CS2 Rules

1. General Information

1. 1.1 The Counter-Strike 2 (hereinafter CS2) tournament takes place October 24-26, 2025 at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) premises, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn.
2. 1.2 The tournament prize pool is 5,750€, distributed as follows:
   1. 1.2.1 TOP 3 prize pool is 5,000€:
      • 1.2.1.1 First place team - 500€ per player
      • 1.2.1.2 Second place team - 300€ per player
      • 1.2.1.3 Third place team - 200€ per player
   2. 1.2.2 LCQ prize pool is 750€:
      • 1.2.2.1 First place team - 100€ per player
      • 1.2.2.2 Second place team - 50€ per player
3. 1.3 Prize money will be paid to the player's bank account.
   1. 1.3.1 For underage players, the prize will be paid to the parent/guardian's bank account.
4. 1.4 Throughout the tournament, all participants must comply with the laws of the Republic of Estonia, TipiLAN house rules, and event regulations.
5. 1.5 By purchasing a ticket, each participant gives permission to be photographed, filmed, and for all photographic, audio, and video material to be used for event documentation and marketing.
6. 1.6 The CS2 main tournament will be recorded and streamed on Twitch and YouTube platforms.
7. 1.7 All tournament-related communications between team members (e.g., in-game chat, voice communications, Discord conversations, etc.) will be recorded.
8. 1.8 When self-streaming the game, the stream delay must be at least 5 minutes.
9. 1.9 Organizers have the right to use participants' personal information solely within the framework of conducting the event.
10. 1.10 The organizing team has the right to modify and edit rules as needed without prior notice.
11. 1.11 The organizing team is impartial towards all participants.

2. CS2 Main Tournament Team and Team Composition

1. 2.1 A CS2 main tournament team (hereinafter team) core roster consists of five main members, one of whom is the team captain;

2. 2.2 The team captain is the team's representative who:

   1. 2.2.1 Serves as the contact person for the organizing team;
   2. 2.2.2 Registers the team for the tournament;
   3. 2.2.3 Is responsible for the team's behavior and actions;
   4. 2.2.4 Represents the team in cases of warnings, disqualifications, disputes, and timeouts.

3. 2.3 Each team may have one substitute player who is not part of the team's core roster:

   1. 2.3.1 The substitute player must purchase a separate substitute player ticket;
   2. 2.3.2 The substitute player can replace any member of the team's core roster during the tournament;
   3. 2.3.3 The same rights and requirements apply to the substitute player as to the team's core roster.

4. 2.4 Team core roster members may be replaced before the team registration deadline: 2.4.1 Player replacement is done through Fienta; 2.4.2 When replacing a member, the team retains the right to a substitute player; 2.4.3 The same rights and requirements apply to replacement players as to the team's core roster.

5. 2.5 When replacing the team captain (e.g., with a substitute or replacement player), the team decides internally who receives the team captain's rights and responsibilities;

6. 2.6 Teams must confirm their participation, final team core roster, and team name 2 weeks before the tournament in an email sent to the team captain. If a core member drops out after the final roster has been confirmed, the team must use their substitute player.

7. 2.7 If a team withdraws from tournament participation before the registration deadline, the participation fee will be refunded to the team.

8. 2.8 All team members (including core roster, substitute player, replacement player(s)) may only belong to one team at a time and represent only themselves (i.e., it is forbidden to have someone else play on their behalf);

9. 2.9 All team members (including core roster, substitute player, replacement player(s)) must be at least 16 years old by the tournament registration date;

10. 2.10 No team member may be a citizen of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus.

11. 2.11 Teams (including core roster, substitute player, replacement player(s)) are not allowed to:

    1. 2.11.1 Use coaches;
    2. 2.11.2 Display team sponsors during the tournament;
    3. 2.11.3 Play in the interests of another team or team member;

12. 2.12 Team name:

    1. 2.12.1 Must not be offensive, vulgar, political, or otherwise inappropriate;
    2. 2.12.2 Must not contain emoticons or other symbols that are not letters;
    3. 2.12.3 Must be changed upon request from the organizing team.

3. Equipment

1. 3.1 The organizing team provides participants with internet, ethernet cable, extension cords, and a seat with a table.
2. 3.2 Tournament participants are responsible for bringing and ensuring the functionality of all other necessary equipment for participation.

4. Schedule

1. 4.1 All team members must be present one hour before the scheduled tournament start.
2. 4.2 Teams competing in a match round must be ready at their designated locations 10 minutes before the round begins. It is the team captain's responsibility to ensure their team is in the right place at the right time and ready to start.
3. 4.3 Match round start times are announced by the organizing team at the tournament start or upon completion of the previous match round.
4. 4.4 If a player experiences technical issues with equipment or the game, they must immediately notify the match referee or organizing team.
5. 4.5 The organizing team has the right to make changes to the schedule.
6. 4.6 The organizing team is obligated to keep all participants informed of any delays and changes.

5. Game Version and Settings

1. 5.1 The latest version of CS2 will be used throughout the tournament. If the organizing team deems the latest available version unplayable due to bugs or other changes, an older version may be used (if possible).

2. 5.2 The following settings will be used in the CS2 tournament:

   1. 5.2.1 Best of 24 (mp_maxrounds 24)
   2. 5.2.2 Round time: 1 minute 55 seconds (mp_roundtime 1.92)
   3. 5.2.3 Starting money: $800 (mp_startmoney 800)
   4. 5.2.4 Freeze time at round start: 20 seconds (mp_freezetime 20)
   5. 5.2.5 Buy time: 20 seconds (mp_buytime 20)
   6. 5.2.6 Bomb timer: 40 seconds (mp_c4timer 40)
   7. 5.2.7 Overtime rounds: best of six (6) (mp_overtime_maxrounds 6)
   8. 5.2.8 Overtime starting money: $12,500 (mp_overtime_startmoney 12500)
   9. 5.2.9 Round restart delay: 5 seconds (mp_round_restart_delay 5)
   10. 5.2.10 Prohibited items: none (mp_items_prohibited "")

3. 5.3 Overtime: if there is a tie after all 24 rounds, overtime will be played as best of six. At the start of each overtime, teams remain on the side they played in the previous half - sides are switched at halftime. Teams continue overtime until a winner is found.

4. 5.4 Pause: each team is allowed to call a timeout for thirty (30) seconds up to three (3) times during regulation rounds. Pauses can be called by participants typing "!pause" in the in-game chat. Players are allowed to use all three pauses consecutively. The match referee can call a pause unilaterally if necessary.

5. 5.5 Technical pause: each team has the right to use a technical pause when necessary. To start a pause, the command ".tech" must be entered in the in-game chat. Technical pauses may only be used for valid reasons, when technical problems occur, and organizers must be immediately notified via Discord after starting the pause.

6. Map Selection

1. 6.1 The tournament takes place in two stages:

   1. 6.1.1 Swiss system: initial phase played in Bo1 format. The top 16 teams advance to the playoffs.
   2. 6.1.2 Playoffs: played in double elimination format, where winners' bracket matches are Bo3 and losers' bracket matches are Bo1.

2. 6.2 Maps are selected from the currently active Valve Active Duty Map Group.

3. 6.3 Best of 1 (Bo1): coin flip winner decides whether they are Team A or Team B. Team A starts and the process is as follows:

   1. 6.3.1 Team A removes two maps.
   2. 6.3.2 Team B removes three maps.
   3. 6.3.3 Team A removes one map.
   4. 6.3.4 The remaining map is played.

4. 6.4 Best of 3 (Bo3): coin flip winner decides whether they are Team A or Team B. Team A starts and the process is as follows:

   1. 6.4.1 Team A removes one map.
   2. 6.4.2 Team B removes one map.
   3. 6.4.3 Team A picks one map.
   4. 6.4.4 Team B picks one map.
   5. 6.4.5 Team B removes one map.
   6. 6.4.6 Team A removes one map.
   7. 6.4.7 The remaining map is the decider if needed.

7. Prohibited Activities in CS2 Tournament

1. 7.1 Any form of cheating, including methods not mentioned here, is prohibited.
2. 7.2 The use of scripts is prohibited (except for weapon/grenade buying, jump throwing).
3. 7.3 Movement through walls, floors, and ceilings, including sky-walking, is prohibited.
4. 7.4 "Pixel walking" - standing, crouching, walking, and other activities on invisible map boundaries is prohibited.
5. 7.5 Bombs must be placed so they can be defused. This does not include situations where multiple players are needed to defuse the bomb.
6. 7.6 Players are not allowed to place an armed bomb where it cannot be defused, where it doesn't touch a solid object, or where it doesn't make the normal "beeping" sound.
7. 7.7 Players are not allowed to give items names (nametags) that violate what is stated in the TipiLAN house rules.
8. 7.8 Custom game files/data/drivers are not allowed.
9. 7.9 The use of character model skins (agent skins) is not allowed.
10. 7.10 Exploiting in-game bugs is prohibited.
11. 7.11 Any form of match fixing, influencing, fraud, and manipulation is strictly prohibited and means immediate team disqualification. Organizers have the right to notify Estonian law enforcement agencies in case of suspicion.

8. Penalties

1. 8.1 Violation of in-game and out-of-game rules (see section 7) and house rules (see TipiLAN house rules) is punishable.
2. 8.2 A team member who violates rules will first receive a first verbal warning. After a second/repeated violation, the team member receives a second verbal warning. On the third occasion, the team member is disqualified from the tournament. The team has the right to use their substitute player.
3. 8.3 A team member who fails to appear for the tournament or match round or leaves during the tournament without valid reason receives a tournament disqualification. The team has the right to use their substitute player.
4. 8.4 A team member who is not present and ready 10 minutes before their match round begins (no-show situation) receives a tournament disqualification, except if the team member is late for valid reasons and has notified the organizing team. The team has the right to use their substitute player.
5. 8.5 If the organizing team determines that a team member has violated section 7, the entire team is immediately disqualified from the tournament. The rule-violating team member receives a permanent ban from TipiLAN tournaments.
6. 8.6 If during match review the organizing team has reasonable suspicion that a team member has violated section 7, the entire team is immediately disqualified from the tournament. The rule-violating team member receives a permanent ban from TipiLAN tournaments.
7. 8.7 Teams have the right to withdraw from tournament participation, i.e., give themselves a disqualification.
8. 8.8 In case of team disqualification, the opposing team automatically wins the current match round.
9. 8.9 Only the team captain can dispute a team member/team disqualification. The dispute must be submitted to the organizing team within 15 minutes of the team being notified of the disqualification.
   1. 8.9.1 The organizing team has up to 25 minutes to make a decision regarding the dispute. During this time, the match round is paused and teams may not leave their positions.
10. 8.10 Teams have the right to file a protest in situations where there is a problem that may affect or affects the match round or team:
    1. 8.10.1 Protests may be filed with the organizing team within 5 minutes of discovering the problem.
    2. 8.10.2 The organizing team has up to 25 minutes to make a decision regarding the protest. During this time, the match round is paused and teams may not leave their positions.
11. 8.11 The match referee notifies the rule-violating team member, their team, and the opposing team of the violation, its content, and consequences.
12. 8.12 The organizing team has the right to pause a match round and end the pause at any time as needed.
13. 8.13 The organizing team is obligated to publicly announce all eliminations and calculations and further changes.

9. Contact

For any event-related questions, problems, concerns, etc., contact the TipiLAN organizing team.

10. References

• https://pro.eslgaming.com/csgo/proleague/rules/
• https://github.com/ValveSoftware/counter-strike_rules_and_regs/blob/main/tournament-operation-requirements.md
• https://www.hltv.org/events/8037/iem-dallas-2025
• https://www.hltv.org
• https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/Portal:Maps/CS2