Official Tournament Rules

Rules are subject to change.
Please ask your STEAM Lead(s) or Program Administrator(s) for any clarification
Academic Eligibility
Participants are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA to stay eligible for the tournament. EVERY progress report counts. If a participant’s GPA drops below a 2.0 during the tournament, he/she will not be eligible to participate until their GPA is back above 2.0.

Team Rosters
A student can only participate on a team where he/she is currently enrolled in good standing.

Each team must have 4 players on the roster. A team will field 3 players for the matches, so the Team Captains will choose their lineups for each match. If a team loses a player, the alternate will play.

ONLY the roster on the master roster list will be considered for championship play or prizes. If a team loses more than one player and the STEAM Lead approves a replacement player, they may only replace the starting lineup.

ANY roster changes must be approved by the STEAM Lead and reflected on the master roster list IMMEDIATELY upon their execution.

Schedule Change
It is the responsibility of the Team Captain to review the schedule and notify the team of any changes. Match dates and times are subject to change if the situation and time table allows it. Any team with a problem regarding a date change will need to provide a valid and reasonable excuse to demand a date change for the STEAM Lead to agree with the change.

Schedule Contingency
If a school has an odd number of teams, there will be one team that will have one less game than the other teams. If the team with one less game is at the top of the rankings at the end of the tournament or has not played the other top teams, there will be a playoff match prior to the Championship between those teams to determine the advancing team.

Bad Behavior Policy
Unsportsmanlike behavior of any kind is not allowed. This includes typing negatively in chat or spamming quick chat phrases. Cursing, rude gestures, and offensive (toxic) behavior will not be tolerated. Any player may submit video recorded evidence of toxic behavior for review. First violation will result in a warning and notification to the STEAM Lead(s). Second violation will result in a match forfeit and notification to the STEAM Lead(s). Third violation will result in the entire team being disqualified from the tournament.

Cheating Policy
No cheating of any kind is allowed, including, but not limited to: scripting, aim bot, wall hacks, rapid triggers, etc. Any cheating of any form will result in immediate disqualification of the player and team involved. It is the responsibility as a Team Captain or teammate to make sure other teammates are not cheating.
  • No in-game exploits of any kind, such as escaping the map boundary. The discovery of in-game exploits will lead to a warning, then a penalty, then a disqualification.
  • No file modifications of any kind are allowed. This includes skin mods.
  • Smurfing is not allowed. If a player is discovered to be using an account that is lower than their main rank, they will be disqualified.

Disqualification Policy
If a team is disqualified from the tournament for any reason, all of their scheduled matches will result in a forfeit, awarding a win to the other teams. Matches already played will change their final scoreline to reflect this as well. If applicable, each team that was not scheduled to face the disqualified team will be awarded an extra win to even the standings across the tournament.

Forfeit Policy
Forfeiting a match is discouraged. Forfeiting will result in a penalty and is counted as a lost match. In addition, the forfeiting team will lose a match win for standings purposes. Each student must attend school on the day of his/her match or they will not be eligible to play. A team may not intentionally forfeit or “sandbag” a game. This will result in potential disqualification/exclusion from future events.

Tartiness Policy
Teams have 10 minutes after the end of a game to set up for their next game. If a team exceeds 10 minutes, they will lose a hero ban for every 1 minute they’re late. If all hero bans are lost in this way, that team forfeits the game.

Substitute Policy
While not recommended, a team can play with a minimum of 2 players. If 3 players are available, the team must play with all 3 players. Any attempt to sit out a player because of his/her skill level will result in a team loss. Mercenaries will not be allowed.

Championship Eligibility
Every member of each team competing in the in-person Championship must physically attend the match (no remote play) to ensure a complete event and fairness to both teams. While a member can be excused due to an illness or family issue, they still cannot play remotely. This is subject to change if we are unable to have an in-person event.

Playoff Format
 
Seeding
The playoff team seeding will be determined by the regular season standings, with the team having the best record being seeded first, the team with the second-best record being seeded second, and so on. The first seeded team will receive a bye in the first round. The teams seeded second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh will compete in the first round (play-in matches). The matches for play-in matches will be:
  • Seed 2 vs. Seed 7
  • Seed 3 vs. Seed 6
  • Seed 4 vs. Seed 5
 
Final Four
The winning teams of the play-in rounds will advance to the Final Four. The teams will be re-seeded so the highest remaining seed faces the lowest remaining seed in each match.
 
Championship
The team with the best record will be the home team.
 
Tiebreakers
If teams have the same record at the end of the tournament, the advancing team will be determined using a waterfall-tiebreaker system based on the following order:
  • The number of matches each team has won.
  • The game differential (game wins minus game losses) of each team.
  • If the tie still persists, the cumulative match time for each team will be used to determine the winner, with the team having the lowest total time winning the tiebreaker.

Match Procedures

Starting Matches
Team Captains must sign into the match 15 minutes prior to match start time. The Home Team (listed first on the schedule) Captain creates the game lobby and invites all teammates, then invites the competing team.

Match Structure
Matches are played best of 3. The Championship is best of 5. Format is subject to change.

Map Selection
The Home Team will select the map for Game 1. The Away Team will select the map for Game 2. If needed, the Home Team will select the map for Game 3.

Match Scheduling
Matches will be one day per week unless a team has a bye.

Skins
All characters must be set to their default skins before the start of each match.

Alternate character skins or cosmetic variations are prohibited.
  • If a game is started with a character using a skin, the game must be restarted.
  • The restarted game must be played on the same map with the same hero bans/locks as the original game.
  • Failure to remake the game with the same map and ban/lock phase will result in a game loss.

In-Game Content Updates
Marvel Rivals is a live-service multiplayer game that may release new heroes, maps, or competitive game modes while the season is occurring.

Heroes added to the competitive pool of Marvel Rivals during the regular season will be available for use in a Lollipop Labs match.

Heroes or Maps discovered to be unstable or abusable may be forcibly removed from play by a tournament official.

Timeouts
Each team is allowed to call two tactical timeouts per match. During these timeouts, the participating players may have a discussion with each other. Tactical timeouts may only be initiated by an in-game player.

Stoppage of Play
The game may only be paused for the following reasons:
  • Player drop
  • Player disconnect
  • Server crash
  • Technical issues

Score Reporting
The winning team's STEAM Lead must report match results using the Match Submission Form.

Tournament Partners