1. General
1.1. Administration & Announcements
1.1.1. Everybody who is authorized by NVIDIA to administer the competition based on its rules and regulations will be called an "admin" or “referee" in the following, the collectivity of all admins will be called the "administration".
1.1.2. Any GEXT update posted on NVIDIA GeForce Facebook page and/or the official competition website serves as an official announcement for the competition.
1.1.3. Official announcements as well as statements of referees at any place (e.g. competition website, support ticket reply, skype, steam) can ignore or overrule the following rules in order to make the competition as fair as possible. In case of contradicting declarations, the most recent announcement or admin statement counts.
1.2. Commitments
1.2.1. By attending the competition participants acknowledge without limitation to comply with the rules and regulations, official announcement, and with the statements and decisions made by the referees.
1.2.2. Every participant acknowledges the right for the administration to modify the rules and regulations for adjustments at any time without notice.
1.2.3. Every participant has to show the needed respect towards referees and other participants. Insults and unfair or disrespectful behaviour towards anyone are not tolerated and will be punished.
1.2.4. Every team accepts the official schedule of the competition and declares its ability to be available during these times.
1.2.5. Every team and participant has to try to win every game at every stage of the competition. Purposefully losing for any reason is strictly forbidden.
2. Teams & Players
2.1. Team Size
2.1.1. A team has to consist of at least five and at most ten participants. Those persons will be called "team members" or "members" of the team in the following.
2.2. Ingame Names
2.2.1. Each player should have a steam name that is registered to NVIDIA during all games to be recognizable for the opponent.
3. Match times
3.1. The official schedule of the competition can be found on the individual competition rules and/or in an official announcement. This schedule includes the time of each match or of each round (in which case all matches of the round have that time as official match time).
3.2. If a delayed end of a previous match prohibits a match to start on schedule (due to either one of the involved teams still playing or the official broadcaster still streaming the previous match), the match time is changed to 5 minutes after the previous match ends.
3.3. Punctuality
3.3.1. If one team has not shown any sign of activity (that includes: No team member wrote a match comment, no team member has joined the lobby, all other attempts to contact the team failed) until 15 minutes after the match time, a default win should be requested by the other team via the support system. The default win for both games will be confirmed by an admin under normal circumstances.
3.3.2. If one team is not ready to start the match (but has shown activity) until 30 minutes after the match time, the opponents should report that 30 minutes after the match time.
4. Hosting & Settings
4.1. Lobby Hosting
4.1.1. Unless a referee interferes or both teams agree on the opposite, the team who is shown first on the official match page has to host the lobby. If it hasn't hosted after 10 minutes, the second team has to do it. The hosting team has to write the password on the match comments or directly to the opponents.
4.2. Spectators
4.2.1. Only pre-approved people allowed to join the game as a broadcaster or unassigned player.
4.2.2. Official broadcasters, GEXT staff members, and anyone authorized by a referee, have the right to spectate any game without the agreement of the teams.
4.3. Server Location
4.3.1. The default server location is Singapore.
4.4. Sides & Drafting Order
4.4.1. The side and drafting order of each game depends on the mode of the match. The "first team" means the team mentioned first on the matchpage, matchticker, or grid (depending on the type of competition). The sides and drafting order of games within a type of match not mentioned in the following (e.g. best of five) are decided by a referee.
4.4.2. One game: The first team chooses the side, the second team the drafting order.
4.4.3. Best of three (or three games series): Random toss in game 1, the first team either choose side or drafting order. Game 2 is reverse. IF game 3, the first team either chooses the side or drafting order.
4.5. Lineup Check
4.5.1. Both teams are responsible for checking their opponent's lineup before the start of the game, or during the draft at the latest. If a lineup is found illegal according to rules 2.b (e.g. wrong steamaccounts or too many stand-ins), the opposing team may refuse the start of the game.
4.5.2. As soon as the first creepwave spawns without previous protest, the game has to be concluded regardless of the lineups.
4.5.3. If the game is delayed due to one team not joining with a legal lineup, it counts the same as if a player were missing, and the standard punctuality rules apply. However the team has at least 5 minutes to fix the lineup, even if there was less time left according to 3.b.
4.6. Game Settings
4.6.1. The hosting team has to put the following settings to the lobby:
- GAME MODE - Captains Mode, unless stated otherwise by the individual competition rules
- LOBBY PASSWORD - see 4.a
- SERVER LOCATION - see 4.c
- STARTING TEAM - see 4.d
- PENALTY-RADIANT - None, unless stated otherwise by an admin
- PENALTY-DIRE - None, unless stated otherwise by an admin
- SERIES TYPE - free choice, recommended to fit the match mode
- Enable cheats – No
- Fill empty slots with bots – No
- All Chat – No
- BOT DIFFICULTY - free choice
- VERSION - Tournament, unless stated otherwise by an admin or official announcement
- SPECTATORS – Enabled
- DOTA TV DELAY - 2 minutes
5. During a game
5.1. Picks & Bans
The hero pool always consists of all heroes the game mode allows and might therefore change several times during the competition. The game must not be paused during the draft, unless a drafter disconnects.
5.2. Pauses
Each team has the right to pause the game for an acceptable duration, if a player announces it at least three seconds in advance and calls a coherent reason (exception: not necessary, if someone disconnects). Maximum pause time for each team is total of 10 mins not including technical issues. The game must not be resumed before both teams agree with it. When the number or the duration of breaks becomes too high or long, the administration have the rights to force the continuation of the game.
5.3. Disconnects & Reconnects
If a player disconnects, the game is to be paused instantly. Everyone has up to ten minutes to reconnect to the game (if the same person disconnects more than once, all times get added up). If this time is passed, the opposing team may continue the game, unless an admin demands the opposite or technical issue. The affected player is in this case still allowed to rejoin later on.
5.4. Broadcasting
5.4.1. Every authorized spectator (according to 4.2) inside the game is allowed to provide a video stream with a delay of at least two minutes.
5.4.2. Spectators from DotaTV are allowed to broadcast a match with any delay. Upon request from the administration or GEXT management these streamers have to use proper overlays and possibly fulfill additional requirements.
5.4.3. The players are not allowed to watch or listen to any of these video streams or DotaTV at any time during their match. Furthermore they are not allowed to provide a stream themselves, unless there is no official broadcaster inside the game.
5.5. Bugs
If any serious bugs occur, the game has to be paused immediately and the administration decides how to continue. Abusing a bug is forbidden.
5.6. Tools / Hacks
The usage of any Dota-related tool aside from Steam and Dota 2 during a match is strictly forbidden.
5.7. Ending
A game is finished, when an Ancient Fortress is destroyed, when the majority of a team leaves on purpose, or when the administration decides on it. (note: A game is not forfeited, when a player types "gg" or "ff". Always wait for the ancient to be destroyed!)
6. Rule Violation & Punishment
6.1. All players aren’t allowed to change any tournament PC equipment/peripherals. All equipment are provided by Acer Predator(Steelseries).
6.2. Breaking of the rules or ignoring the order of an admin may result in a punishment for a whole team or a specific player. Type and amount is chosen by a referee.
6.3. Possible Team Punishments
- Default Loss for one game
- Default Loss for the whole match
- Time Penalty for the next draft
- Score Reduction (during a group stage)
- Prize Money Reduction
- Temporary or permanent ban from the competition
- Ban from other NVIDIA competitions
6.4. Possible Player Punishments
- Temporary ban from the competition
- Permanent ban from the competition
- Ban from other NVIDIA competitions
6.5. Rule violations in other tournaments
Heavy rule violations on external Dota 2 leagues or tournaments may also result in punishments for GEXT competitions.
7. Prize Money Distribution
All prize money transfers are handled via PayPal or bank transfer. Under certain circumstances a transfer via Western Union is also possible but needs the approval of a Tournament Supervisor. Other payment methods are not accepted. The prize money will only be transferred to the team leader. The team leader has to make sure every member of his team will get his adequate percentage of the prize money.
8. Legal Process
Legal proceedings are not permitted.
