In preparation for the second half of 2025, we have implemented several updates to our rulebook. These changes reflect recent revisions to the Valve Major Supplemental Rulebook and Tournament Operation Requirements. Our goal is to align as closely as possible with Valve’s framework to ensure consistency and clarity across all competitions. Key updates include revisions to regional eligibility, seeding, and invitation policies, full alignment of country and territory classifications with VRS logic, the introduction of new integrity measures for online competitions, and updates to ESL Challenger League rules to reflect the new seasonal structure and format.
General Rules changelog
- Updated 2.7.3 Home country/region to align with Valve’s revised approach to determining a participant’s region.
- Clarified 2.7.4 Country/region of qualifiers applies to all online competitions.
- Updated 2.16.2 Seeding based on Valve Regional Standings to reflect the removal of the live VRS.
- Changed the tiebreaker methodology in 2.16.3 Team Selected Seeding.
- Added additional calculation criteria in 2.16.4 Live Ratings system.
- Renamed 2.20 Camera obligations 知道 2.20 Production camera obligations.
- Introduced a new rule 2.21 Integrity camera obligations for online competitions.
- Clarified invitation slot priority for subregional competitions in 2.23 Valve Regional Standings invitation slot priority.
- Clarified 2.28 Valve Regional Standings invites to better reflect Valve’s current invitation logic.
- Removed 2.28 ESL Challenger League Wildcards & added 2.29 ESL Challenger League Regional Final rules to reflect the new ESL Challenger League format.
- Introduced 3.2.2 Events with multiple VRS invitation criteria to clarify the replacement process in events with multiple VRS invitation criteria.
- Updated 6.1 List of countries/territories to fully align with VRS’ official regional split.
Game Specific Rules Changelog
- Updated 2.5.1 Match server location to list only the core server locations for each region.
- Combined 2.8.1.1 FACEIT servers and 2.8.1.2 ESL servers with 2.8.1 Online tournaments as the procedures are now unified.
Roster Restrictions changelog
- Updated 2.2.1.1 ESL Challenger League additions (now 2.2.1.1 ESL Challenger League lineup changes) to reflect the new ESL Challenger League format and structure.
- Updated 2.2.2 Emergency additions and its restrictions for adding new players.
- Removed 2.4.1 Lineup restrictions during ESL Challenger League Season 49 and 2.4.2 Lineup restrictions during ESL Challenger League Season 50 as they are no longer applicable.
Updated Rules
Below you will find a more detailed breakdown of Rulebook changes where
Green text shows what has been added to the rulebook
Orange text shows what has been removed from the rulebook
ESL Pro Tour Counter-Strike General Rules 2025
- 2.7.3 Home country/region
A participant’s home country is determined by the citizenship of the majority of its players. The corresponding home region is the region to which this country belongs (as outlined in Appendix 6.1). If no majority exists due to a tie, the team may choose between the tied regions the team will be assigned to the region with greater representation in the Major (i.e. Europe, then Americas, then Asia). For example, a team with two European players, two Americas players and one Asian player would be assigned to Europe. For mixed-region rosters that include a player whose citizenship does not fall under one of the three main regions, that player will be assigned to the lowest “priority” region represented on the team. For example, a team with two European players, two Americas players and one South African player would be assigned to the Americas. If a full roster consists of players whose citizenships do not fall under one of the three main regions (Europe, Asia, Americas), the team may participate in European competitions.
For players whose citizenship does not fall under one of the three main regions (Europe, Asia, Americas), they may assign themselves to a region already represented on the roster. If all players are from outside the three main regions, the team may select any region as their home region.
For competitions divided into subregions (e.g. North America and South America under the Americas), a roster must have a plurality of players with citizenship from the relevant subregion. If no plurality exists due to a tie, the team will be placed into the stronger region, based on Major performance. In the Americas, the priority is South America > North America, while in Asia, the priority is East Asia > Oceania > West Asia. For example, a team with two North American players, two South American players and one European player would be assigned to South America.
All invitations will adhere strictly to the regional classifications outlined in the Valve Regional Standings and will follow the invite priority specified in the 2.22 Valve Regional Standings invitation slot priority rule. For example, a team classified as European in the Valve Regional Standings will only be eligible for a European Valve Regional Standings invitation (whether to the main event or a closed qualifier). Similarly, if a team is classified as both European and Asian in the Valve Regional Standings, the invitation slot priority will determine which of the two invites they will receive.
- 2.7.4 Country/region of qualifiers online competition
Qualifiers for an event Online competitions (e.g. qualifiers) are usually restricted to a country, region or sub-region (we will call it region for the rest of this rule).
Exceptions to this rule are possible if ESL decides that there is a valid reason why the participant would be unable to attend all required parts of a qualifier in their home region, or why they should be allowed to play the qualifier in another region.
Any exceptions must be directly requested via email to the tournament administration by the participant for each event individually. Examples of valid reasons may be:
- There are no qualifiers in the home region(s) for the participant and they are willing to travel to the region of the qualifier to play it.
- The team is taking part in a competition(s) in a region other than their home region(s) and has matches to play there before and after and in such close proximity to the time of the qualifier(s) in their home region(s) that travelling back for that qualifier(s) would be unreasonable.
- The participant is staying in another region for a good reason (esports related) for a prolonged time that spans the time of the qualifier for their home region, and it can be clearly shown that this situation has not been created in order to take part in a qualifier that might be easier to qualify from.
If such an exception is granted, the respective region will be considered that participant's home region for the entire event, or until the conditions for the exception expire.
- 2.16.2 Seeding based on Valve Regional Standings
If the tournament uses Valve Regional Standings for seeding, the most recent live version of the global Valve Regional Standings available on the seeding date will be utilised the specific version of VRS indicated in the Additional Information announcement will be applied. Points will remain unchanged regardless of roster changes. The live version of the Valve Regional Standings can be accessed here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/counter-strike_regional_standings/tree/main/live
The seeding date is typically two weeks prior to the start of the event.
- 2.16.3 Team Selected Seeding
Each team must submit a ranked list of the other 15 teams participating in the event, with Seed #1 representing the highest-ranked team and Seed #15 the lowest. Teams are prohibited from ranking themselves, and each rank can only be assigned once. All teams are required to vote fairly and impartially, with any attempts to manipulate or unfairly influence the seeding process strictly prohibited.
Failure to submit a complete and correctly filled ranking by the deadline will result in the following penalties:
- The team will incur two penalty points, including a potential prize money deduction of up to $2,000.
- The team's vote will be excluded from the seeding process (partial votes will also be disregarded).
All submitted rankings will be made public either before, during or after the event.
Once all rankings are collected, the average (arithmetic mean) for each of the 16 teams will be calculated. Votes that fall outside a mathematically expected range based on standard deviation (1.5 standard deviation threshold) will be excluded from the calculation.
Teams will then be seeded based on their final average values, with the lowest value representing the top seed. In the event of a tie, a coin toss the latest available global VRS will be used to break the tie (better VRS = better seed) and determine the final seeding between the tied teams.
If a team withdraws prior to the group or matchup announcement, their votes will be excluded from the process. In cases where a replacement team is introduced, that team will automatically be seeded last and will not undergo a new voting process.
- 2.16.4 Live Ratings system
The Live Ratings system recalculates each team’s rating based on the relative difference in ratings between the two opponents. A sophisticated formula governs these adjustments, factoring in the relative strength of the opposing teams and the match result itself (i.e. 2:0 vs 2:1). Teams will gain significantly more points when defeating a higher-ranked opponent and fewer points when defeating a lower-ranked one. Conversely, losses to lower-ranked teams will result in a more substantial rating reduction, while losses to higher-ranked opponents will have a smaller impact.
- 2.21 Integrity camera obligations
For online competitions, players may be required to provide a live camera feed showing their setup - including, but not limited to, their monitor, keyboard, mouse, and surrounding area. Specific requirements will be communicated on a case-by-case basis. Compliance with these instructions is mandatory; failure to do so will result in penalties, up to and including disqualification from the competition.
- 2.23 Valve Regional Standings invitation slot priority
Where an ESL Pro Tour Counter-Strike event includes multiple Valve Regional Standings invitation criteria, regional Valve Regional Standings slots for each event stage will be allocated before global Valve Regional Standings slots. In the event that a team would be invited to a particular stage of the event based on more than one regional Valve Regional Standings, the invitation will align with Valve’s Major process and be attributed to the region with the greater representation in the Major (i.e., Europe, followed by Americas, and then Asia). Similarly, for competitions with subregional divisions (e.g., the Americas split into North America and South America), invitations will follow a similar logic, with Major performance determining the subregional priority. Within the Americas, teams eligible for both subregions will be placed in South America. In Asia, the priority order will be: East Asia > Oceania > West Asia.
- 2.28 Valve Regional Standings invites
ESL Pro Tour events will determine their Direct Valve Regional Standings invitations based on the monthly publication provided by Valve, available here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/counter-strike_regional_standings/tree/main/invitation
The invitation date will be communicated in an official announcement prior to the event.
Teams invited based on the Valve Regional Standings must retain at least three out of the five core players listed in the VRS on the Invite Date. Additionally, the team must satisfy the original regional criteria (e.g., for a European VRS invite, at least three of the five players must hold European citizenship).
- 2.28 ESL Challenger League Wildcards
Each team is allowed one wildcard per regular season. Requests must be submitted via the designated team Discord channel at least 48 hours before the scheduled match start. In exceptional circumstances, the administration may approve wildcard use with less than 48 hours notice. Wildcards may only be used during the first stage of the regular season and are not permitted during the final week of that stage, as matches during this period cannot be rescheduled.
- 2.29 ESL Challenger League Regional Final rules
Each ESL Challenger League Season consists of four standalone cups. The winners of these cups qualify for the Regional Final, where they will compete for one slot in the ESL Pro League. A team may participate and even win multiple cups within the same season. The following conditions apply to the Regional Final based on multiple cup victories:
- If a team wins 2 cups - they will advance directly to the Grand Final of the Regional Finals
- If a team wins 3 cups - Semifinals will be cancelled, and the team will be granted a 1 map advantage in the Grand Final
- If a team wins 4 cups - Regional Finals will be cancelled, and the team will qualify directly to ESL Pro League
If a team that has won a cup withdraws from the Regional Final, their slot will not be replaced, instead - the total number of participants in the Regional Final will be reduced accordingly. Seeding for the Regional Final will be determined by the Global VRS.
- 3.2.2 Events with multiple VRS invitation criteria
For events that include multiple Valve Regional Standings invitation criteria (e.g., VRS Global and VRS Asia), the defined invitation priority stipulates that regional invites take precedence over global ones. In the event of a withdrawal, any vacated regional slot will first be filled by a team already accepted into the event via a global VRS invite - provided they meet the relevant regional criteria. The resulting vacant global slot will then be filled according to the replacement guidelines outlined below. For example, if an Asian team originally invited through VRS Asia withdraws, the next best Asian team already accepted through VRS Global will be moved to fill that regional slot, and a new team will be invited to replace the vacated global slot.
- 6.1 List of countries/territories and their assigned ESL regions
If your country is not listed below or you are uncertain about which country is yours, contact the tournament administration ESL uses an official list of countries and territories provided by Valve as part of the VRS ranking system. For your convenience, the full list is included below. If your country/territory is not listed, or if you are unsure which country/territory is yours, please contact tournament administration for clarification.
ESL Pro Tour Counter-Strike Game Specific Rules 2025
- 2.5.1 Match server location
Participants are encouraged to share their server location preferences prior to the start of the event or each match. However, the final decision regarding server locations will be made by the tournament administration. Below is the base list of server locations available for each region:
Europe: Moscow, Amsterdam, London, Dusseldorf, Stockholm, Paris, Helsinki, Germany
North America: Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta
South America: Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Santiago
Asia: Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo
Oceania: Sydney
Additional server locations may be added throughout the tournament. The list may also change under special circumstances, and participants are advised to check the FACEIT event page for the most up-to-date information.
- 2.8.1 Online tournaments
If a participant has a problem that prevents them from playing on, they are allowed to use the pause function. A maximum total pause time of 10 minutes will be set by the tournament administration prior to the match start. Teams can pause as many times as they like for technical issues, but they will not be able to exceed the set maximum pause time. For example, each team may have 10 minutes of total technical pause time per match. They may pause as many times as they like, up to the total duration time of 10 minutes for the match. After the maximum time has been reached, the match will unpause and will not be pausable again by that team. To call a technical pause, participants have to type “!tech” or “.tech” on the server and then announce the reason for a pause immediately after they have paused the match. To call a timeout, participants have to use the in-game vote system (ESC → Call Vote → Call Tactical Timeout). A timeout lasts thirty (30) seconds. Participants are allowed to take all three timeouts at once by calling them all individually once the previous timeout expires.
If a map reaches overtime (OT), all remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) timeout to be used in that OT (OT1) period. If the map progresses to another OT (OT2), the same process will happen - any remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) more timeout. Banked timeouts cannot be stacked higher than one (1) in overtime.
- 2.8.1.1 FACEIT servers
A maximum total pause time of 10 minutes will be set by the tournament administration prior to the match start. Teams can pause as many times as they like for technical issues, but they will not be able to exceed the set maximum pause time. For example, each team may have 10 minutes of total technical pause time per match. They may pause as many times as they like, up to the total duration of 10 minutes for the match. After the maximum time has been reached, the match will unpause and will not be pausable again by that team. To call a technical pause, participants have to type “!tech” on the server and then announce the reason for a pause immediately after they paused the match. To call a timeout, participants have to use the in-game vote system (ESC → Call Vote → Call Tactical Timeout). A timeout lasts thirty (30) seconds. Participants are allowed to take all three timeouts at once by calling them all individually once the previous timeout expires.
If a map reaches overtime (OT), all remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) timeout to be used in that OT (OT1) period. If the map progresses to another OT (OT2), the same process will happen - any remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) more timeout. Banked timeouts cannot be stacked higher than one (1) in overtime.
- 2.8.1.2 ESL servers
A maximum total pause time of 10 minutes will be set by the tournament administration prior to the match start. Teams can pause as many times as they like for technical issues, but they will not be able to exceed the set maximum pause time. For example, each team may have 10 minutes of total technical pause time per match. They may pause as many times as they like, up to the total duration of 10 minutes for the match. After the maximum time has been reached, the match will unpause and will not be pausable again by that team. To call a technical pause, participants have to type “!tech” on the server and then announce the reason for a pause immediately after they paused the match. To call a timeout, participants have to use the in-game vote system (ESC → Call Vote → Call Tactical Timeout). A timeout lasts thirty (30) seconds. Participants are allowed to take all three timeouts at once by calling them all individually once the previous timeout expires.
If a map reaches overtime (OT), all remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) timeout to be used in that OT (OT1) period. If the map progresses to another OT (OT2), the same process will happen - any remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) more timeout. Banked timeouts cannot be stacked higher than one (1) in overtime.
ESL Pro Tour Counter-Strike Roster Restrictions 2025
- 2.2.1.1 ESL Challenger League additions lineup changes
During the regular season, participants can make up to three (3) player additions. The regular season begins at the roster submission deadline. Any player additions must be made no later than two (2) hours before the participant’s next scheduled match start time. The final time additions can be made is twenty four (24) hours after the final regular season match of that respective region concludes. No additions can be made during the playoffs or relegation stage.
Each ESL Challenger League Cup is treated as a standalone event, with its own roster submission deadline. All participating teams must submit their final roster by this deadline. For the duration of a single cup, no lineup changes are permitted after the roster submission deadline has passed. The only exception to this is outlined in 2.2.2 Emergency Additions.
Teams that qualify for the Regional Final are required to retain the majority of the roster that secured qualification. This requirement applies both to the Regional Final itself and to any additional ESL Challenger Cups within the same season that the team chooses to participate in. Failure to retain the core roster will result in forfeiture of the Regional Final slot. In such cases, the number of participants in the Regional Final may be reduced accordingly.
- 2.2.2 Emergency additions
Where a team is rendered unable to field a full lineup as a result of a serious and unexpected emergency, the right to make an emergency addition request exists, as long as supporting evidence can be provided. All emergency addition requests and supporting evidence will be evaluated by the tournament administration on a case by case basis. All emergency addition request decisions will be made at the tournament administration’s discretion.
Emergency additions are still subject to the restrictions for adding new players and the majority rule specified in 2.4 Lineup restrictions during an event must always be upheld. Any further restrictions detailed in this rulebook may be suspended in order to facilitate the addition.
- 2.4.1 Lineup restrictions during ESL Challenger League Season 49
A participant must use the majority of their starting lineup from the previous season until they have completed a majority of their matches during the first stage of the regular season.
- 2.4.2 Lineup restrictions during ESL Challenger League Season 50
A participant must use the majority of the lineup that was invited to the competition until they have completed a majority of their matches during the first stage of the regular season. For qualified teams, the majority of the lineup from their last match in the qualifying competition must be retained.
Outro
To keep up to date with our plans for 2025 and not miss any important updates, as always, make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow ESLCS on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
