• 1.2 Participants

An event participant is a team or a player that is taking part in an ESL competition. Any member of an ESL team is a participant of that team and is locked to it, regardless of whether or not the person has played for said team. No participant can at the same time be a part of more than one organisation taking part in overlapping ESL Pro Tour CS competitions (Challenger and Masters level), including but not limited to:

ESL Challenger, Intel Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League, ESL National/Regional Championship or any of those competitions’ direct qualifiers.

• 2.11.6 Review of licence

Old rule:

If a licence holder loses over 40% of their starting lineup, ESL can review the licence and, if the licence holder cannot convince ESL about their ability to continue in the event on a similar level of play, possibly withdraw it.

For leagues, where a licence holder loses over 40% of the players who participated in the majority of the team’s matches within the previous season, a review will take place to determine their ability to participate in the next season.

New rule:

If a licence holder loses 3 or more players from their starting lineup, ESL can review the licence and possibly withdraw it. Coaches are never considered players.

For leagues, where a licence holder loses over 40% of the players who participated in the majority of the team’s matches within the previous season, a review will take place to determine their ability to participate in the next season.

Licence reviews are conducted subjectively by ESL and the tournament administration using the information available to us.

A team who loses their event licence through the review process may still be eligible to be invited as a replacement team if they meet the criteria as stated in ESL Pro Tour CS Replacement Rules.

• 2.10.2 Team names

Team names may not have any extensions such as “CS team”. They may only consist of the team name and, if allowed, a title sponsor. ESL reserves the right to shorten team names where necessary or appropriate. All team names must be in line with the ESL Pro Tour CS Code of Conduct. ESL may reject team names that include political, religious or offensive matters or sentiments, as judged by ESL.

• 2.11.3 Team licence

Event licences will be awarded to a legal entity (registered association/organisation, Ltd company, and so on). Any legal entity is only allowed to hold one licence in the same competition. No other legal entity controlled by the same person/people is allowed to hold more than one licence.

If no such entity exists for the team in question, or the existing entity has never been reported to and accepted by the tournament administration, a restricted licence may be awarded to the team where the team leader or organiser will be the designated contact person. This person will be responsible for keeping the team information up to date. For restrictive licences, the right to the licence can only be sustained for as long as the majority of the players that actively played in the last stage(s) of the event or its qualifiers stay together as a team.

The licence holder or representative is responsible for all actions and commitments of the team. Any changes in the team licence must be reported to and accepted by the tournament administration before they can be implemented. The licence holder decides who the recipient of any prize money won under its licence will be.

Any participant surrendering their event licence by choice may be precluded from being granted another licence in the same competition.

• 2.7.4 Country/region of qualifiers

Qualifiers for an event, including invitations, are usually restricted to a country, region or sub-region (we will call it region for the rest of this rule).

• 2.9.1 Nicknames

Players are only allowed to use their own official nicknames - without any additions - during ESL matches. Every player that has officially registered their nickname with Valve for sponsored events is required to use the same nickname for all ESL matches. 

• Added a new rule: 2.10.3 Team logos

Team logos must not include or incorporate the logo or iconography of brands, teams or trademarks not associated with the team, unless they are a valid title sponsor, as governed by 2.10.2.1 Title sponsors.

Copyrighted images and content cannot be submitted as a team logo without verifiable permission from the copyright holder.

All team logos must be in line with the ESL Pro Tour CS Code of Conduct. ESL may reject team logos that include political, religious or offensive matters or sentiments, as judged by ESL.

• 4.3 Clothing

The players and teams need to ensure that they are all in equal coloured team attire, long trousers and closed shoes (i.e. shorts, flip-flops and (i.e. shorts, flip-flops and foam clogs e.g. crocs clogs are not allowed). Any kind of headwear is forbidden. Penalties will be awarded for minor violations of this rule (a minimum of $250 fine), but in major cases (for example offensive content, other team branded clothing etc.), players will not be allowed to start their matches before the problematic piece of clothing has been replaced. If possible, and deemed appropriate by the tournament administration, ESL will provide suitable clothing for the participants that are not dressed accordingly. The cost of provided clothing will then be subtracted from the prize money awarded to the participants. Any delay caused by change of clothing will be considered the players fault and penalised according to the rules of punctuality.

• 4.6 Technical checklist

After completing their setup process the player will sign the technical checklist. This process exists to ensure the integrity of the system used to compete before the match starts. Technical pauses caused by problems that should have been noticed if the checklist had been properly followed will be punished with one (1) penalty point, as well as any relevant penalties for delays caused. By signing this document, participants confirm that they are ready to start their match as scheduled. Participants may be forced to start the match even if a technical issue arises that would have been resolved during the checklist process.

• 2.19 Camera obligations

When specifically stated, each player in an online event must be able to provide a clean camera feed for broadcast.

• 4.7 Media obligations

If ESL decides that one or more players need to be part of interviews (short pre-/post-match interviews and/or longer interview-sessions), a press conference or an autograph, photograph or video session, then the players cannot deny this and must attend. For all ESL broadcasted tournament matches, participants cannot refuse a request to provide an interviewee.

• 2.11.3.1 Multiple teams

Old:

It is not allowed for a team to participate in an ESL tournament or qualifier if:

• Another team of the same organisation has been invited or qualified to the main event.
• Another team of the same organisation has been invited or qualified to the closed qualifier.
• Another team of the same organisation has signed up for the same qualifier.

New:

It is not allowed for a team to participate in an ESL tournament if:

• Another team of the same organisation has been invited or qualified to the main event.

It is also not allowed for a team to participate in an ESL tournament’s qualifier if:

• Another team of the same organisation has been invited or qualified to the closed qualifier.
• Another team of the same organisation has signed up for the same qualifier

• Added a new rule: 2.5 Academy Rosters and Sister squads

Organisations are generally allowed to maintain multiple squads that take part in the ESL Pro Tour CS ecosystem, but certain restrictions apply. If the squads are supposed to be equal in standing and value, they are treated exactly like separate teams from different organisations, with the exception of the below two rules also applying:

• The squads are considered separate teams for all purposes (e.g. World Ranking) not listed here otherwise and have to be named in a way that clearly labels them as different squads belonging to the same organisation (e.g. “ESL Gaming Blue” and “ESL Gaming Red”, or “ESL Gaming” and “ESL Gaming Academy”, or “ESL Gaming Germany” and “ESL Gaming Poland”).
• The squads are subjected to the same rules as set out in 2.11.3.1 Multiple Teams from ESL Pro Tour CS General Rules 2023.

If one squad is the “main” squad and the others Academy squads (or similar) then, on top of the above rules applying, the following freedoms and requirements apply:

• The distinctions between the teams must be illustrated clearly by the names used for all squads (i.e. the first squad should not have a name extension and all other squads should have a name extension like “Academy”, “Youth” or “Prodigy”), otherwise the teams will be considered equal squads and fall under the rules above, only.

• Players from an Academy squad are allowed to be transferred freely into the main squad and back (i.e. the “120-days-rule” does not apply) or even be listed as a substitute in the main squad and as a regular player in one (1) other squad at the same time, as long as they don’t play more than 50% of the matches (=best-of-series) for the main squad in at least two EPT competitions or their qualifiers (and each case being more than one match) within 120 days. If that happens, the player in question will be considered a new player for the first squad and will not be allowed to return to another squad of the same organisation for 120 days, as described in the “120-days-rule”. An exception can be made if the reason for such an extended participation in the main squad is a documented health issue of the player that they substituted in for (e.g. in cases that would also warrant an emergency transfer). In such a case, the player may be allowed to return to the Academy team immediately after they are no longer required to stand in, be it due to the return of the original player or due to a more permanent replacement having been found. Transfers from the main squad into another squad or transfers between two Academy squads are always considered as regular transfers between two different teams.

• If the labelling of the squads appears false or misleading (e.g. a non-main squad outperforming the main squad for an extended period of time, or maintaining a higher World Ranking position), the Academy status of that squad will be revoked. Any players from that squad who are currently listed as substitutes in the squad that is labelled as “main” will be