1. Introduction

This is the national rules of the Alliance Games. Changes of this rulebook will be recorded in this document. If you have questions or clarifications, feel free to message us at the official Alliance Games Facebook page.

2. Eligibility

To be eligible to compete in the Alliance Games, each Player and Support Staff must satisfy the following.

2.1. Player Residency & Representation.

2.1.1. Country. Each Player must be currently a resident of the Philippines and have a Filipino citizenship. Dual citizenship is accepted.

2.1.2. Enrollment Status. All Players ****must be enrolled in the Philippines in the most recent active semester or quarter of either senior highschool (G11-G12) or an undergraduate degree concentration in college.

1. Students enrolled in G10 and below is ineligible.
2. Students enrolled in a vocational, masters and doctorate degree is ineligible.
3. Students enrolled with less than 3 units of load is ineligible.
4. Students under leave of absence (LOA) are ineligible.
5. Students who have already graduated upon registration are ineligible.

2.1.3. Account Vetting. Players must submit all details of their account of the game title they are going to be playing with. No other account may be used for the duration of the active season.

1. AcadArena Officials will honor the suspension and bans of the game developers to the declared account.
2. Being suspended or banned in your server means you are also suspended and banned in the Alliance Games.

2.1.4. Pro Status. There are NO eligibility restrictions for players participating in professional esports leagues or belong to professional esports organizations. However, AcadArena Officials will comply with any requests, rules, or regulations originating from any professional esports organization or institution that bars players from participating in collegiate events. AcadArena Officials will NOT entertain any schedule or roster requests due to professional commitments or conflicts.

2.2. Team Eligibility.

2.2.1. Ownership Recognition. Players who wish to compete in the Alliance Games must be under the jurisdiction of any of the following Team Owners:

1. High School Alliance Members. The team is under the ownership of a high school academic club who is an active member of the AcadArena Alliance Program.
2. High School Athletics. The team is endorsed by or is under the ownership of the high school athletics department or equivalent.
3. Collegiate Alliance Members. The team is under the ownership of a collegiate academic club who is an active member of the AcadArena Alliance program.
4. Collegiate Athletics. The team is endorsed by or is under the ownership of the college or university athletics department or equivalent.
5. Multiple Recognition. If a club is both recognized by athletics and is an Alliance member, they can only send one (1) team per game.

2.2.4. Schoolmates or Clubmates. All Players of a Team must be from the same campus, club or varsity jurisdiction with the following exceptions for Academic Clubs:

1. On Academic Clubs with both senior highschool and collegiate members. They may form a mixed team composed of Players from senior highschool and Players from undergraduate programs as long as they are from the same campus.
2. On Academic Clubs with jurisdiction on multiple campuses. Clubs that fall under this category may either choose to (a) send one (1) team with Players from different campuses (e.g. URS Digital Giants that has Players from URS Taytay and Morong campuses.) OR (b) send one (1) team per campus given that each team is exclusively composed of Players enrolled in those respective campuses (e.g. MGS Clubs (Mapua University Makati) and MGS Spades (Mapua University Intramuros)

2.2.2. Game Participation. Team Owners may only send one (1) team per game title. They may participate in any number of games featured in the Alliance Games. It is NOT required to have a team for all game titles.

2.2.3. Membership Restrictions. In order to preserve the integrity of the league, the Players, Support Staff which includes the Team Manager, Coach, or affiliates, shall not have conflict of interests in more than one Team and must satisfy the following:

1. Game Restrictions. A student may only be a Player for one game.
2. Role Restrictions. If a student is a Player, the student may not have more than one role across all Teams and game titles. (e.g. a Player for LoL may not be a Team Manager for VAL but a student can be a Team Manager for both LoL and VAL.)
3. League Restrictions. A student who reaches the Group Stages of Alliance Games may not compete in another collegiate league or tournament while their team is still active in Alliance Games.
4. Team Restrictions. In the event that a campus will have multiple participants by virtue of 2.2.1. Ownership Recognition the Player or Support Staff may only have an active role under one Team Owner for the purpose of competing in the Alliance Games. (e.g. You cannot be a Player for Collegiate Athletics and be a Coach for High School Alliance Members while both Teams are competing in the Alliance Games. You cannot be a Coach for both Collegiate Athletics and High School Alliance.)

2.3. Roster Requirements.

2.3.1. Player Roster Size. Upon reaching the Group Stage of the Alliance Games, each Team Owner is required to register and maintain seven (7) eligible Players through the rest of the league. No more, no less.

2.3.2. Player Rank. Players must adhere to the following rank requirements upon playing in the Trials. AcadArena Officials reserve the right to default teams in the Trials if their members do not meet these minimum ranks.

2.3.3. Support Staff. Upon reaching the Group Stage, each Team Owner will be required to register and maintain at least, one (1) Team Manager and one (1) Coach as part of the Support Staff.

1. They cannot be the same person.
2. Team Owners may have their Support Staff assigned to multiple Player Rosters.
3. Support Staff may not be students given that the Team Owner has a written contract with said Support Staff.

2.3.4. Team Captain. Across all games, each Player Roster must declare one (1) team captain who will be the direct liaison of AcadArena Alliance Officials before the Group Stages.

2.3.5. Team Manager. The team manager ****is responsible for all communication, scheduling, roster management and compliance for all administrative needs of the Player Roster within the Alliance Games.

2.3.6. Coaches. The coach is responsible for scouting, training, guidance, health, morale and character of the Player Roster within the Alliance Games.

2.3.7. Roster Changes. Teams will only be allowed to make roster changes on the following roster release periods given that only a maximum of two (2) players will be changed per period. This count is separate from roster additions the team can make. This must be completed via the Roster Change forms released by AcadArena officials.

1. During Trials Stages. Rosters are allowed to change in between Trials Stages.
2. Before Group Stages. Roster additions are allowed to meet 2.3.1. and 2.3.3. on top of roster changes.
3. Before Playoffs. Only roster changes are allowed whether for Player Rosters or Support Staff.

2.4. Contract Requirements.

2.4.1. Team Member Agreements. Any Team Owner whether an Academic Club or Athletics may have a written agreement with their Players and Support Staff. AcadArena Officials reserve the right to review the agreements depending on the jurisdiction and type of contract the Team Owner has with the Team Members.

1. Employment Contracts. In the case of Athletics directly hiring their Support Staff, AcadArena Officials need not review their employment contract. A ceritificate employment or an endorsement letter will suffice to verify affiliation with the Team.
2. Athlete or Varsity Agreements. In the case of Athletics having Athlete or Varsity Agreements or equivalent for their Players, AcadArena Officials need not review the agreement. A letter certifying or endorsing the Players as such will suffice to verify Athlete or Varsity status.
3. Memorandums and other Agreements. In the case of Academic Clubs having an MOU, MOA or equivalent with their Players and Support Staff, AcadArena Officials reserve the right to review and approve contracts for the Team Owners and their Team Members to be eligible.

2.4.2. Contract Restrictions for Academic Clubs. AcadArena wants to ensure that Team Members, Players and Support Staff alike, are active in a safe and fair environment. Academic Clubs may not have agreements that enforce the following:

1. Unfair Prize Cuts and Percentage. Unless Players are compensated or supported either through allowances or scholarships by the Team Owner, the Team Owner cannot demand a prize cut or percentage of more than 50%. Team Owners cannot liquidate and take a cut of the scholarships won by the Players.
2. Restrictive Clauses. No agreement should bar the Player or Support Staff from switching to another team within or outside the campus for the purpose of competing in the Alliance Games.

2.5. Branding Requirements.

2.5.1. Name Restrictions. Player and Team Names may not diminish the dignity of the campus they are representing. AcadArena Officials reserve the right to flag Teams ineligible for refusing to comply with these restrictions. Player IGNs and Team Names may not contain the following:

1. Vulgarities or obscenities. Vulgar or obscene words or words that is phonetically similar in any language even by accident are disallowed. Any iteration that tries to circumvent this rule is also disallowed.
2. Similar names. Derivatives of products or services that may create confusion (e.g. Colgate, ChipsAhoy, Ikea), names of other established players or personalities, fictional or otherwise (e.g. Faker, Spongebob, Uomi), or names of already existing Alliance Games players (xavi8k, Yanagi, s0nshine) are disallowed.
3. Special characters. Players are not allowed to use IGNs that make their player names unsearchable through the client through the use of special characters, such as but not limited to the usage of capital i vs. lower case L and | (vertical bar) symbols, or the usage of special characters that are undistinguishable from normal characters.
4. Other Alphabets. Teams and Player names from any language must use a romanized version for assets and broadcasts.

2.5.2. Team Tag. Teams must declare a 3-4 letter acronym that recalls their Team name. The Team Owner may use their club name, varsity team name or school name given that they have the proper permissions to use the brand.

2.5.3. Brand Permissions. Teams must ensure that the logo and branding used to represent their team and any and all intellectual property they submit to AcadArena are either original works or intellectual property that they hold rights to, nor does its usage not violate any intellectual property laws. AcadArena will not be responsible for any legal action made against the offending team for the aforementioned reason.

2.5.4. Existing Record. Players who previously competed under any team of the Alliance Games will have to retain their name unless it’s to comply with 2.5.1. Name Restrictions.

3. Structure

There are three (3) stages to Alliance Games: (1) Trials, (2) Group Stage, (3) Playoffs. For this new structure, the Alliance Games point system will be retired.

3.1 Trials.

Any number of eligible teams can participate in the Trials across all games. These games will not be broadcasted.

3.1.1. Format. Each trial will award two (2) seeds and will run a single or double elimination bracket depending on the number of teams.

3.1.2. Venue of Play. Two (2) Trials for VALORANT and League of Legends PC will be played LAN. One (1) Trial will be played remotely. Eligible teams will be assigned a venue of play for LAN. AcadArena will shoulder the PC time of all teams competing this way. The participating internet cafes will be announced February 25.

3.1.3. Remote Play. All mobile titles will be played remotely. Teams must comply to extra verification and security measures during the tournament.

3.1.4. Team Restrictions. Teams that are already awarded a seed are ineligible to participate in a Trial.

3.1.5. Seeding to Groups. Teams will be randomly seeded into their Groups as they secure their slots.

3.2 Groups.

There will only be eight (8) slots for each Alliance Games title. These games will be broadcasted.

3.2.1. Format. Teams will be divided into two (2) groups with at total of four (4) teams per group and will play a single round robin.

3.2.2. Venue of Play. Teams are required to play with their webcams on. In the event that players will require a facility like a LAN Cafe or a School Facility to meet this requirement, they are allowed to do so.

3.2.3. Reimbursement of Costs. Players who are renting spaces like a co-working space, or instead choose to play in a LAN Cafe to meet the webcam requirements will be reimbursed by AcadArena for their rental fees, no later than two weeks after presenting an invoice or receipt from the establishment.

3.2.4. Seeded Teams. Based on the performance of these teams last season, these teams are awarded a seed given that they retain three (3) out of the five (5) starting players, and that they are eligible. Teams can choose to forfeit their seed for any reason.

3.2.4. Seeding to Playoffs. Only one (1) team per group will be eliminated. The first seeds of each group will be seeded in the semi-finals of the Playoffs bracket. The second and third seeds of each group will be seeded in the quarter finals.

3.2.5. Tiebreaker Rules. In case of a two-way or three-way tie, the following will be followed:

3.2.5.1. Valorant. Match score will be considered, so in the case of ties in placement, their match score in terms of Rounds Won divided by Rounds Played will be considered. In case of a tie here as well, that’s when we’ll play a new Bo1.

3.2.5.2. League of Legends. ****In case of a two-way tie, the two teams will play a single match to determine the winner. In case of a three-way tie, the three teams will play each other one time, with the team losing both matches getting the lowest rank, and the team winning both matches getting the highest rank. Repeat as necessary.

3.2.5.3. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Map Score will be considered, so in the case of ties in placement, their match score in terms of Rounds Won divided by Rounds Played will be considered. In case of a tie here as well, that’s when we’ll play a new Bo1.

3.2.5.4. Call of Duty: Mobile. Map Score will be considered, so in the case of ties in placement, their match score in terms of Rounds Won divided by Rounds Played will be considered. In case of a tie here as well, that’s when we’ll play a new Bo3.

3.2.6. Broadcast Extension. In the case in which a tiebreaker match would are elimination matches (ties for 3rd place), these matches will be added near the end of the broadcast. Any other tiebreaker matches such as seeding matches will be played outside of the broadcast time and the results will be announced on the Alliance Games page.

3.3 Playoffs

There will only be six (6) teams per game advancing to the Playoffs. These will all be played live at CONQuest 2023 at SMX Manila.

3.2.1. Format. This will run a modified single eliminations bracket running the following series lengths:

3.2.2. Venue of Play. Teams will play in the Alliance Games arena at CONQuest 2023 on June 2-4. AcadArena will shoulder food and travel expenses for players and support staff.