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GAMESTOP BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2 "BATTLE OF THE BADDEST" TOURNAMENT OFFICIAL RULES
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED
Major League Gaming Inc. (“Major League Gaming” or “MLG”) will conduct this Battlefield Bad Company™ 2 “Battle of the Baddest” Tournament (the “Tournament”) in accordance with these official rules (the “Official Rules”), unless otherwise indicated. By participating in the Tournament, each participant agrees to abide by these rules and decisions of judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects. Participation in the Tournament requires an Xbox 360 console, a copy of the Battlefield Bad Company™ 2 video game for Xbox 360 (the “Game”), an Xbox Live Gold membership, and a GameStop Tournament registration invitation.
1. Description of Tournament.
A. Tournament and Registration Dates: Tournament registration will begin on February 22, 2010, and end on March 14, 2010 (the “Registration Period”). Tournament invitations for participants who registered during the Registration Period will be sent from MLG’s GameBattles.com site (the “GameBattles Site”) during the week of March 15-21, 2010. The online ladder portion of the Tournament will begin on April 1, 2010, and end on April 21, 2010. The online bracket portion of this Tournament for the top 64 teams will begin on April 22, 2010, and end on April 28, 2010. The winners of the Tournament will be determined on May 3, 2010. Participants must first register for the online ladder portion of this Tournament in order to be eligible to qualify for the online bracket portion of this Tournament.
B. How to Enter: During the Registration Period, you must obtain a Tournament registration invitation from participating GameStop retail stores, which will be distributing such invitations. The registration invitations will contain instructions regarding how you may register yourself or your team for the Tournament by completing the free online registration form at http://www.gamestop.com/battlefieldbadcompany2 (the “GameStop Site”). Please provide a valid email address, as email will be the primary method of contact. During the week of March 15-21, 2010, you will receive a tournament invitation email, containing information as to how you and/or your team can participate in the Tournament through the GameBattles Site. Participants are limited to one entry during the Tournament. Valid Tournament entries must contain all information requested. Incomplete and/or multiple entries will be disqualified. All entries become the property of MLG and will not be acknowledged or returned. MLG is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, misdirected or incomplete entries. MLG, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any person who tampers with the entry process or who otherwise violates these Official Rules.
C. How to Play: The online ladder portion of the Tournament will be an open challenge system and participating teams (consisting of four players each) are required to schedule their own games. After the online ladder portion is completed, the top 64 teams from the ladder will be seeded into a double elimination bracket online tournament. All matches for the double elimination bracket online tournament are scheduled to be played at 9:00 PM EST, on Thursday, April 22, 2010 and at 9:00PM EST, on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Please check the official bracket for the final schedule of dates and times to ensure that your team is available to play. All Tournament games must be played under the rules set forth for each individual Tournament.
2. Prize(s).
A total of $10,000 is available in the Tournament prize pool. The first place team of the Tournament will receive $5,000 ($1,250 per player). The second place team of the Tournament will receive $3,000 ($750 per player). The third place team of the Tournament will receive $2,000 ($500 per player). The third place team will be determined by a consolation match played between the third and fourth place teams. The consolation match will use the same settings and maps used for final match between the first and second place teams.
Prizes are non-transferable and not exchangeable for any other prize. MLG reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. All taxes, gratuities and unspecified expenses are the sole responsibility of the winners. Winners assume all liability for their use of the prize.
Winners will be notified by e-mail and/or private message on the GameBattles Site within approximately seven (7) days after the end of the Tournament. Winners will be required to follow the instructions in such email and/or private message by submitting a ticket within seven (7) days of this first notification. After submission of the ticket (as described below under “Tickets”), MLG will email to the winner an affidavit of eligibility, a liability/publicity release, a parental consent form and tax forms. The winner will be required to sign and return to MLG such documents, as applicable, within seven (7) days of MLG’s email, which contained such documents. If winner cannot be contacted within seven (7) days of any notification attempt, if any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Official Rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate, in MLG’s sole discretion.
3. Eligibility and Limitations.
All participants must be legal residents of the United States (excluding Puerto Rico and Guam) and at least 17 years old as of date of entry. Children under 17 are not eligible to participate in the Tournament. If requested by MLG, winners must provide a copy of his/her government issued photo ID with proof of age. Prizes are limited to one (1) prize per household. Employees of MLG, GameStop Corp. (“GameStop”), Electronic Arts, their respective advertising agencies, and members of the immediate family of any such employees are not eligible to participate and win.
GENERAL ONLINE LADDER/TOURNAMENT RULES
- Eligible for US Residents only.
- By registering for this Tournament, players acknowledge that they have read, understand, and agree to abide by all of the rules.
- Any form of cheating, glitching, abusing in-game mechanics, or unsportsmanlike behavior may result in a forfeit of a map, match, or ban from the Tournament. Punishable unsportsmanlike behavior includes, but is not limited to, excessive use of foul or degrading language. In addition, breaking any rule may result in a forfeit of a round/map, forfeit of a match, verbal warning or ban from the Tournament.
- The rules are subject to change at any time, so check them often. When a change is made, an asterisk (*) will be placed beside the updated rule.
- No changes are able to be made to any Tournament rosters (players, usernames, etc.) after registration has been completed. In general, players cannot change their Gamertags after the registration ends.
- Users must utilize their own unique username for competing in the Tournament. This unique username must have been registered on the GameBattles Site personally by you the user. The registered username must contain the correct and complete name, address, and email of the user. If a false name, address, or email was entered, the user voids the privilege to participate in the Tournament and/or receive any prizes.
- As a user, you are personally responsible for accepting any invitation to a team. If you do not personally accept a team invitation, you may be disqualified from competing. You also forfeit the ability to receive a prize.
- User is prohibited from sharing account information stored on the GameBattles Site with another person for any reason. This includes, but is not limited to the following: usernames, passwords, gamertags, email accounts, etc. If another person accesses your account, you may be disqualified from the event and removed from the Tournament. This includes giving out your password to allow others to account recover your XBL gamertag.
All Matches
- No warm-up or practice games are permitted once the match’s first game has begun. We recommend that all users use a capture card or digital camera depending on the situation to provide proof. See more details in the Reporting Section below.
- If a match is played before the scheduled time, it will not be considered a warm-up and will count as the official scores. No warm-ups, or practices between teams are allowed during Tournament bracket play.
- If by 15 minutes past the scheduled match start time a team doesn’t have enough players to play, the incomplete team forfeits the maps they cannot play. Please see rule 6 below.
- To get help with a “No Show” issue, you MUST contact Staff via Live Support. We must verify the “No Show.” To get to Live Support, click on the Support tab within the Tournament and go to the Live Support link. If no Online Tournament Admins are available, you must submit a ticket within 30 minutes of the scheduled match time. Please include any proof that you have that they did not show. You must also report the match as a win for your team.
- For any allegations of cheating, wrong weapons used, glitching, etc., you MUST contact Staff via Live Support. If no Online Tournament Admins are available, you must immediately submit a ticket along with your proof of the accusation. Glitching accusations must be supported by video proof. Video proof can be edited to include only the section where the offense takes place; however, the video MUST include the score screen at one point. Please also see rule 5 under “Reporting.” If proof is not included with your ticket, or the ticket is submitted too late after the match start time, the win will be decided by an Online Tournament Admin.
- A team CAN START a map shorthanded. You can only be shorthanded by one player. For example, in a 4v4, a team can start a map with 3 players. If you are missing more than one player, you cannot start a map.
- Teams may delay the match between maps for up to 5 minutes. Teams can request that an Online Tournament Admin enforce this five minute time limit if needed.
- All matches will be played as a best of 3 games series. The first team to win two games will win the match.
- If the party leader/host wrongly ends a map, their team may forfeit the map.
Bracket Play
- The bracket will be double elimination.
- After losing a match, teams will fall into the Loser's Bracket.
- A match loss in the Loser's Bracket will result in elimination from the bracket.
- If teams meet for a second time in the bracket, their match will expand to a best of 7. The match will include the scores from the previous match and pick up where that match left off. For example, if Team A beat Team B 2 maps to 0 in the Winner's Bracket, the Best of 7 will resume with Map 3 and Team A leading 2 Maps to 0. Any remaining maps from the original match must be played first with host for each map going to the team that would have hosted in the Winner's Bracket. Hosting then alternates until all necessary maps are played. Maps must be played in order.
- If the teams meeting in the finals have not yet faced each other in the bracket, two matches may need to be played: the Finals Match and the Winner's Bracket Finals Match (displayed as "If Necessary" on the bracket). The team coming from the Winner's Bracket must choose to have higher seed hosting privileges for either the Finals Match or the Winner's Bracket Finals Match (in case the Winner's Bracket Finals Match needs to be played). If the team coming from the Loser's Bracket wins the Finals Match, then a tie has been created because both teams only have one match loss. To break the tie, the Winner's Bracket Finals Match must be played and must use the Winner's Bracket Finals Game types listed below.
- If a match is not played, and neither team submits a ticket requesting the forfeit win, the match win will be decided by an Online Tournament Admin.
Host
- All matches will be played on the Game’s dedicated servers.
- For ladder play, the player who submitted the match or challenge should create the lobby and invite all players to the match. For bracket play, the higher ranked team should create the lobby and invite all players to the match.
- The lower ranked team chooses side for one of the three games. If there is a tie in rank (i.e. both are unranked), the Team ID closest to 0 will be the higher ranked team. The higher ranked team will choose side for the other two games. The games must be played in order.
- The higher ranked team may choose to act as the lower ranked team for side selection purposes.
- If a player disconnects during the initial launch of a map, the map will be restarted. The initial launch is defined as within the first 30 seconds or before the first kill.
- If a player loses their connection to the host during the game, the game must continue. The player can be re-invited into the game. If a team is already playing a player down, and a second player loses connection, the team forfeits the game. The player can be re-invited to the lobby.
Online Tournament Support Staff
- Online Tournament Admins can be contacted on Live Support to answer any questions or solve any problems your team may have during a match. Contact information for Online Tournament Admins can be found on the Support Tab located within the Tournament. Arena Referees and Arena Administrators should not be contacted.
- If an Online Tournament Admin is called into a Custom Games Lobby, players must keep the Online Tournament Admin un-muted at all times.
- Verbal and/or written abuse of a Staff member called into a match will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to: forum posts, GameBattles private messages, tickets, Live Support messages, AIM messages, XBL messages, and PSN private messages. The individual user and/or team violating this rule will be subject to penalties. All team leaders are responsible for the conduct of the players on the Team while interacting with Staff and are subject to penalties if a team member becomes abusive towards Staff.
- Online Tournament Admins that enter a match have the discretion to make necessary calls to ensure the match is completed successfully. When in a match, the Staff member's call is final and must be followed. Failure to do so will result in penalties for your team. After the match, if you disagree with a call made, first you must accurately report the match and then you can submit a ticket for review by an Admin. You may not intentionally dispute the match without any reasonable basis for the dispute.
Reporting
- Both teams must report the match results within 15 minutes of its completion.
- To report the match results, teams must report the match score accurately, with overall maps won being reported. For example, maps can be reported as 2-0, 2-1, etc. Reporting the individual points/kills earned for each map is optional.
- At least one member of each team should take a screenshot(s) of each round’s results. Screenshots should contain the round score, players on each team, and a time stamp. In order to dispute a player leaving and/or an in-game glitch, video proof must be provided. The video must show the gamertags, map, gametype, as well as the player dropping or the opposing team performing a glitch.
- In order to dispute match results, tickets must be submitted immediately following the match. The “Tickets” section below provides more instructions on submitting tickets. Also, as stated in rule 7 under “Matches”, Live Support must be used for in-game issues.
- If a screenshot(s) is needed in order to resolve a dispute, it should be transferred to the user’s computer and uploaded to the user’s GameBattles profile. Videos may also be uploaded to the GB Game Room. The URL for the image(s)/video should be attached to the dispute ticket(s). You must clearly state what the issue is, the time in the video in which the issue occurred, and/or what the Admin should be looking at in the picture. For all cheating claims, the burden of proof is on the accuser.
Tickets
- To submit a ticket, click “New Support Ticket” found within “My GB” on the console navigation bar. Select category "Arena: Online Tournament", the arena in which it occurred, and a detailed description of the issue.
- When submitting a ticket, fill out all applicable fields. Incomplete or incorrect tickets will be closed without being processed.
- Once submitted, the status of your ticket can be viewed through “My Support Tickets” also found within the “My GB” menu.
- All Admin decisions are final. After a decision has been made regarding a ticket, additional tickets may only be submitted if they contain new information that would affect the outcome of the match.
- Tickets are handled in the order that they are received. Staff members should not be contacted regarding the status of tickets that have not been closed.
Settings
- All of the settings changes that were made are listed below. Settings, not listed below, should not be changed from their default state.
• Game Mode: Squad Rush
• Hardcore Mode: No
- Starting a game/map with the wrong game type settings may result in a forfeit of the game/map, the game/map being replayed, or a warning, which will be determined by a Premium Admin.
Game Types
- Ladder Play - All maps will be selected at random and listed in the match details.
- Bracket Play - Game types will be set for each round of the bracket and posted prior to the start of the Tournament.
Squad Rush – Panama Canal
Squad Rush - Valparaiso
Squad Rush – Atacama Desert
Squad Rush – Port Valdez
4. Conditions.
MLG, GameStop, and Electronic Arts are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by users of the GameBattles Site and/or the GameStop Site (collectively, the “Tournament Sites”) or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized on the Tournament Sites or in any Tournament or by any technical or human error, which may occur in the processing of registrations, entries into any Tournament, or otherwise in connection with any Tournament including, without limitation, any technical limitation or other event that results in the disqualification or loss of ranking status of any participant in any Tournament. MLG, GameStop, and Electronic Arts assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, or communications line failure relating to the Tournament Sites or any Tournament, or for any theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any registration materials or entries. MLG, GameStop, and Electronic Arts are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone, network, satellite, cable or lines, computer, on-line-systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of e-mail, registrations or entry submissions on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site or combination thereof in connection with the Tournament Sites or any Tournament, including, without limitation, any technical limitation or other event that results in the disqualification or loss of ranking status of any player in any game. MLG, GameStop, and Electronic Arts are not responsible for injury or damage to participants' or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating, downloading or uploading materials from the Tournament Sites or in connection with any Tournament. Any use of robotic, automatic, micro, programmed or like entry methods will void all such entries by such methods, and disqualify any person using such methods. If, for any reason, any Tournament, in MLG's sole opinion, is not capable of running as planned, including, but not limited to, by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of MLG which, in the MLG's sole judgment, corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of any Tournament, MLG reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Tournament and proceed in such a manner as may be deemed fair and equitable by MLG, in its sole discretion.
IN NO EVENT WILL MLG, GAMESTOP, and Electronic Arts, THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENTS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, SUPPLIERS, AND RELATED COMPANIES, THEIR RESPECTIVE SPONSORS, ADVERTISING OR PROMOTION AGENCIES OR PARTNERS OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS, BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR: (A) ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND UNDER ANY THEORY (WHETHER CONTRACT, TORT, WARRANTY OR OTHERWISE), INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS OR TOURNAMENT PRIZES, ARISING OUT OF ANY PARTICIPANT'S ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE TOURNAMENT SITES OR PARTICIPATION IN ANY TOURNAMENT OR (B) FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND IN EXCESS OF ANY FEE PAID BY YOU (IF ANY) TO ENTER THE APPLICABLE TOURNAMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING ON THE TOURNAMENT SITES AND IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TOURNAMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LIABILITY OR WARRANTIES SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, MLG'S, GAMESTOP’S, AND ELECTRONIC ARTS’ LIABILITIES ARE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
5. Publicity.
By participating, all participants and winner(s) grant MLG, GameStop, and Electronic Arts permission to use their names, nick-names, gamertags, characters, photographs, voices, and likenesses in connection with promotion of this and other Tournaments, in perpetuity, throughout the world, and waive any claims to royalty, right, or remuneration for such use, except where prohibited.
6. Release.
By participating, each participant and winner waives any and all claims of liability against MLG, GameStop, and Electronic Arts, their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, subsidiaries, suppliers, and related companies, their respective sponsors, advertising and promotion agencies and partners, and any of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives, and agents , from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, cost or expense, including without limitation property damages, personal injury and/or death, arising out of participation in any Tournament or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize. If any part of these Official Rules shall be held or declared to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be ineffective but shall not affect any other part of these Official Rules and the invalid portion of any provision shall be deemed modified to the least degree necessary to remedy such invalidity while retaining the original intent of the parties. The failure of MLG to partially or fully exercise any rights or the waiver by MLG of any breach of these Official Rules by you, shall not prevent a subsequent exercise of such right by MLG or be deemed a waiver by MLG of any subsequent breach by you of the same or any other term of these Official Rules. The rights and remedies of MLG under these Official Rules shall be cumulative, and the exercise of any right or remedy shall not limit a right to exercise any other right or remedy hereunder.
In case of dispute, entries will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of registration. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet Access Provider, on-line service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.
7. Taxes.
Each winner is solely responsible for any and all applicable taxes. MLG and GameStop are not responsible for any unspecified expenses, which shall be the responsibility of winners. Any person winning over $600 in prizes from the Tournament will receive an IRS form 1099 at the end of the calendar year and a copy of such form will be filed with the IRS.
8. Conduct and Decisions.
By participating in the Tournament, participants agree to be bound by the decisions of MLG, GameBattles administrators and MLG’s personnel. All decisions of the Tournament organizers or of their representatives regarding this Tournament are final and without appeal. Participants must conduct themselves in a reasonable manner, maintaining a friendly and polite demeanor to competitors, Tournament officials, and to other participants of the Tournament. Participants who violate any rule, gain unfair advantage in participating in the Tournament, or obtain winner status using fraudulent means will be disqualified. Unsportsmanlike, disruptive, annoying, harassing or threatening behavior is prohibited. MLG will interpret these rules and resolve any disputes, conflicting claims or ambiguities concerning the rules of the Tournament and MLG's decisions concerning such disputes shall be final. If the conduct or outcome of the Tournament is affected by human error, any mechanical malfunctions or failures of any kind, intentional interference or any event beyond the control of MLG, MLG reserves the right to terminate this Tournament, or make such other decisions regarding the outcome as MLG deems appropriate. MLG reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds (a) to be tampering with the registration or entry process or the operation of the Tournament Sites or any Tournament; (b) be acting in violation of these Official Rules; (c) to be hacking, or to be acting in a non-sportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person; or (d) to have provided any false or misleading information as part of the registration process including, without limitation, any false names, addresses or email addresses. All decisions will be made by MLG and are final. ANY ATTEMPT BY A PARTICIPANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY CIRCUMVENT, DISRUPT OR DAMAGE ORDINARY AND NORMAL OPERATION OF THIS TOURNAMENT, TELEPHONE SYSTEMS OR WEBSITE, OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE TOURNAMENT IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, MLG RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PARTICIPANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
9. Miscellaneous.
If for any reason any Tournament, in MLG's sole opinion, is not capable of running as planned, including, but not limited to, by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of MLG which, in MLG's sole judgment, corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of any Tournament, MLG reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Tournament and proceed in such a manner as may be deemed fair and equitable by MLG in its sole discretion.
10. Arbitration and Governing Law.
Any controversy, claim or dispute arising out of or relating to this Tournament shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Rules including Emergency Interim Relief Procedure in New York, New York, except that, to the extent any participant, winner or guest has in any manner violated or threatened to violate MLG’s intellectual property or confidentiality rights, MLG may seek injunctive, monetary or other appropriate relief in any state or federal court in the state of New York (and MLG may assert both intellectual property causes of action and other appropriate causes of action in any such action), and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts. The arbitrator's award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under this Agreement shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to this Agreement, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.
11. Use of Data.
MLG and GameStop will be collecting personal data about participants online, in accordance with their respective privacy policies. Please review MLG’s privacy policy at http://www.gamebattles.com/privacy.php, and please review GameStop’s privacy policy at http://www.gamestop.com/gs/help/PrivacyPolicy.aspx. By participating in the Tournament, participants hereby agree to MLG’s and GameStop’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted MLG’s and GameStop’s privacy policies.
12. Rules and List of Winners.
For a copy of the rules, or a list of winners, please send your request within thirty (30) days of the end of the Tournament by mail with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope with Tournament name and addressed to: Major League Gaming c/o GameBattles Tournaments, 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2820, New York, NY 10170.
SPONSOR: GAMESTOP CORPORATION, 625 WESTPORT PARKWAY, GRAPEVINE, TX 76051, USA.
TOURNAMENT PRODUCER: MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING INC., 420 LEXINGTON AVENUE, SUITE 2820, NEW YORK, NY 10170, USA.
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