1. Overview

The Rainbow Six Siege PS4 Tournaments, National Cups (“RB6NC” or “Competition”) is operated by ESL Gaming (alternatively “ESL” or “Tournament Organizer”).

The RB6NC is a video game competition conducted using Ubisoft (“Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege”) for the PlayStation®4 console (“PS4”). RB6NC will have Biweekly Qualifiers and a Season Final of online tournaments. 

PS4 Tournaments is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with, Ubisoft Entertainment SA.

If you have any questions about this competition, its registration process, and how to participate, please visit Discord.

2. Player Eligibility & Registration

2.1 Eligibility Requirements

Only eligible individuals can participate in the Competition. 

Employees of ESL, Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“SIE”), Ubisoft Entertainment SA (alternatively “Publisher”) and its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, representatives, advertising, promotion and publicity agencies, and the immediate family members or persons living in the same household of such employee are not eligible to participate in the competition.

Individuals who wish to participate must:

1. be residents of a participating jurisdiction as outlined in Appendix B: Countries/Areas & Age;
2. at all material times during the Tournament own or have access to a PS4 version of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege and play matches on a PlayStation®4 console with a compatible controller;
3. have a valid account for PlayStation Network (“Account for PSN”) and an associated PSN ID;
4. have a valid PlayStation®Plus subscription;
5. have a valid ESL account; 
6. have at least 5Mb of internet connection bandwidth to be able to broadcast;
7. confirm acceptance of the terms and conditions governing this Tournament (“RB6NC  Ruleset” (see 2.2 below for how to accept). 

Individuals who meet all of the eligibility requirements listed above are referred to hereafter as “Players”.

If at any point during the Tournament, the Tournament Organiser becomes aware that an individual does not meet any one of the eligibility requirements they will be removed from participating in the Tournament and/or prevented from winning a prize.   

2.2 Registration

To register, Players must: 

1. sign up for RB6NC using the integrated tournament app on the PS4 (“Tournament App”) through compete.playstation.com or the ESL Play tournament hub page play.eslgaming.com
2. link their Account for PSN to their ESL account on the Tournament App or on the ESL Play tournament hub page; 
3. Read and accept the RB6NC Ruleset and relevant privacy policies, including the ESL privacy policy. For more information on how ESL will process your information, please review section 6 (“General Terms”) below.

3. Tournament Structure

The RB6NC tournament will be run in the following regions:

• Europe
  • UK & Ireland
  • GSA
  • France
  • Benelux
  • Italy
  • Nordics
  • Poland
  • Spain

• North America
  • United States
  • Canada
  • Mexico

• South America
  • Brazil

The full list of countries per region is available in Appendix B: Countries / Areas & Age.

From each Biweekly Qualifier, the TOP 8 teams will receive the point throughout the entire season.

3.1 Biweekly Qualifiers

Registration

All Players can enter/take part/participate in the Biweekly Qualifiers that are happening 2 times per month for 5 months.

Tournament Format Details

• Mode: 5on5, TDM Bomb
• Random team seeding
• Tournament system:
  •  Double Elimination Best of 1

Ranking system

• Reverse Point Scoring for Qualifiers
  • Based on their finishing positions, teams will earn points after each qualifier.
  • Points will be awarded in the following way:

Finishing Position	Points Earned
1st place	8
2nd place	7
3rd place	6
4th place	5
5th place	4
6th place	3
7th place	2
8th place	1

3.2 Season Final

Registration

Top 4 teams with most points at the end of the season will go to finals within their territory. Invited Players will be able to see their invitation via the email address attached to their ESL account and in their PS4 system notifications. Invited Players need to sign-up and check-in to the eligible tournaments in order to participate. 

In the event that the Finals will be broadcast additional rules may apply. In this case, all participants will be informed of additional rules along with their invitation to the Monthly Finals.

Tournament Format Details

• Mode: 5on5, TDM Bomb
• Team seeding: position is taken from the leaderboard. In case of a tie, the system will assign the seeding automatically
• Tournament system: Semi-Finals Best of 3 with Grand Finals Best of 5. Single Elimination

3.3 Match Rules

Match start time

All matches of the tournament must be played as soon as both teams are added to the match. Both teams have 10 minutes to enter the game and join the tournament queue. The starting date on the match page is not relevant in this case due to the active integration.

To keep the delay during the cup as low as possible we reserve the right to disqualify teams from the tournament. This will only be done in cases where a team shows no real effort to get a match done or is even obviously stalling. In severe cases, this can even affect both teams.

To prevent delaying the SWISS rounds, every match must be played in the period of 90 minutes. If the match takes longer than the period of time the match will be cut and a draw will be given. Any abuse of this rule is considered to be deception and will result in punishment, up to and including disqualification of the Team.

Joining your game lobby

1. Access the match event page (you will be able to see it in my events tab)
2. Click "Join Now" option to automatically load into your match lobby
3. The result will be automatically submitted at the end of the match.

Match details

• One map per match
• Each cup: 10 Players in one Lobby

Game settings

• HUD Settings: Standard HUD
• Option to request a Surrender vote is disable

Game details

• Number of Bans: 4
• Ban Timer: 10
• Number of rounds: 6
• Attacker/Defender role swap: 3
• Overtime: 3
• Overtime score difference: 2
• Overtime role change: 1
• Objective rotation parameter: 2
• Objective Type Rotation: Rounds Won
• Attacker unique spawn: On
• Pick Phase Timer: 30
• Damage handicap: 100
• Friendly fire damage: 100
• Injured: 20
• Sprint: On
• Lean: On
• Death replay: Off

Game mode: TDM BOMB

• Plant duration: 7
• Defuse duration: 7
• Fuse time: 45
• Preparation: 45
• Action: 180

Operators, cosmetics, gadgets, equipment, attachments

All Operators and cosmetics are allowed unless tournament administration explicitly forbids it or they are marked as quarantined. The tournament administration reserves the right to ban specific gadgets, operators, equipment, or attachments at any time to guarantee that no advantage gets abused. Tournament administration will do their best to send any restrictions or rule changes to the teams as soon as possible.

Hosting and map veto

• Map pool: We will be using the official current ranked map rotation at the time of the tournament.

• Biweekly Qualifiers (Integrated):
  The system selects randomly three maps from the previous pool. Each team votes to ban one of those three maps. Lobby is created automatically via game integration.
  

• Season Final (Unintegrated):
  Map bans must be done via the map veto system on the match page.

The team with the higher seed (lower number in the bracket) gets the lobby hosting right. The game must be hosted on a dedicated server. The dedicated server location must be settled by default (based on ping).

The team which picked the last map (banned the final map) in a Best of One cannot choose the starting side, the team can only pick the starting side in overtime which must be set up correctly before the start of the match.

During a Best of Three, each team can pick the starting side of the map picked by the other team. Team A picks the Map and Team B can choose the starting side on that map, while Team A can choose the starting sides in overtime. On the pick of team B, team A can choose the starting side while team B can choose the starting side in overtime. Sides in the last map at a Best of 3 are chosen by the team with the best round difference in the previous maps. In case of the same round difference, a coin flip will determine which team decides the starting side. Should further assistance be needed with the coin flip, a protest must be opened. The team that does not decide the starting side decides the starting side in overtime.

No show

If a contestant is not ready to play the match after 10 minutes have passed (e.g no Maps have been banned and no communication took place), then they should be reported for a no-show to the admin team via a protest ticket. The team has 10 minutes to join the lobby from when they receive the match notification, failure to join within this time will result in a default loss Delaying the tournament will result in disqualification.

Results

Results are automatically submitted by the system at the end of the match. 

Disconnection

If a player drops from the server during a match, the round will continue uninterrupted until the end (Round starts with the first second of the preparation phase) if a team leaves the round before it's finished the other team will get the round point. After the round completion, the player who disconnected will be allowed to rejoin the server or a re-host can be requested.
In the event of a team disconnecting during the qualifiers, that team will forfeit the entire game, not just a round. It will be the sole responsibility of the Player that got disconnected to connect to his opponents. During the Monthly Finals each team can re-host the server once in a map. If problems like this appear again, such as a player dropping out when the match has already been re-hosted, the team needs to play the map with the remaining players to its conclusion. Any abuse of this rule will be considered as deception and will result in penalization including disqualification of the team. If a player drops from the server during a match, the round will continue uninterrupted until the end (Round starts with the first second of the preparation phase) if a team leaves the round before it's finished the other team will get the round point. After the round completion, the player who disconnected will be allowed to rejoin the server or a re-host can be requested.

Match Disputes

• If any issues are encountered in a match, it’s the players responsibility to create a dispute and reach out to the admin team.
• In order to create a dispute, go to the match page on your PlayStation®4 console and select the option “Go to Support Page”
• Players are responsible for providing proof of match results in case of disputes. This can be done with screenshots of each victory or video replays uploaded to websites such as Youtube or Twitch.

3.4 Match Media

The following match media are acceptable forms of proof during match reporting and protests:

• Twitch livestream VODs (with clear naming of the players, selected teams, date, tournament round)
• Screenshots (or photographs) showing both players and the result/issue

4. Prizing

4.1 Prizing breakdown

Players can participate in this Competition against Players from across their Tournament Region (as defined in Appendix B). As a result, prize winners are not guaranteed to be participants from any particular country except where stated otherwise. The following prizes for the Tournament will be distributed to the Players based on their finishing position/point of exit from the Tournament as stated below:

Prize distribution for Biweekly Qualifiers (Ranking points not included)

1st place: 37,800 R6 Credits per team

2nd place: 24,600 R6 Credits per team

3-4th place: 13,350 R6 Credits per team

5-8th place: 6000 R6 Credits per team

Prize distribution for Season Final

1st place: $600 per team

2nd place: $350 per team

3rd-4th place: $250 per team

Cash prize values referenced are always before taxes. For this competition ESL uses Matcherino to deliver prize money. Matcherino will automatically deduct any applicable taxes from prize winnings, except where prohibited by local law.

4.2 Prizing Terms and Conditions

Prizes are not transferable. No substitution of Prizes for other goods and services is permitted, except ESL reserves the right to provide a substitute Prize of approximately equal value if the advertised prize is unavailable. All expenses not specified above, including, without limitation, all applicable federal, state, and local taxes, and international tariffs are the sole responsibility of the individual Winner.

Receiving a prize is contingent upon compliance with these Official Rules; all prizes claimed in accordance with these Official Rules will be awarded. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified, or the prize is forfeited for any reason, ESL will award the applicable prize, time permitting given the nature of the prize, to the next eligible runner-up . Only 3 alternate runner-up winners will be chosen, after which the Tournament Organiser retains the discretion to donate the applicable prize to a charity of ESL’s choosing. Potential winners may be required to provide a shipping address to claim the prize. Allow up to 3 months for delivery of prizes.

5. Game Coverage

SIE reserves exclusive rights to the coverage of PS4 National Cups matches. This includes all forms of transmission, including IRC Bots, Shoutcast-streams, live broadcasts on platforms like Twitch, Youtube and the likes. SIE can assign the coverage rights of a match or of several matches to a third party or to the actual players themselves. In this case, terms and conditions would have to be arranged with SIEmanagement, or ESL as Tournament Organiser, before the match is shown.

SIE or ESL as Tournament Organiser, will contact any player or team if they wish to broadcast one of their matches. If no contact is made from the end of the Tournament, Players are allowed to arrange their own broadcasts. In case of a broadcasted Final, additional rules can apply. In this case all participants will be informed of the new ruleset within their invitation. 

6. General Terms 

Players’ personal data will be collected, shared, and used subject to ESL’s Privacy Policy which includes ESL’s sharing of personal data with SIE. By choosing to participate in the Tournament, you agree to such Privacy Policy and data sharing with SIE. Players’ personal data will be processed for the purpose of organising, running and monitoring the Competition and prize fulfilment, including, publishing Player’s names in public brackets, and if a Player wins a prize, publishing (i) their name on the Winner(s) List and (ii) their name and country of residence online (including but not limited to social media or the ESL Website) in connection with the Competition. Please note that if you choose to link your Account for PlayStation Network with ESL and participate in the Tournament, your personal data, name and country, as mentioned before, will be displayed publicly regardless of any choice you made to hide Rainbow Six Siege in your Account for PlayStation Network or console privacy settings.

Players can remove their name from the Winner(s) List by unlinking their PSN and ESL account and deleting their ESL account.

Personal data will be processed in Germany, in the European Union, or any other country in which, ESL, its subsidiaries, or third party agents operate. By entering the Competition, you consent to your personal data being transferred to recipients in the United States and other countries that may not offer the same level of data protection as the laws in your country/area of residence or citizenship.

Players have the right to access, delete, and correct their personal data on their ESL account page.

1. Sign into your ESL account
2. Edit your personal data
3. Save

By participating in this Competition, each Player further agrees:

(a) That the tournament organiser’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Competition;

(b) The Competition is governed by the laws of the State of California and all claims must be resolved in the United States. Nothing in these Official Rules shall have the effect to deprive you of the consumer protection rights granted to you by the laws of your country of residence that cannot be derogated from by agreement.

(c) The Tournament Organiser reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Competition, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Competition, as determined by Tournament Organizer in its sole discretion. If terminated, Tournament Organizer may, in its sole discretion, determine the winners from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of such action using the judging procedure outlined above. Tournament Organizer, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Competition or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or those of any other Competition, or the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and Users Agreement, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and void all associated entries. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Tournament Organizer reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Tournament Organizer’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

(d) To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, by participating in the Competition each Player agrees (or, if a minor, such player’s parent or legal guardian agrees on such Player’s behalf) to completely release and hold harmless Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, and each of their respective employees, agents, parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising in connection with the Competition.

(e) By accepting any of the prizes, you acknowledge and agree that the Tournament Organiser and its designees have the right to use the below information and any other information provided in the administration, marketing, and promotion of the RB6OS, without further consent or compensation to you, unless otherwise noted below:

• Background info: Full name, country of residency, age, platform, persona (including PSN ID), likeness
• Social Media info: Twitter handle and Twitch account handle (if applicable)

(f) THE PLAYERS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GIVING AND TAKING BRIBES ARE ILLEGAL. THE TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY, AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION, ANY PARTICIPANT THAT IS INVOLVED WITH ANY ILLEGAL ACTIONS.

Nothing in these Official Rules shall be deemed to exclude or restrict any of the Player’s statutory consumer rights. 

Commercial Rights

All commercial rights (including without limitation any and all marketing and media rights) relating to the RB6NC belong to Tournament Organizer and its licensors.

Players shall not associate themselves with the RB6NC, ESL, Ubisoft Entertainment SA, or SIE in any commercial manner, nor use any intellectual property rights of those parties, nor shall they permit any third parties to do so, without the prior written consent of Tournament Organizer or the applicable rights holders, which consent may be granted or withheld in each of their sole discretion.

Any Player or Player ad sponsor wishing to carry out or facilitate any promotional or marketing activities with respect to the RB6NC, will need prior written consent from the Tournament Organizer or from the respective rights holders, which may be granted or withheld in each of their sole discretion.

The recording and dissemination of images or footage of the RB6NC for commercial purposes by or on behalf of Players is strictly prohibited.

“PlayStation” and “PS4” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

Appendix A: Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct applies to all Players in the RB6NC at all levels of the Competition unless otherwise specified. 

Where a Player is found to have acted in contravention of the Code of Conduct, the Tournament Organiser reserves the right to levy penalties, sanction or disqualify any Player at its discretion. 

DURING THE TOURNAMENT

Players must conduct themselves in a reasonable manner, maintaining an appropriate demeanour to spectators, members of the press, tournament administrators, and to other Players. These requirements apply to both offline and online, including with respect to social media conduct. All players are expected to adhere to the standards of good sportsmanship at all times.

Players will refrain from using vulgar or offensive language.

Abusive behaviour, including harassment and threats is prohibited.

Physical abuse, fighting or any threatening action or threatening language, directed at any Player, spectator, official or any other person is prohibited.

Any action that interferes with play of a game, including but not limited to purposely breaking a game station, interfering with power, and abuse of in-game pausing, is prohibited and can result in match forfeiture and/or disqualification from the competition.

Gambling, including betting on the outcome of games, is prohibited.

Players must not disclose any confidential information provided by the tournament organiser or any of its affiliates to any other people or groups of people, including via social media.

COLLUSION POLICY

Collusion is defined as any agreement among two or more Players to disadvantage other Players in the Competition. Collusion between Players is strictly prohibited. Any Players determined by the tournament organiser at any phase of the RB6NC to be engaging in collusion will be removed from the Competition, be forced to return any compensation and/or prizes they’ve received.

Examples of collusion include, but are not limited to:

• Intentionally losing a match for any reason.
• Playing on behalf of another Player, including using a secondary account, to aid them.
• Any form of match-fixing.
• Agreeing to split prize money.

PENALTIES

Violation of any part of these Official Rules will, at the Tournament organiser's election, result in (a) sanction(s) and/or (b) loss of winner status. All Players must follow the tournament organiser's directions. All decisions and rulings of the tournament organiser are final and binding. The Tournament organiser reserves the right to sanction any Player in competition at any level, at any time for any reason. Sanctions may include, in no particular order, the following:

• Warning
• Reprimand
• Forfeiture of single match
• Forfeiture of all matches
• Loss of awards (including prize money and other paid expenses)
• Disqualification from the RB6NC

The tournament organiser also has the right to publicly announce penalties that have been levied on Players. Players who have been penalized by the tournament organizer hereby waive any right of legal action against the RB6NC and PlayStation, and/or any of its affiliates.

Please note that this Code of Conduct is in addition to the code of conduct in the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and User Agreement and any game-specific terms of service that may be applicable to your participation in the RB6NC.

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

Players in the RB6NC have the ability to acquire ad sponsors. Ad sponsorship acquisition is limited, however, to exclude certain categories and industries. If the ad sponsor falls under the below limited categories, then the ad sponsorship may not be displayed by the Player in conjunction with or during the RB6NC. Tournament Organizer and its designees reserve the right to update the below list at any time. The following is a nonexclusive list of prohibited ad sponsors:

• Gambling or gambling websites
• Alcohol, Tobacco, and/or Non-“over-the-counter” Drugs
• Firearms, or any type of weapons
• Pornographic or adult material
• Products or services from direct competitors of PlayStation, its partners, and its other subsidiary brands
• Direct competitors of PlayStation

Tournament Organizer reserves the right to prohibit any third party at their sole discretion.

Appendix B: Countries / Areas & Age

Below is a comprehensive list of all eligible countries, their respective tournament region, and minimum age required to participate in the RB6NC: