1. Introduction and frequency

This document sets out the official rules for the recurring Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament organized by Discovery Arena. The competition takes place every two weeks, giving the community a chance to prove their skills in a professionally organized LAN (Local Area Network) setting.

2. Competition calendar and schedule

Hour accumulation for registration and the competitive stages follow this official calendar:

• Registration opens & hour tracking starts (26 June 2026): Players begin accumulating play time on site for the first edition.
• First official tournament date (12 July 2026, 10:30): The first 5vs5 edition at the arena PCs.
• Event cycle (every 2 weeks): Each new edition follows a fixed 14-day interval, on Sunday.

Note: After a tournament ends, the hour counter resets and accumulation for the next edition starts immediately.

3. Eligibility and participation

• Team format: The competition is played exclusively in 5 vs 5 format. Teams must have 5 starting players before the tournament begins. Incomplete teams are not accepted on match day.
• Time requirement: Each team member (all 5 players) must have logged a minimum of 2 hours of actual play at Discovery Arena Cyber Cafe during the 14 days before the current tournament.
• Eligible rooms: Qualification hours are recorded only in the Premium room (PC 16–30) and VIP room (PC 31–45). Time spent in the Standard room (PC 1–15) does not count and cannot be logged via the QR + phone system.
• Eligibility check: Play time is verified by arena administrators through the club management system before official team registration is validated. Failure to meet this requirement by a single member makes the entire team ineligible.

4. Technical rules and game settings

• Game mode: Defusal (Competitive 5vs5).
• Round system: MR12. The first team to reach 13 rounds won takes the map.
• Overtime: In case of a 12-12 tie, additional rounds are played in MR3 format, with a starting budget of $10,000 per player.
• Map selection (Map Pool): Maps are chosen via veto (banning) before each match from the official Active Duty pool (Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Ancient, Anubis, Dust II, Vertigo).

5. Conduct and anti-cheat

Any attempt at fraud, use of unauthorized third-party software (cheats), prohibited scripts, or toxic verbal or physical behaviour on the premises will result in immediate disqualification of the entire team and a permanent ban from future editions.

Confidentiality and data protection agreement (NDA)

By registering and participating in tournament events at Discovery Arena, participants fully accept the terms of this agreement:

• Broadcast and image rights: The participant grants organizers the exclusive right to record, live-stream (on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Twitch), and use images, video or audio from the tournament for promotional, marketing and branding purposes on official channels.
• Confidentiality of internal information: Players agree not to disclose internal organizational details classified as confidential by arena management (administrative login systems, specific technical configurations of local network/servers, or financial/logistical details not intended for the public).
• Personal data processing: Data collected (name, surname, in-game alias, play time history on site) is used strictly to organize the competition and validate eligibility criteria, in accordance with applicable national and European regulations (GDPR).

Top teams deserve pro-level training conditions! For the 12 July tournament we prepared exclusive Bootcamp packages for the top 3 teams. Winners get free access to our elite setups to take their game to the next level! 🏆

🥇 1ST PLACE: ELITE BOOTCAMP

Free access for the entire team (5 PCs) for 1 week (7 days).

Training sessions up to 5 hours per day.

🥈 2ND PLACE: CHALLENGER BOOTCAMP

Free access for the entire team (5 PCs) for 5 days.

Training sessions up to 5 hours per day.

🥉 3RD PLACE: TACTICAL BOOTCAMP

Free access for the entire team (5 PCs) for 3 days.

Training sessions up to 5 hours per day.

⏱️ Prize claim rules: Winning teams have exactly 2 weeks after the tournament ends to use these benefits.

👉 Spots are limited! Build your team, plan your tactics and come dominate the server.

1. General Information

• Location: Discovery Arena
• Date: 21 June 2026
• Maximum event duration: 8 hours

2. Competition Format & Draw

• System: The tournament will run as a single-elimination bracket. The winner advances to the next round; the loser is eliminated.
• Final stages: Single-elimination applies through the semi-finals. The third-place match and the grand final will be best-of-three (BO3 — first to two wins).
• Draw: For full transparency, the draw and bracket will be generated automatically using the Challonge platform.
• Bye rule: If the number of registered players is not a perfect bracket size (e.g. 23 instead of 32), the platform will randomly assign first-round byes.
  • Example: With 23 players, 9 are drawn to advance directly to round two, while the remaining 14 play first-round matches, so exactly 16 players reach the round of 16.

3. Match Settings & Officiating

• Game mode: All matches will be played in KICK-OFF mode.
• Half length: Halves are fixed at 5 minutes.
• Team balancing: For fairness, all matches use automatically equalised overall team ratings (OVR). Teams may be changed during the tournament.
• Tie-breaker: If the score is level at full time, extra time is disabled and the match goes straight to penalty shootout.
• In-game camera: Tele Broadcast is mandatory unless both opponents agree on another option.

4. Mandatory Competitive Settings

To keep a professional level and minimise automatic game decisions, settings will be:

• Competitive master switch: ON
• Difficulty: Legendary
• Player based difficulty: ON
• Competitor mode: ON
• Game Speed: Fast
• Controls: Any
• Match conditions (Weather): Clear
• Ball: Default
• Physics rules: Injuries, handballs and cards are enabled, but handball in the box must be turned off.

5. Attendance & Conduct Rules

• Waiting time: A maximum of 5 minutes is allowed to be at your station before each match.
• No-show: If a player is not present within this window, their opponent wins the match by default.
• Fair play: Glitch abuse, intentional time wasting, unsportsmanlike or vulgar behaviour leads to immediate elimination from the competition.