Player Guide: Tournament Rules

This section addresses overall tournament rules, terminology, guidelines, and courtesies. Game Specific Rules can be found in the next section, but this is important stuff, be sure you understand these topics to avoid getting disqualified or ejected. We have tried to squeeze all the potentially dumbfounding words in here to help you along.
 
 
Event

• This term is used to describe the DEVASTATION experience. As it is beyond a standard tournament it seems appropriate to refer to it is as such. Know that when we speak/refer to the “Event” we are talking about DEVASTATION.

 
Player/Competitor

• A person or team who is actively competing in a tournament. Not to be confused with an guest/attendee who is merely present at the Event. Players pay an Event registration fee and pay to enter specific tournament titles; they receive customized “player” badges, lanyards, and t-shirts as well as other benefits.

 
Guest/Attendee

• A person who is merely a spectator at the Event. Guests will have limited participation rights to casual and other areas and will not be able to compete in any tournament titles. Guests pay a guest pass/badge fee and will receive a generic “Guest” badge and lanyards. Participants from the Big Boys and Their Toys Expo, who have paid the Expo admission fee, will also have access to the DEVASTATION casual area but will not receive “Guest” badges or lanyards as they will have admission wristbands.

 
Event Organizer

• This is the person ultimately responsible for the entire Event.

 
Tournament Director

• This is the person in charge of running the tournament portion of the Event. He will manage the flow of the brackets and pools and all of the Officials/Judges report to him. He will make judgement on all disputes/discretions and will defer to the Event Organizer if need be.

 
Official/Judges

• These people will directly manage the brackets and pools and assist the Director with the progression of the tournaments.

 
Staff

• There are many people that will be assisting in the success of the Event. As we run more than just a tournament you will see Staff members running booths, casual areas, expo attendants, and more. They should be easy to spot with their white “Staff” badges and lanyards; if you have any question as to where to find a Staff member, head over to the Command Center or Information Desk and we will help you out.

 
Bracket

• A diagrammatic representation of games played during the tournament; a chart that outlines a players progression through the tournament.

 
Pool

• A smaller bracket than the whole of the tournament. Instead of running a 128-player tournament straight through it is more feasible to run smaller brackets that, in turn, seed a 64 player bracket.

 
Game

• A single instance or meeting between two players or teams. In Guitar Hero a game is considered a single song played against another player, in Street Fighter IV, it is when a character is defeated two out of three rounds.

 
Match

• A contest or bout between two players or teams. For our purposes it is when two players or teams are paired against one another in a bracket. Most matches are made up of the winner/best of two out of three games.

 
Default Selection

• A method of choosing a character/team. Players choose their characters/teams in whatever order they choose. Any noticible delay or stalling to “counter-team” the opposing player can be grounds for disqualification.

 
Double-Blind Selection

• A method of choosing a character/team. Players MUST specifically ask for this method of selection prior to either player selecting any characters. Once the judge has acknowledged that double-blind will be enforced he will ask a player to whisper their character selection to him. He will then instruct the other player to choose thier character/team. Once that player has selected their options he will instruct and insure that the other player chooses the team as so confided to him.

 
Registration

• All players must register online at devastationevent.com.
• Refer to the Player Guide to see what levels of registration apply to you.
• All registration and entry fees are non-refundable.
• Late/Emergency entries may be accepted at the sole discretion of the Event Organizer. These players will be placed in the most open/available pools regardless of their status/rank/relationships/geographic origination (e.g. four players from Texas that are allowed register late/the day of may be thrown into the same pool/bracket).

 
Seeding

• Pool/Bracket seeding will be randomly assigned by region. If any late registrations are accepted they will be placed in first available pool/bracket (see above example).

 
Match Rules

• Unless Double-Blind Selection is specifically requested BEFORE any player chooses a character, all matches will be played in the Default Selection.
• The loser of the match can opt to switch sides with the winner if they choose. The winner must stay where he is at unless the loser requests otherwise.
• Winners of the last game must keep characters/teams/orders/settings unless Game Specific rules allow otherwise.
• Losers of the last game may change characters/teams/orders/settings unless Game Specific rules state otherwise.

 
Rule Violations

• There may come a time during the tournament where a rule is broken, intentionally or not. Say the winner of a round changes his character to another or someone pauses the game in the middle of a match. Here is how such events are addressed:
• It is the players’ responsibility to report all violations.
• A judge may report a violation on behalf of any player.
• Reports must be made at the time the violations are made. You cannot address one after the match has completed for instance.
• Stopping gameplay for non-violations may be grounds for disqualification.

 
Equipment Failure

• Stuff breaks; it happens. Here is how we handle it when someting does happen.
• A judge may notice a failure and can stop a match to have the issue addressed. A match may be continued or restarted at the judge’s discretion.
• If a player feels that a failure has occured that prohibits gameplay he must report it immediately. the judge will determine the validity and course of action.
• The Director or Organizer can, at any time, order a game replayed to due to equipment failure.
• In the instance that a game must be replayed, both players must choose the same characters/teams/sides.

 
Rule Enforcement

• Along the lines of “stuff breaks”, occasionally stuff goes wrong. Whether intentionally or not, a rule may get violated. In all instances of rule violation, the judge involved, Director, and Organizer will discuss the situation and assess the appropriate action. The action may be a verbal warning to a game or match forfeiture all the way up to disqualification or ejection from the Event.

 
Last Items

• If you are unavailable when your match is called you will be disqualified.

 
This is so important we will repeat it:
 

• IF YOU ARE UNAVAILABLE WHEN YOUR MATCH IS CALLED YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

 

• Players have two minutes to report to their match and be ready to play once their name is called. Bathroom breaks, casual matches, no converter, could not hear their name, buddy has your controller, NONE of these excuses will be accepted. We are splitting up the brackets into smaller pools to make the flow faster and players do not have that hour of deadtime between matches so that means you MUST be present as we will be moving through them pretty quick. Stay by your pool and wait, you will be happier and so will we.

 

• No ties. Ever. Also, no refusal to play. Refusal to play in any game or match is grounds for disqualification and loss of winnings/place. Play to win.

 

• The “Rules Rule” at DEVASTATION is this: If you are unsure about anything, ASK! No Staff member will deny you the opportunity to pose a question if you are uncertain and, if they do not know the answer, they will get someone who will.

 

• As always, the Organizer reserves the right to alter/change/delete/make up new rules at any time, as well as remove any player or attendee for any reason. The rules are to in place to make this as fun, fair, and safe of an Event as possible, please be courteous. Thanks.

 

• If anything seems confusing or you want to discuss a concern, please contact us by email: info@devastationevent.com. We are always open to changes that improve your DEVASTATION experience.