Competition rules

1. Scope and definitions

1. 1.1

   This rulebook governs every competition that A.C.E organizes: cups, leagues, ladders, and showmatches. An event page may add event-specific terms; where it conflicts with this rulebook, the event page wins for that event only.

2. 1.2

   "Organizer" means the A.C.E operations team. "Admin" means an organizer member assigned to an event. "Team" means a registered roster. "Captain" means the player who represents the team. "Match" means one or more maps between two teams. "Series" means a best-of-one, best-of-three, or best-of-five set of maps.

3. 1.3

   By registering, every player and team agrees to this rulebook, the Terms of Service, and the Privacy Policy.

4. 1.4

   Admins may decide situations this rulebook does not cover, guided by fair play and the spirit of these rules. Such decisions are recorded and published with the match result.

2. Eligibility

1. 2.1

   Players must not be under an active A.C.E suspension, and must not hold a game ban on the Steam account they use that was issued within the last 2 years.

2. 2.2

   Organizer staff and admins may not play in an event they administer.

3. 2.3

   Region or rating limits are set per event and published before registration opens. A player outside the limits may not play, even as a substitute.

3. Accounts and identity

1. 3.1

   Each player uses one A.C.E account linked to one Steam account through Steam sign-in. A.C.E never asks for a Steam password; anyone who does is not the organizer.

2. 3.2

   Sharing an account, playing on another person's account, or letting another person play on yours is forbidden. Both accounts are penalized.

3. 3.3

   Creating a new account to avoid a penalty, a rating, or a restriction is ban evasion and is treated as an integrity offence (section 14).

4. 3.4

   Display names and avatars must follow the conduct rules (section 13). Admins may require a change before a match.

5. 3.5

   Players must keep a reachable contact method on their account during an event. Notices sent to that contact count as delivered.

4. Teams and rosters

1. 4.1

   A roster has 5 starters and up to 2 substitutes. A team may also name 1 coach. A player may be on only one roster per event.

2. 4.2

   Rosters lock at the time stated on the event page. After lock, a team may make at most 1 roster change per event, approved by an admin, and only to replace a player who is unable to continue.

3. 4.3

   A team must start every map with 5 players from its locked roster. A team with 4 players may start only if the opposing captain agrees in writing in the match chat; otherwise section 12 applies.

4. 4.4

   Substitutions are allowed between maps of a series, not during a map, except for a disconnect that cannot be resolved (section 11).

5. 4.5

   Team names, tags, and logos must not imitate another team, an organizer, or a brand the team does not own.

5. Captains

1. 5.1

   Each team names one captain and may name one deputy. Only the captain or deputy may agree to rule-relevant decisions, call pauses, or file disputes.

2. 5.2

   The captain is responsible for the team being ready on time, for submitting the result, and for keeping screenshots and demos needed for a dispute.

3. 5.3

   Statements made by the captain in the official match chat bind the team.

6. Map pool and veto

1. 6.1

   The active map pool is: Dust II, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Ancient, Anubis, and Train. Changes are announced at least 7 days before an event starts.

2. 6.2

   The higher seed is Team A. If seeds are equal, a coin toss decides. Team A chooses whether to ban first or second.

3. 6.3

   Best-of-one: teams alternate bans until one map remains (A, B, A, B, A, B). The team that did not ban last picks the starting side.

4. 6.4

   Best-of-three: A bans, B bans, A picks, B picks, A bans, B bans; the remaining map is the decider. The team that did not pick a map chooses the starting side on it. Side on the decider is chosen by knife round.

5. 6.5

   Best-of-five: A bans, B bans, then A, B, A, B pick; the remaining map is the decider, with sides as in best-of-three.

6. 6.6

   Each veto step has 60 seconds. If a captain does not act in time, the admin applies a random ban or pick for that step.

7. Match procedure

1. 7.1

   Both teams must be in the match lobby 15 minutes before the scheduled start, with all players checked in.

2. 7.2

   Matches are played on servers provided by A.C.E Teams may not move a match to another server without admin approval.Applies once deployed

3. 7.3

   A knife round is played only where this rulebook calls for it. Otherwise starting sides follow the veto.

4. 7.4

   Once a map is live, it is played to completion. Restarts are allowed only under section 9.

5. 7.5

   Within 15 minutes of the end of a match, both captains confirm the result. The winner uploads a screenshot of the final scoreboard. Demos are kept by the server for at least 14 days.Applies once deployed

8. Match settings

1. 8.1

   Maps are played as MR12: the first team to win 13 rounds wins the map, sides swap after 12 rounds.

2. 8.2

   A 12-12 tie goes to overtime in blocks of 6 rounds (MR3) with $10,000 start money. The first team to win 4 rounds in a block wins. Overtime repeats until a winner is found.

3. 8.3

   Other settings (round time, bomb timer, buy time, money, friendly fire) follow the current Counter-Strike 2 competitive defaults unless the event page says otherwise.

4. 8.4

   Custom configs, scripts, or binds that perform more than one action per key press are not allowed, except jump-throw binds.

9. Server and technical issues

1. 9.1

   A server problem that affects both teams (crash, severe lag, wrong settings) must be reported to the admin at once by a captain.

2. 9.2

   If a server crashes before the first kill of round 1, the map restarts. After that, the map is restored from the last completed round with the same score and money where the server supports it; if it does not, the admin decides a fair restart point.Applies once deployed

3. 9.3

   Problems on a player's own side (hardware, internet, game client) are that team's responsibility and are handled through technical pauses and section 11.

4. 9.4

   Exploiting a server or game bug to gain an advantage is not a technical issue. It is handled under section 14.

10. Pauses

1. 10.1

   Each team has 3 tactical pauses of 30 seconds per map, plus 1 extra in overtime. Tactical pauses are taken during freeze time.

2. 10.2

   Each team has 10 minutes of technical pause per map. The captain states the reason in chat before or as the pause starts.

3. 10.3

   Players may not leave the server, swap players, or change settings during a pause unless the admin allows it.

4. 10.4

   Unpausing must be agreed by both captains in chat. Using a pause to delay or disrupt the opponent is a conduct offence.

11. Disconnects

1. 11.1

   If a player disconnects, the team may use a technical pause. The round in progress is not replayed.

2. 11.2

   If the player cannot return within the remaining technical pause time, the team may bring in a roster substitute at the next round, or continue with 4 players.

3. 11.3

   If a team falls below 4 players and cannot recover within 10 minutes, it forfeits the map.

12. Forfeits and no-shows

1. 12.1

   A team not ready 15 minutes after the scheduled start loses the first map by forfeit. At 30 minutes it loses the series.

2. 12.2

   A forfeited map is recorded as 13-0. A forfeited series is recorded as a loss by the minimum score needed to win it.

3. 12.3

   Teams that forfeit twice in one event may be removed from it and may lose seeding in the next event.

4. 12.4

   Agreeing a result without playing, or deliberately losing, is match fixing (section 14), not a forfeit.

13. Conduct

1. 13.1

   Players, coaches, and team staff must treat opponents, admins, and casters with respect, in game, in chat, on voice, and on social media.

2. 13.2

   Harassment, hate speech, threats, slurs, and discrimination on any ground are forbidden and are penalized more severely than other conduct offences.

3. 13.3

   Spamming chat, deliberately disrupting a lobby, or impersonating staff is forbidden.

4. 13.4

   Coaches may talk to their team only during freeze time, tactical pauses, technical pauses, and between maps.

5. 13.5

   Admins' instructions during a match must be followed. Disagreement is raised through a dispute (section 15), not by refusing to play.

14. Cheating and competitive integrity

1. 14.1

   Any software, hardware, or method that gives an unfair advantage is forbidden. This includes aim assistance, wall hacks, radar or sound tools, macros, and modified game files.

2. 14.2

   Ghosting (receiving information from spectators or streams), stream sniping, playing on another person's account, and ban evasion are forbidden.

3. 14.3

   Match fixing, deliberately losing, and betting on any match involving your team or your event are forbidden.

4. 14.4

   Using a map or game bug that the admin has listed as banned, or that clearly breaks the game's intended mechanics, is forbidden.

5. 14.5

   Players must run the A.C.E desktop anti-cheat for the whole ranked match when it is required. The match server checks about every 30 seconds that it is still running, and a player whose anti-cheat stays silent for several minutes may be removed from the match. A finding holds queue access until the owner reviews it; there are no automatic bans, and every decision can be appealed at /appeal or ace.platform.official@gmail.com.

6. 14.6

   Admins may request demos or screen recordings for review. The desktop anti-cheat sends only what the Privacy Policy describes (including hashed hardware identifiers). Refusing a reasonable request without a valid reason may be taken into account in the decision.

7. 14.7

   Anyone may report a suspected violation privately to the organizer. Public accusations without a report are a conduct offence.

15. Disputes and appeals

1. 15.1

   Only a captain may file a dispute. It must be filed within 30 minutes of the end of the affected map, with evidence (demo tick, screenshot, or clip).

2. 15.2

   Continuing to play after a known issue without raising it counts as accepting the situation for the rounds already played.

3. 15.3

   The admin decides the dispute and publishes the outcome and reason. Teams must keep playing their schedule while a dispute is open, unless the admin says otherwise.

4. 15.4

   An appeal may be filed against the decision. It is reviewed by an organizer member who did not make the original decision. The appeal decision is final.

5. 15.5

   Integrity penalties (section 14) may also be issued after an event ends, if evidence is found later.

16. Penalties

Admins choose a penalty from the range below based on intent, impact, and repetition. Repeat offences move up the range.

1. 16.1

   Penalties may be combined. A warning stays on a team's record for the rest of the event; other penalties stay on record for 12 months.

2. 16.2

   Bans apply to the person and to every account they control.

17. Broadcast

1. 17.1

   A.C.E holds the right to broadcast any match it organizes. Teams may not refuse a broadcast.

2. 17.2

   Players may stream their own matches only with a delay of at least 2 minutes and only if the event page allows it. Official broadcasts use the delay set by the organizer.

3. 17.3

   Players must not watch any live broadcast of their own match while it is being played.

4. 17.4

   Scheduled broadcast matches may be moved by up to 2 hours with 24 hours' notice. Teams must be available for the new time or request an admin decision.

5. 17.5

   The broadcast screen on the Maps page shows a stream only when one is actually running; otherwise it shows the next scheduled broadcast.

18. Prizes

1. 18.1

   There is no paid entry ticket and there are no cash prizes. Entering the A.C.E Championship is an A.C.E Premium benefit: every registered player must hold an active Premium membership. Prizes are listed on the event page and may include cosmetics, subscription time or CS2 skins sponsored by A.C.E, sent by Steam trade offer to the named players. Preview items shown elsewhere on the site are not prizes.

2. 18.2

   Non-cash rewards are delivered to the A.C.E accounts of the players named on the event page within 60 days of the event ending.Applies once deployed

3. 18.3

   Prizes are withheld while an integrity investigation concerning the receiving team is open. A team disqualified under section 14 forfeits its prize, which passes to the next placed team.

4. 18.4

   Taxes, fees, and currency costs are the responsibility of the receiving player, unless the event page says otherwise.

19. Rating Points

1. 19.1

   Rating Points (RP) change only through verified match results, under the A.C.E Rating Points rules published on the Ranks page. Every new account starts at 1,200 RP in tier 3 (Vanguard).

2. 19.2

   Against a team of equal average rating, a win gives +20 RP and a loss costs −20 RP. The amount is adjusted for the other team's average rating and always stays between 10 and 30 RP per match. A draw changes nothing.

3. 19.3

   Wins and losses are both multiplied by 0.85 in tiers 7–9 and by 0.75 in tier 10, so a 50% record holds a rank at every level. Ratings stay between 100 and 3,000 RP and do not decay with inactivity.

4. 19.4

   A player's first 10 matches are placement matches. During placement the rating cannot rise above tier 5.

5. 19.5

   A player who abandons or leaves a match loses twice the normal loss, at least 30 RP, whatever the result, and cannot receive the match MVP bonus.

6. 19.6

   The match MVP (most kills; ties go to more damage, then fewer deaths) gains 2 RP more on a win and loses 2 RP less on a loss, within the per-match limits. This bonus applies only once the server records kills. No paid plan changes Rating Points.Applies once deployed

20. Amendments

1. 20.1

   The organizer may amend this rulebook. Changes are published on this page with a new version number and date.

2. 20.2

   Changes take effect 7 days after publication, or immediately when needed to fix a loophole, a safety issue, or an obvious error. Changes do not apply to a match already in progress.

3. 20.3

   If a translation of this rulebook differs from the English version, the English version applies.