MLCTF XXIV
Rules            
1. League Format

1.1 Introduction

The Twenty-Fourth Edition of Major League Capture The Flag, hereafter referred to as MLCTF XXIV, will be a season format and feature a single-elimination playoff round. There will be 16 teams organized into two conferences, a European Conference and an American Conference. Each Conference will be organized into two divisions. The regular season portion of MLCTF XXIV will see each team play one match with every other team in their division for a total of three matches for the regular season.

All matches will be scheduled on Sundays. The regular season will last 3 weeks. Playoffs will then last four weeks.

1.2 League Point System

Each match consists of two maps only. Teams will be awarded three points for each map win, one point for each map loss and zero points for each map forfeit.

The top three teams in each division will advance to the playoffs.

For playoff seeding, in the event of a tie the team who has the least map forfeits will have the higher seed. If both teams had an equal number of map forfeits, the team who recorded the least amount of map losses will have the higher seed. Should both teams have an equal number of map losses, the team that won the head-to-head matchup will have the higher seed. If the teams tied, the team with the higher efficiency [ PF / (PF + PA) ] will have the higher seed.

1.3 Playoff Format

The playoffs will feature a single elimination bracket between the twelve top teams. The top seed in each division will receive a bye into the semifinals. A Divisional Wildcard round will pit the second and third place teams in each division against each other for a birth in the semifinals. The conference semifinal matches will feature a best-of-three format and the conference finals will feature a best-of-five format. The twelve teams will play as follows:

Wildcard Round

NA Div 1 #2 vs NA Div 1 #3
NA Div 2 #2 vs NA Div 2 #3
EU Div 1 #2 vs EU Div 1 #3
EU Div 2 #2 vs EU Div 2 #3

Conference Semifinals

NA Div 1 #1 vs NA Div 2 WC winner
NA Div 2 #1 vs NA Div 1 WC winner
EU Div 1 #1 vs EU Div 2 WC winner
EU Div 2 #1 vs EU Div 1 WC winner

NA Conference Semifinal winners meet in the NA Conference Final. EU Conference Semifinal winners meet in the EU Conference Final.

1.4 Championship Round

The Championship Round will be played with UTProMod+NewNet enabled, with the match split between New York and London servers.

Conference Final winners will meet in the First Place match of the Championship Round. Conference Final losers will meet in the Third Place Match of the Championship Round.

The First Place match will be a Best of 5 format, with each team captain voting off maps from the maplist in turn until only 5 maps remain. The captain whose team had the better seeding according to rule 1.2 will make the final elimination, and will choose which map to play first on their conference's home server. The other team will then choose a map to play second on their conference's home server, and this selection will alternate in turn until one map remains. That map will be the tiebreaker, if needed, and the captain whose team has the better capspread through the first four maps will choose to play the tiebreaker on their conference's home server. If the capspread is tied, the captain whose team had the higher seeding according to Rule 1.2 will pick the server.

The same rules will apply to the Third Place match, except that there will only be only 3 maps instead of 5.


2. Match Rules

Regular Season matches and Conference Playoff Matches will be UTProMod+NewNet disabled.

Each round of the regular season will consist of 2 maps only, selected from the approved maplist. During each of the regular season matches, each team will pick one map and the opposing team will have color choice. Each team is allowed to choose a map from the approve maplist ONCE during the regular season. Upon reaching playoffs, a team may select any map from the approved maplist in all conference playoff rounds.

Team captains must give their server and map choices to the admin prior to match time. Once the match admin has announced each team's map selection, neither team may change their map choice. If both teams pick the same map, the admin will allow both teams to resubmit their map selection. If both teams decide not to change their map selection, that map will be played twice. However, if both teams change their map pick but end up picking the same map, the map that was selected by both teams initially will be the first map played and the map that was selected by both teams the second time will be the second map played for the match. The team listed first on the schedule will have their map pick played first on the second team's server choice.

The conference semifinal round of the playoffs will be a best of three maps with each team choosing one map from the entire maplist. The higher seeded team's map will be played first on the lower seeded team's server. The tiebreaker will be decided in the following manner: Each captain, meeting on IRC with an admin, will take turns eliminating maps from the list of unplayed maps until one map remains. The higher seeded team will choose whether they want to eliminate a map second or have server choice for the tiebreaker.

The conference final round of the playoffs will be a best of five maps with each team choosing two maps from the entire maplist. The higher seeded team's map selections will be played first and then third on the lower seeded team's server. Above tiebreaker rules apply.

2.2 Map List

CTF-AreaN23-LE103
CTF-Azcanize-LE102
CTF-Bleak-CE100
CTF-BollWerK105
CTF-Cynosure][LE105
CTF-Gataka-SE
CTF-Glacier][-CE105
CTF-Infested-UGL-LE202
CTF-Lavagiant
CTF-McSwartzly][
CTF-November-MLUT
CTF-Orbital-LE102
CTF-P4ce-LE101
CTF-Ranel-JoltEdition
CTF-Revelation
CTF-Revenge-LE102
CTF-Ronsico][
CTF-Terra-LE102
CTF-Vaultcity-LE102

2.3 Color Choice

During all matches, the team that has not chosen the map will choose color.

2.4 Match Scheduling

All matches are prescheduled by the MLCTF staff and times will be posted on the MLCTF website. If teams wish to reschedule their match, both captains must agree and inform an admin within 24 hours of the scheduled match start, otherwise the original date and time will be used. Teams are allowed ONE reschedule up to the day before the next round begins. If a team cannot field an adequate lineup (5 legal players) at match time, they will be subject to a forfeit loss. The specific rules for a forfeit loss are enumerated under sections 2.5 through 2.9.

Captains are required to submit their server/map pick before match time. Failure to submit information before this deadline will allow the other team to get into their server choice (even if it is not the server for the first map) and start their timer, assuming they have met this deadline. If neither team has their information at the deadline, rule 2.4a goes into effect.

2.5 Double Forfeit

If neither team can field 5 players 20 minutes after the designated starting match time, or the arrival of an admin, whichever is later, both teams receive a forfeit loss for both maps, neither team receiving any points.

2.6 Single Forfeit

If a team cannot field a team of 5 players within 15 minutes after their opponent has provided 5 clicked players in the correct server, provided that it is after the designated match start time or the arrival of an admin, whichever is later, that team shall forfeit their map pick and their opponent will receive points for the win. The admin will start the timer and continue counting only so long as all five players are clicked. If one player or more reconnects during that countdown, the timer will be paused until that player clicks again.

If said team still cannot field a team of 5 players within an additional 10 minutes after the admin has granted the forfeit of the first map, then that team will forfeit their opponent's map pick as well and the opponent will receive points for the win. Above timing rules apply.

2.7 - Double Forfeit Between Maps

If neither team can field a team of 5 players within 10 minutes of the completion of a map, provided an admin is present, both teams receive a forfeit loss for the next map, neither team receiving any points.

2.8 Single Forfeit Between Maps

If, between maps, a team cannot field a team of 5 members 10 minutes after their opponent has fielded 5 members, provided an admin is present and all 5 members of the opposing are clicked, that team forfeits the map and their opponent is awarded points for a map win.

2.9 Excessive admin abuse

All captains and players will show respect to admins during the course of this tournament. Infractions include, but are not limited to, excessive pm's, abusive teamspeak interactions, public derision, refusal to submit map/server choices to appointed admins, etc. Admins are busy at match time and don't have time to explain rules or argue. Come prepared. Do not misplace your anger on the admins. Admins are chosen for their integrity or usefulness and will be treated as such during match time under penalty of forfeit/removal from the league. All infractions will be reported to the head admin and summary judgement may be rendered. Appeals can be made and submitted for review to the admin staff at large following the completion of that day's match play.

2.10 Connections

MLCTF XXIV is an open ping event, and as such, nearly all connections are accepted and legal. However, a person cannot be on a LAN (local-area network) with the server. Also, any attempt to lag oneself, another player, or a server is strictly forbidden. Any players found to be in violation of this rule will be suspended from league play indefinitely.

2.11 Server Crash

In the event that the game server crashes during a match, the match will restart with the amount of time that was remaining when the server crashed. If the score was tied prior to the crash, any overtime played in the restart will be official. If the match was not tied any captures made prior to the crash will be added to the score once the clock reaches 0:00. If overtime is required at that point, teams will restart the map again with the first team capturing winning the map.


3. Team Rules

3.1 Captain Responsibilities

Captains will be selected from a list of applicants by the admin staff. Captains will be required to:

a) Name their team.
b) Draft a competitive team.
c) Assign a co-captain. A co-captain must be assigned prior to the first match of the season otherwise a forfeit will be assessed for every match until a co-captain is set.
d) Make team decisions, such as lineup, map, color and server choices.
e) Take SmartCTF screenshots of their matches and provide them to the admins upon request.
f) Collect evidence and provide it to the MLUT admins when accusing another team of breaking the rules.
g) Idle in their conference's irc channel when connected, and be present in the hours leading up to any matches, in order to receive messages from admins.

In the absence of the official captain, the co-captain will act as the captain. In the absence of both the captain and the co-captain, the available player with the highest salary will act as captain.

3.2 Captain Replacement

Should a team be unhappy with their team captain, they may hold a team vote of non-confidence to remove him. If five or more players on a team agree to the removal of a captain, the captain will be removed from the league and possibly banned. The team will then vote on a new captain from among their roster. Should a captain not take his or her duties seriously, he may be removed from his position as captain by the league and may face suspension. This is a game but take your team seriously.

3.3 Team Creation/Salary Cap

Each team will consist of ten players. They will be acquired through a draft process on IRC using a draftbot. The draft order will be determined each round by the team's overall salary up to that point in the draft. The team with the lowest overall salary will draft first each round. Each team will have a salary cap of $6500 that they cannot exceed, but they also must maintain a roster of ten players at all times.

If a team drops below ten players for any reason, the spot(s) on the roster MUST be filled to bring the team back up to ten, even if it requires dropping additional players to free up salary.

Total team salary cap will be $6500. At no time may any team exceed this amount.

3.4 Players

Players from Europe and Asia must submit themselves for drafting by teams in the European Conference. Players from North and South America must submit themselves for drafting by teams in the American Conference. All MLCTF XXIV players will be assigned a salary based on their perceived skill, evaluated by the community at large, and finalized by the admin staff.

3.5 Trading

Trading will be allowed in MLCTF XXIV. Teams may only trade with other teams in their own conference. A trade request must be communicated by both team captains to an admin no later than one hour before the start of a team's match. Admins reserve the right to refuse a trade for any reason, including, but not limited to, salary cap infraction or league stability. Captains are encouraged to protect their players and not take any trade offers lightly. Try to consider the integrity of the person offering the trade, whether the trade is equitable, and most of all, whether the trade actually helps your team's chances of winning the MLCTF XXIV Championship.

3.6 Free Agency

Teams are encouraged to use the Free Agent list to fill roster spots taken up by inactive players leading up to match time. Free Agent trades may be made at any time, as long as such trades are approved by an admin. Each conference will have its own Free Agent list, but in some special circumstances, a team may be able to pick up a player from the other conference with admin approval. A player traded from a team's roster will be returned to the Free Agent pool and may be picked up by another team (or the team they were traded from) at any time subsequently.

3.7 Roster Lock

Rosters will be locked for any team upon their elimination from playoff contention. Rosters for playoff bound teams will be locked 24 hours before the first playoff match is scheduled to begin, and no team is permitted to pick up a player from the Free Agent pool for the duration of the playoffs.

3.8 Player Holdout

Players will not be allowed to holdout on their team. Players unhappy with their team are encouraged to privately seek a trade or request to be dropped through their captain. If a player still wishes to publicly holdout from his team, selfishly screwing them over without compensation, the admins are more than happy to remove him from the league, and the captain will be able to pick up a Free Agent to replace him.

3.9 Player Inactivity

If a player misses two consecutive matches, a captain may contact an admin with an inactivity request. If the admin finds the player to be guilty of grossly negligent inactivity, the player will be removed from the league and will not be placed back into the free agent pool. Captains are encouraged to exercise this option only as a last resort to resolving any issues with inactive or unwilling players. All admin action will be conducted based on available evidence and discussions with the player in question.


4. Game Rules

4.1 Cheats

All hacks, bots, radars, cheats and non-GUI (advanced preferences) controlled tweaks are illegal. This includes, but is not limited to, any kind of automated aiming bot, a trigger-bot, any form of radar, server-crashing bugs or tools, packet loss and latency inducing devices, personal external timers, HUD timers (besides the one PURE provides), and anything in that same vein or spirit, or any cheats/hacks/tweaks that causes a player to be kicked from the server (light boxes/no shadows/etc.). Please use your brain as this is a zero tolerance policy. Any violations will be reviewed and will likely result in a permanent expulsion for the offending player from all MLUT related events and a forfeit loss of the match in question for the offending team. These rules are not finite and can be changed or modified at anytime to address any situation. Those caught by our cheat protection will be subject to severe punishment. The only allowable tweak is shortened death messages. Every other tweak is illegal for MLCTF XXIV.

Players may be convicted of the above without being caught by server cheat protection. Admins reserve the right to take into account all evidence regarding said player, including, but not limited to: demos, screenshots, server logs, and personal history. Punishment of this nature will only be meted out after a formal admin vote is held.

4.2 Skins

Players may not use any skins other than those included in the default installation of Unreal Tournament, and may not alter the appearance of any of these skins by any means.

4.3 Spectators

Should any players be caught spectating a match without the consent of an administrator and not immediately leave when asked, they risk a possible suspension from league play. You are allowed to spectate pugs, not matches. Should they be a member of a team in play, the offending team will receive a forfeit loss for the map in question.

4.4 Frog Jumps

Frog Jumps and/or Bunny Hops are illegal in MLCTF play. If a player executes a Frog Jump in a match, accidentally or otherwise, the player must immediately drop the flag and allow the other team to return it. If demo, admin or eyewitness UTV evidence show that the player or team that Frog Jumped captured or continued to attempt to capture a flag after the violation, the map will result in a forfeit loss for that team. In the event that something is missed it will be put under review.

4.5 FWS Bind

Any player deemed to be abusing a throwweapon bind in an attempt to simulate a fast weapon switch will be subject to penalty. Abuse will be judged by the admin staff upon request from a team's opposing captain. Any captain wishing to make a claim must do so no later than an hour after the match ends. This rule will in no way be used against a player throwing his weapon in the normal course of the game for the intended purpose of restocking the weapon.

Penalty Scale:
First Infraction: Warning
Second Infaction: Player Suspended for One Map
Third Infraction: Player Suspended for One Match
Four+ Infractions: Penalty at Admins' Discretion

4.6 Server Admin

If a player logs into a server as administrator prior to a match, the player must logout when complete, and reconnect to the server. At no time may a player login as administrator during the match. Doing so will result in a forfeit loss for the map in question for the offending team, and a suspension for the offending player.

4.7 Connection Fraud

All connection fraud is illegal, including but not limited to, faking your ping or disturbing another connection through any means. Any violations will result in a forfeit loss of the map in question for the offending team. The offending player will be suspended from play for the current season with the possibility of being reported for G-line.

4.8 Aliasing

A player may not use multiple identities over the course of the season. The name a player uses must be identical to that tracked by the admins and the alias they signed up as. If at any time a player refuses to use the name they signed up with when asked by an admin to change it during a match, they will be denied permission to play. Repeated offences will result in a player being suspended from play for the rest of the season.

If a team wishes to alter their names as part of their tag or team 'theme', they may contact an admin to discuss a solution that is fun but still clearly shows who every player on the team is.

4.9 Ringing

Using a ringer (a player not on your eligible roster, who is generally posing as an eligible player) is a serious offence. Using a ringer will result in the offending player, as well as any captains or co-captains present, being banned indefinitely. In addition, the team will forfeit the maps in question and be disqualified from play for the remainder of the season.

4.10 Piston Portal Camping

Piston portal camping is illegal. This includes sitting on either side of a portal with a charged piston and/or anything in the spirit of portal camping, including but not limited to repeatedly running through a portal with a charged piston. Any violations will result in a forfeit loss on the map in question for the offending team and possible suspension for the offending player.

4.11 Game Bugs

Exploiting game bugs is illegal, such as, but not limited to, the armor bug, or any bugs which may allow you to translocate and retain the flag or teleport the flag across large distances (warp). Any violations will result in a forfeit loss of the map in question for the offending team.

4.12 Map Bugs

Exploiting map bugs such as (but not limited to) dropping flags into areas they are not supposed to, through walls and/or doors and the Terra flag drop, are illegal. Drops through visible openings (such as those on McSwarztly and Orbital) are legal. Any violations will result in a forfeit loss of the map in question for the offending team.

4.13 Taunts

Excessive use of text taunts is illegal. Using taunts bound to movement keys, firing keys, weapon switch keys, or any other frequently used bind in the game, is illegal. Issues will be handled on a case by case basis. If a player continues to spam taunt binds after an admin warning, his team will forfeit the map and he will be denied permission to play for the rest of the match.


5. Administration

5.1 Administrative Powers

All MLCTF admins have the power to make any changes to information on the MLUT website. Should a captain or player notice any mistakes, he or she should contact an admin. Should a captain, player or other admin feel that an admin is abusing their power, he or she may file a grievance with the head admin and an admin vote will be conducted regarding the topic.

5.2 Conflict Resolution

Any and all problems (including those not governed in the rules) will be resolved by an admin vote. All admins have one vote and can choose not to vote if they so please. In the hopes of keeping things moving, all open votes have a twenty-four hour window in which admins can place their vote. There may, however, be exceptions to this twenty-four hour window, should the vote be for something that does not require immediate resolution. In the event of a tie, the head admin will make the final decision.

5.3 Availability

In the event that there is only one available admin for any MLCTF function, he has the authority to resolve all conflicts within the scope of the rules. These actions will be reported to the admin staff. If deemed unethical or not to have been handled within the scope of the rules, the matter will be put to an admin vote.

5.4 Asterisk (*)

The MLCTF XXIV admins reserve the right to alter any rule in any way at any time as they see fit if there is a passing majority admin vote. This is to protect the integrity of the tournament in case of a loophole or something being overlooked.
Moderated By: MLCTF Admins

MLCTF XXIV Features