket
1. The top 8 players are placed in a single elimination bracket.
9.0 GSL Fill Policy
Any position vacated by a player in a season’s Code S will be filled by players from Code A of the same
season.
A. 24 players advance to Code S from the season’s Code A.
B. If the season’s Code A is over, an additional Wildcard Match is held by players who areplaced 3rd in their group and dropped out of Code A. The number of additional players
advancing from the Wildcard Match will depend on the number of positions that are vacantin Code S.
10.0

Region Switching

Players may only participate in one region per season. Players may declare to Blizzard Entertainment
their desire to switch regions any time between their final day of play for their current season and thecommencement of play in the region they wish to switch to. Once a player declares a switch, the player
forfeits all future placements in their current region and may enter the Qualifiers for their new region. If
a player does not complete their current season of play, the player will be subject to the Forfeit policy.
Any player wishing to switch should email their current tournament organizer and Blizzard
Entertainment at esportsteam@blizzard.com.

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WCS Global Finals Structure and Format
11.0

Global Finals
A. Global Finals will be hosted by Blizzard.
B. The top players in the official WCS Points Standings will be invited to the Global Finals.
1. The cutoff date for the WCS Points Standings will tentatively be October 5th, 2014 or
the last WCS League Final or GSL Final event of the year.
C. Further information on schedule and format will be released later in the year.

13Online Tournament Regulations
12.0

Online Event Equipment and Settings
A. Equipment
1. Players must provide their own equipment.
2. Players must provide their own Internet connection to the Battle.net service.
3. Players must use their own Battle.net account with an active StarCraft II license withthe latest expansion.
4. Players may be required to register with the partner and Blizzard.
5. Players may not have other players participate in their matches as a substitute.
6. Players are responsible in dealing with computer security and DDoS attacks to theirown computer.
B. Computer Settings
1. No unapproved programs may be running during any matches.
a) Blizzard and the tournament organizer may determine acceptable programs
at their discretion. Some programs that may be deemed acceptable: music,
hardware monitoring, antivirus.
2. Players may not communicate with anyone besides their opponent and thetournament administrators during the game as outlined in the rules.
3. Interference by 3rd party programs may be cause for disqualification as ruled in the
Code of Conduct.
C. Game Settings
1. The “Busy” setting in Battle.net is required to be active.
2. Players must use default unit “skins” – Any extra unit “skins” are to be disabled.
3. The “Save All Replays” setting should always be active.

13.0

Online Tournament Rules
A. Players must be online and available during the designated times of their matches.
B. Any schedule conflicts must be brought up with the tournament organizer within the period
designated by the tournament organizer.
1. Organizer will attempt to accommodate any conflicts, but changes are notguaranteed.
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.
D. Players must get permission from the administrator anytime they must leave their computerand provide a return time.
E. All matches will be played on the respective league’s local Battle.net server or the server
associated with a regional Qualifier at the discretion of organizer.
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F. Administrators will assign players either Blue or Red as their race colors for each match.
G. Tournament administrators will host and start the matches unless declared otherwise.
H. Players may request a blind pick where each player will communicate their race to thetournament administration team before map selection.
I. Players may switch races after each match.
J. During the game, players may not use chat except for a greeting, closing, and request forpause.
K. Players may not pause a game unnecessarily and should inform tournament administrationteam immediately the reason if a pause is required.
L. Players who intentionally quit a game before it has ended without a tournament organizer’s
permission will concede the game.
M. In the case of a technical issue, the tournament organizer may restart the game from the
beginning at their discretion or use “Recover Game” to start from an administrator
designated point in time.
N. If any player is disconnected from a game, they are required to wait for a tournament
administrator to verify the situation and make one of the following decisions depending on
the nature of the disconnect:
1. Restart of the game from the beginning.
2. Use “Recover Game” to start from an administrator designated point in time.
3. Declare a winner or a forfeit.
O. In case of the situation where both players are unable to win the game, tournament
organizer will declare a draw and the game will be replayed.
P. Per competition day, each player will be given a 10 minute exception for Battle.net
disconnections. Players with multiple disconnections may be given a forfeit at theorganizer’s discretion.
Q. In Qualifiers, replay watching may be considered as a delay of game and be grounds for awarning and subsequent penalties.
R. In Challenger and Premier League, players may not watch any replays in the middle of amatch. If there are any games that remain in the match, players must rejoin the designatedtournament administrator group within 1 minute.
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.
T. Qualifier Exception – during Qualifiers stricter guidelines may be used at the discretion of
tournament organizers. Repeated warnings may lead to directly to disqualification.

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Live Event Tournament Regulations
14.0

Live Event Equipment and Settings
A. Equipment
1. Players must use the computer and monitor provided by the organizer.
2. Tournament organizers may ban any electronic storage devices from their event.
Consult with tournament organizers for their official policy.
3. Players must provide their own USB mouse.
4. Players must provide their own USB keyboard.
5. Players must provide their own in-ear USB headset or a headset that utilizes astandard 3.5mm stereo headset jack. Players may not use wireless or outlet
powered headset.
6. All equipment must operate with preinstalled Windows drivers. The organizer may
allow specialized USB drivers at their discretion. Players must contact organizer
prior to the event if they wish to use specialized USB drivers.
7. The organizer reserves the right to deny the use of any equipment suspected ofproviding an unfair competitive advantage.
8. Players must use the organizer headset while playing in any matches that arecommentated for soundproofing purposes, unless a different model is authorized by
the organizer. Players may wear personal headsets around their neck.
9. Players must have their own Battle.net account in good standing with an active
StarCraft II license with the latest expansion.
10. Players must use the same Battle.net account throughout the tournament.
11. Players may be given a special account to use for a Live Event tournament.
B. Computer Settings
1. No other programs may be installed without approval of the organizer.
2. During a match, no other applications, browsers, or streams other than the gameshould be open. The organizer may inspect a machine before a live match.
3. Players may not alter game files or modify drivers.
4. Video settings may only be adjusted under the supervision of the organizer.
C. Game Settings
1. The “Busy” setting in Battle.net is required to be active.
2. Players must use default unit “skins” – Any extra unit “skins” are to be disabled.
3. The “Save All Replays” setting should always be active.

15.0

Live Event Tournament Rules
A. Players must be in the venue at the designated player areas during the event.
B. Players are required to be ready and check in at their game station at the time designatedby the tournament organizer, but not exceeding 120 minutes before the match starts, and16

complete game preparations including PC setup. If the player requires additional time after
setup has completed, additional time is at the purview of the tournament administrator.
C. Players must request permission from a tournament administrator to leave designatedplayer areas during the event.
D. Players may consult with an advisor(s) between games in a match at the discretion of thetournament organizer.
E. All matches will be played on the Battle.net server determined by the tournament organizer
F. Administrators will assign colors to players for each match.
G. Tournament administrators will host and start the matches.
H. Players may request a blind pick where each player will communicate their race to thetournament administration team before each match starts.
I. Players may switch races after each match.
J. During the game, players may not use chat except for a greeting, closing, and request forpause.
K. Players may not pause a game unnecessarily. Should a pause be required, the player must
inform tournament administration team immediately in the following manner: 1) type “PP”
in the in-game chat, 2) physically raise his or her hand to notify the organizers, in the casethat the keyboard is unresponsive.
L. Players who intentionally quit a game before it has ended without a tournament organizer’s
permission will have conceded the game.
M. In the case of a technical issue, the tournament organizer may restart the game from the
beginning at their discretion or use “Recover Game” to start from an administrator
designated point in time.
N. If any player is disconnected from a game, they are required to wait for a tournament
administrator to verify the situation and make one of the following decisions depending on
the nature of the disconnect:
1. Restart of the game from the beginning.
2. Use “Recover Game” to start from an administrator designated point in time.
3. Declare a winner or a forfeit.
O. In case of the situation where both players are unable to win the game, tournament
organizer will declare a draw and the game will be replayed.
P. In order to dispute any game issue, players must notify the administrator immediately.
Once the next game has started, players may not protest results. The tournament
administration may investigate past results at their discretion.
Q. In Challenger and Premier League, players may not watch any replays in the middle of amatch. If there are any games that remain in the match, players must rejoin the designatedtournament administrator group within 1 minute.
R. Replays may not be removed or distributed from the tournament computers by anyone but
the tournament staff.
S. Replays may be reviewed by the tournament organizer during down time between matches
if available for production or administrative purposes.

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T. Replays of tournament matches can be used for the production of additional contents at thediscretion of Organizers and Blizzard Entertainment. Replay packs may be made public after
the conclusion of the season in which the original game was played.

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Player Rules and Responsibilities
16.0

Player Code of Conduct
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 othercompetitors, members of the administration team, media, and fans.
C. Disputes and Redress – Any disputes a player may have with the current operation of theleague 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 discretionof the tournament organizer.
G. Cheating – Any form of cheating will not be tolerated. If the organizer determines that aplayer is cheating, the player will be immediately disqualified and removed from thetournament 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 ina 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 fromparticipating 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.

17.0

Player Code of Conduct Offenses
A. Code of Conduct violations will be reviewed by Blizzard Entertainment and the organizer.

19

B. Violations of the Code of Conduct may vary including a warning, an immediate
disqualification, removal from the tournament, and/or restriction from participation in
future events.
C. Final decisions regarding player violations are up to the discretion of Blizzard Entertainment.
18.0

Player Tournament Offenses
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 awarning.
C. Once a warning has been issued, subsequent infractions will accrue a penalty at thediscretion 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
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 playerfrom the league for repeated misconduct or rule violations

19.0

Player Disqualification
A. If a player is disqualified by organizer or Blizzard Entertainment for violating Online Match,
Live Match or Player Code of Conduct regulations, the player will receive a forfeit (seeForfeit without 48 hour notice). The player will accrue no future placements (i.e. relegatedto Qualifiers, relegated to Challenger, Premier League placement) from their performance.
The player’s ability to play in future WCS events will be at the sole discretions of thetournament organizer and Blizzard Entertainment.

20.0

Player Forfeit Policy
A. Challenger Forfeit – If a player does not participate in a scheduled WCS Challenger match –the player will be disqualified. No prize money or points will be awarded. The organizer will
make the attempt to replace the player according to the Advancement and Fill Policy.
20

B. Premier League Forfeit with 48 hour notice – If a player does not participate in a scheduled
WCS match in Premier League and gives 48 hours notice prior to the scheduled play time –the player’s placement will swap with the replacement player as according to the
Advancement and Fill Policy. All applicable prize money and points will be paid out in the
regressed position. The player will retain future season placements (Challenger or Premier
League placement) if applicable from their regressed position.
C. Forfeit without 48 hour notice – If a player does not participate in a scheduled WCS match in
Challenger or Premier League and does not give notice 48 hours prior to the scheduled playtime – the player’s placement will regress in the tournament, so that their last played matchis considered a loss. All applicable prize money and points will be paid out as if their last
played match was a loss – or if their last match was in group play, all matches from thatgroup will be counted as losses. In addition, the player will be disqualified from the season
and will need to requalify.
D. Repeated forfeits – if a player forfeits or fails to compete more than once without
reasonable exceptions, Blizzard Entertainment and organizer reserve the right to preventthe competitor from participating in Qualifiers or future events.
E. Forfeit exceptions – will be considered in light of family or personal emergency. Exceptions
will be considered if the player provides a doctor’s notes in case of sickness, injury, or death
notice in case of a loss of a family member. Further causes for exception will be reviewed by
the organizer and Blizzard Entertainment. Email tournament organizers, or in the case of
disputes esportsteam@blizzard.com.

21.0

General Player Rights and Responsibilities
A. Schedule – Players cannot be scheduled to play more than eight match series per day.
Players must be given a minimum of a 10 minute break after every series, and a 30 minutebreak after four consecutive series. Players have the right to a minimum of 10 hours breakscheduled between the player’s last series of a day and the player’s first series of thefollowing day.
B. Player Handle – Players have the right to have an in-game name and Clan Tag as long as it
does not contain any profanity or inappropriate references.
C. Interviews and media – Players must be polite to spectators and media, but players have theright to refuse non-official autograph signings, photo sessions, and interviews that are not intheir tournament schedule. It is up to the player’s discretion to participate in non-official
autograph signings, photo sessions and interviews. Players have the right to participate in
non-official autograph signings, photo sessions and interviews that do not conflict with theirofficial tournament schedule.
D. Opinions – Players have the right to express their opinions in a professional andsportsmanlike manner. Depending on the severity, false statements and other forms ofdefamation may cause a warning, penalty or removal from the league.
E. Documentation – Players are responsible for submitting all legal waivers, affidavits, and tax
forms as requested by the tournament organizer within 3 weeks of any request.
21

F. Prize money – Players will be paid after an event within thirty (30) days from whenpaperwork was submitted with complete and correct information and on complete
verification of penalties.
G. Personal Streams – Players have the right to stream ladder games on their personal time.
Players cannot stream any official StarCraft II World Championship series games unless they
comply with the Guidelines for World Championship Series Commentators and Streams in
the Appendix.
H. Non-WCS Tournaments – Players have the right to participate in other StarCraft II licensed
tournaments. Any conflict with scheduled WCS events or matches due to participation inanother tournament is the player’s choice and responsibility.
I. Right of Refusal – Players have the right to refuse to play. Matches that are not played will
result in an automatic forfeit. See Forfeit Policy for further information about the forfeit
process.
J. All players shall be free to play in any tournaments or leagues that they choose to play in,whether sanctioned or organized by a Licensee.
22.0

Live Event Player Rights and Responsibilities
A. Live Attendance – Players must attend scheduled events in person as required. Players
without a valid reason for absence or withdrawal may be disqualified and suspended fromparticipating in future league competitions.
B. Tournament Information – Players will be provided all necessary tournament informationsuch as event schedules, maps, locations, and official player interviews. The information will
be provided to the players or team management a minimum of three days before event
travel.
C. Travel – At the stages where players are required to travel to an event, varying levels of
support for player travel expenses, such as flights, lodging, and meals, will be provided. The
amount of support may vary per region and season. Each organizer will communicate thetravel policy specifics before any travel is required.
1. GSL is an exception to this regulation in consideration of regional characteristic.
D. Travel Documents – Players are responsible for obtaining the necessary documents andidentification papers for travel. Any negligence may result in a forfeit or disqualification.
Blizzard and/or the event organizer will provide invitation letters in a timely manner for any
visas application process where appropriate. Any visa or travel fees and approval will
ultimately be the player responsibility.
E. Accommodations – The tournament organizer is required to provide hotel rooms for theplayers. Players will be given their own room at tournaments. If a region has limited space,
Blizzard and the tournament organizer may deem sharing rooms as acceptable.
1. GSL is an exception to this regulation in consideration of regional characteristic.
F. Guests – Players are allowed to have guests stay with them but cannot exceed the capacityof the hotel room. Blizzard and the tournament organizer are not responsible for the travelor tickets for guests.
1. GSL is an exception to this regulation in consideration of regional characteristic.
22

G. Sponsors – Blizzard Entertainment will work to ensure players, teams and the tournament
organizers collaborate to promote the sponsors of all parties. The following are guidelines
for player and tournament organizer rights and responsibilities:
1. Sponsor Conflict Arbitration: Blizzard Entertainment will arbitrate all conflicts
between teams and players with respect to sponsor promotion
2. Restricted Sponsor Categories –The following sponsor categories will not beallowed:a) Pornography (or extremely mature materials);b) Alcohol;c) Tobacco or cigarettes;d) Firearms;e) Gambling websites; orf) Any company that is detrimental to Blizzard’s business (hacking, gold
services, account selling, key sellers)
3. Dress Code – Players will have the right to wear official team apparel that displays
their team’s sponsors unless it conflicts with the Restricted Sponsor Categories.
a) If a player’s apparel is not related to an approved sponsor, the organizer has
the right to provide the player with neutral clothing to be worn during theevent.
4. Player Sponsored Equipment – Players have the right to represent their sponsors
with their personal equipment.
a) Standard Equipment – Sponsored player equipment must follow standard
equipment rules and includes: keyboards, computer mice, mousepads,
mouse bungies, and headsets. During matches where specific soundproof
headsets are required by the organizer, the player is allowed to wear theirpersonal headset around their neck at their discretion.
b) Other Player sponsored items – Players are allowed to bring additional
items to their play area such as capped water bottles and towels. During
any feature matches where the player is featured by the organizer, all items(non-equipment) must be stored under the desk unless the tournament
organizer agrees to allow the items on the desk.
5. Organizer Sponsored Equipment – Organizers have the right to represent sponsors
at the event and production.
a) Production Equipment – Organizers have the right to use sponsor related
equipment and branding for the production of the show. Organizers may
also require the use of specialized soundproof headsets for feature
matches.
b) Other Organizer sponsored items – Organizers may offer players items fromtheir sponsors. The player has the right to have the tournament organizer
remove any non-production sponsored item from their area.
H. Food – Players will be provided with a minimum of one meal every 6 hours of a live event.
All other meals or snacks will be the player’s responsibility.
23

I.

J.

Environment – Players have a right to an acceptable competition environment. The
tournament area should be roped off or separated from spectators. Tournament organizers
must provide seats and tables for players to compete.
Event Privacy – Players have the right to a private area apart from the public where they cango during off-times to relax, practice matches, and not have to interact with media or
spectators.

24

Prize Pool, Points, WCS Global Events
23.0

WCS Prize Pool
A. Prize money will only be awarded to participants in the tournament, or their stated
representative.
B. If a player is disqualified, they may forfeit their prize.
C. Players must submit all required forms by 3 weeks after the event or they may forfeit theirprize.
D. All prize money will be paid out by 30 days after each tournament has concluded andappropriate paperwork has been completed accurately.
E. Prize money payments will be paid out by a check or wire transfer by the tournament
organizer. Other cash payment methods may be available at the discretion of the organizer.
F. Failure to redeem the check or to provide accurate information for the payments to becompleted will result in the payments not being made.
G. If a player has not collected the winnings or redeemed the check within one year of theinitial payment date, the prizes may be forfeited.
H. All prizes will be subject to local and country tax laws. The rate and the exact amounts mayvary depending on the location.

GSL Code A

GSL Code S

Rank

KRW

Rank

KRW

1st-24th

Advance to Code S

1st₩ 70,000,000

25th-48th₩ 700,000

2nd₩ 15,000,000

3rd-4th

₩ 8,000,000

5th-8th₩ 4,000,000

9th-16th₩ 2,400,000

17th-32nd₩ 1,500,000

WCS AM/EU Challenger

WCS AM/EU Premier League

Rank

USD

Rank

USD

1st-16th

Advance to Premier

1st$25,000

17th-32nd*

$600

2nd

$15,000

3rd-4th$7,500

5th-8th$5,000

9th-16th$3,00017th-32nd$2,000*Season 1 exception: There will be 8 additional Challenger players in WCS America and WCS Europe

25

WCS Global Finals

24.0

Rank

USD

1st

$100,000

2nd$50,000

3rd-4th$15,000

5th-8th
9th-16th$7,500$5,000WCS Points
A. Points will only be awarded to participants in any WCS approved tournaments.
1. WCS Global Events will be announced throughout the year.
B. If a player is disqualified, they may forfeit their points.
C. WCS Global Events that award points must be pre-approved by Blizzard. Points will not beawarded at every StarCraft II tournament.

GSL Code A

GSL Code S

Rank

PointsRank

Points

1st-24th

Advance to Code S

1st

2000

24th-48th

50 points

2nd

1000

3rd-4th750

5th-8th500

9th-12th300

13th-16th200

17th-24th150

25th-32nd100

WCS AM/EU Challenger (on exit)

WCS AM/EU Premier League

Rank

PointsRank

Points

1st-16th

Advance to Premier

1st

2000

17th-32nd

50 points

2nd

1000

3rd-4th750

5th-8th500

9th-12th300

13th-16th200

17th-24th150

25th-32nd

100
26

WCS Global Events*
Total Points:

7000

Total Points:

4000

Total Points:

1800

Rank**

PointsRank**

PointsRank**

Points

1st

1500

1st

750

1st

300

2nd

800

2nd

500

2nd

200

3rd-4th550

3rd-4th375

3rd-4th150

5th-8th400
5th-8th250
5th-8th100
9th-16th250
9th-16th125
9th-16th75*Blizzard Entertainment will announce the total point allotment for each WCS Global Event prior toeach event. There are three possible point allotments.
**Points will only be awarded to players that have advanced at least one round. If there are notenough players in the event to satisfy this requirement for all top 16 players, not all points will beawarded

25.0

WCS Global Events

StarCraft II is prevalent in many tournaments that are not directly part of the World ChampionshipSeries. In order to encourage participation and support other eSports organizers around the world,
independent tournaments that represent a fair and competitive player environment may be considered
as an outlet for WCS Points. Points may or may not be given to independent tournaments at Blizzard’s
discretion for balance and distribution.
A. WCS Global Events must be preapproved by Blizzard Entertainment
B. WCS Global Events will use the map pool of the active Ladder Season at the time of theevent.
C. Players must advance one round in a WCS Global Event in order to claim WCS Points for thatplacement.
1. A round is defined as: in single-elimination, a match victory; in group play,advancing from the group; in double-elimination, a match victory. Seeding via
Qualifiers also qualifies as advancing one round.
D. See World Championship Series Points for WCS Global Event point breakdowns.
E. WCS Global Events rules and format may be different than the official WCS Leagues and GSL.
Players should contact each respective WCS Global Event organizer for specific rules.

27

APPENDIXGLOSSARY OF TERMS
A. Group Stage – general term for a round in the tournament where players are split into
smaller groups where they compete with the players in their group. The WCS uses the "Dual
Tournament Format" for all group stages.
B. Bracket Stage – general term for a round in the tournament where players are placed into astandard tournament bracket.
C. Game – is defined in this document by a single “1 versus 1”
D. Match – is defined by a series of multiple games. Typically “Best of <Odd Number>”“Best of <Odd Number> Games” – is a type of “Match”. The <Odd Number> represents the maximum
number games in the Match. Games are played until a player has won more than 50 percent of the
maximum number of games.
Dual Tournament Format
A group of 4 players are placed into a standard double elimination bracket where each match is a best of
3 games. The matchups will follow a standard double elimination bracket until the following scores areachieved: 1st place (2-0), 2nd place (2-1), 3rd place (1-2), 4th place (0-2).

28

WCS America & Europe League Flowchart

Premier League – Round of 32 Group Selection Method
In the Premier League Round of 32, the eight groups of four players are selected in the order below:
1. The top 8 players from the previous season’s Premier League will be randomly placed into the 8
separate groups of the current season's Premier Group Stage. 1 player each group.
2. The 9-16 (not valid for Season 1 2014) players from the previous season’s Premier League will berandomly placed into the 8 separate groups of the current season's Premier Group Stage. 1
player each group.
3. The 16 (24 for Season 1 2014) players that won their Challenger match will be randomly placedin the 8 separate groups. 2 players per group.

Premier League – Round of 16 Group Selection Method
In the Premier League Round of 16, the four groups of four players are selected as follows:
1. The first place finishers (8 players) of the Round of 32 Group stage will be randomly placed - 2
players per group.
2. The second place finishers (8 players) of the Round of 32 Group stage will be randomly placed 2 players per group and each player placed must not be put into the same group as someone
they faced in the Round of 32.

29

Premier League - Round of 8 Single Elimination Selection Method
In the Premier League Round of 8, the bracket is selected as follows:
1. The first place finishers (4 players) of the Round of 16 Group stage will be seeded into the 8player single elimination bracket.
2. The second place finishers (4 players) of the Round of 16 Group stage will be seeded into the 8player single elimination bracket. The Round of 8 opponent cannot be someone each player
faced in the Round of 16.

GSL League Flowchart

GSL Code S – Round of 32 Group Selection Method
In the Code S Round of 32, the eight groups of four players are selected in the order below:
1. All participating players of Code S are categorized Tier 4 by WCS points.
2. Players are placed randomly in a manner where there is no coinciding of tiers.
GSL Code S – Round of 16 Group Selection Method
In the Code S Round of 16, the four groups of four players are selected as follows:
1. The first place finishers (8 players) of the Round of 32 Group stage will be randomly placed - 2
players per group.
2. The second place finishers (8 players) of the Round of 32 Group stage will be randomly placed 2 players per group.

30

GSL Code S - Round of 8 Single Elimination Selection Method
In the Code S Round of 8, the bracket is selected as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Match 1: The first place of Group A will face the second place of Group B in round of 8.
Match 2: The first place of Group C will face the second place of Group D in round of 8.
Match 3: The first place of Group B will face the second place of Group A in round of 8.
Match 4: The first place of Group D will face the second place of Group C in round of 8.
Winner of Match 1 will face winner of Match 2 in Semi-Final
Winner of Match 3 will face winner of Match 4 in Semi-Final

Map Pool
The map pool for the World Championship Series follows the official map pool on the active StarCraft II
Ladder. The maps are chosen by a council of partners and Blizzard and will be listed on the WCS
website. The map pool will change in with each Season of WCS.

WCS America & Europe Premier League Map Selection Process
1. All Map Vetoes and Map Choices must be made prior to the start of a Match.
2. If no higher seed can be determined, the administrator will flip a coin to define the higher
seeded player.
3. For all Matches, the higher seeded Player must choose to act as Player A or Player B.
4. For all Best of 3 Games Matches, Player A must veto one Map first, then Player B must veto two
Maps, and then Player A must veto one more Map. The vetoed Maps will not be played in the
Match. Player B must choose the Game 1 Map and then Player A must choose the Game 2 Map.
The Game 3 Map will be the Map that hasn’t been chosen or vetoed.
5. For all Best of 5 Games Matches, Player A must veto one Map first and then Player B must vetoone Map. The vetoed Maps won’t be played in the Match. Next, the Players must alternatechoosing each Game’s Map, starting with Player A choosing the Game 1 Map. The Game 5 Map
will be the Map that hasn’t been vetoed or chosen for Games 1-4.
6. For all Best of 7 Games Matches, there will be no Vetoes. Players must alternate choosing eachGame’s Map, starting with Player A choosing the Game 1 Map.
7. No Map may be played more than once in a Match.

GSL - Map Selection Process
1. Code A, Code S Round of 32 and Code S Round of 16: First map will be selected randomly
beforehand by organizer through lottery. The loser of each game will select the next game map
from a pool. No map may be played more than once in a Match.

31

2. Code S Round 8 ~ Code S Final: All maps are selected randomly beforehand by organizer throughlottery. No Map may be played more than once in a Match.

Guidelines for non-official World Championship Series Shoutcasters and Streams
Broadcasting: The shoutcaster must receive permission from the tournament broadcast partner;
 The shoutcaster must receive permission from both players to broadcast if the game is being
broadcast on a non-official World Championship Series Qualifier stream; The stream must be broadcast on a 5 minute delay; The stream must not be broadcast on television without permission from Blizzard
 The shoutcaster may not charge fees of any kind for spectators to watch the broadcast; The shoutcaster may run pre-roll commercial ads and inventory commercial ads;
 The shoutcaster must follow the Blizzard Entertainment Video Policy;
Sponsorships and Endorsements:
 The shoutcaster may not run ads for their own products or endorsements, including portions ofoverlays, video commercials, and/or verbal shoutouts, without permission from the tournamentbroadcast partner and Blizzard Entertainment; The stream cannot be sponsored by any companies that sell or promote any of the following
products:o Pornography (or extremely mature materials);o Alcohol;
o Tobacco or cigarettes;
o Firearms;
o Gambling websites; oro Any company that is detrimental to Blizzard’s business (hacking, gold services, accountselling, key sellers) Gambling, including raffles, cannot be associated with a stream;
Behavior and Professionalism: The shoutcasting should promote a fun and engaging experience for the viewers;
 The shoutcaster must refrain from using vulgar language or swear words;
 The shoutcaster must treat all players with respect and cannot comment negatively on theplayer’s overall skill or character; The shoutcaster must cast with the utmost professionalism; The stream must comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
If you have any questions regarding the non-official World Championship Series Shoutcaster Streams,
contact the Blizzard eSports team at esportsteam@blizzard.com.

32

Blizzard eSports Website
Visit the official World Championship Series website for updates and information.
http://www.StarCraft2.com/WCS

Feedback
If you have any feedback regarding the rules, please email: esportsteam@blizzard.com, with the subject"WCS Handbook Feedback".

Handbook Version
This document was last updated: December 17, 201333

CERTIFICATIONI hereby acknowledge receipt of the 2014 World Championship Series Handbook (“Handbook”). I
understand that my compliance with the Handbook is a condition of my participation in the WorldChampionship Series. I acknowledge that the Company reserves the right to impose discipline for any
conduct it deems inappropriate, including, but not limited to, disqualification from a WorldChampionship Series Tournament, or the World Championship Series altogether. I have carefully readand I understand the Handbook. I understand and support these standards set forth in the Handbook,and I will act in accordance with them.

Print Name: _______________________________________________________________________

Signature: ____________________________________________________Date: __________________

34