Cataclysm Classic Tournament

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (“Blizzard”), will be hosting the North America and Europe World of Warcraft Arena World Championship Tournament (the “Tournament”). The Tournament will be governed by the following: (i) The Activision Blizzard Esports Standard Rules, incorporated herein by this reference (the “Official Rules”); (ii) Blizzard’s online privacy policy (as described in Section 8.4 of the Official Rules); and (iii) these World of Warcraft® Arena World Championship Tournament Rules (the “Tournament Rules”), unless otherwise indicated. Any inconsistency between these Tournament Rules and the Official Rules shall be decided by Tournament Administration in its sole discretion. Defined terms used in these Tournament Rules shall have the meanings and definitions ascribed to them in the Glossary or the Official Rules, unless otherwise noted herein.

These Tournament Rules (along with the Official Rules) form a contract between Participants and Blizzard and its affiliates, and shall establish the general rules of tournament play, including rules governing tournament structure and prize awards. Each Participant is required to read, understand, and agree to these Tournament Rules, the Official Rules and Blizzard’s online privacy policy as a condition of participating in the AWC.

2. Acceptance of the Tournament Rules

(a) You indicate your acceptance of these Tournament Rules by signing up and/or participating in the Tournament.

(b) If you are under the age of majority (as described below), your parent or legal guardian must accept these Tournament Rules on your behalf. In such an event, please contact Blizzard for assistance at WoWEsportsAdmin@Blizzard.com.

(c) If you (or your parent or legal guardian, if you are a minor) do not accept these Tournament Rules or you do not meet the player eligibility requirements in Section 3 of the Official Rules, you may not participate in the Tournament or receive any prizing.

3. Signing up

(a) Tournament Eligibility, in general.

• (i) Your Battle.net account must be in Good Standing at the start of the Tournament and remain in good standing throughout the Tournament. A Battle.net account is considered to be in “Good Standing” if there are no records of an account suspension greater than 14 days or an account ban during the Tournament and during the six (6) months preceding the commencement of the Tournament.
  
• (ii) All Tournament participants shall meet eligibility requirements for Players as set forth in Section 2 of the Official Rules.

(b) Regional Eligibility.

• (i) You may only participate in the Tournament if, as of May 22, 2024, you are a legal resident of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Republic Of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, State of Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam, excluding where otherwise prohibited or restricted.

(c) Regions.
The Tournament will be conducted in two (2) regions (each, a “Region”). Teams will compete in the region where the majority of their team members reside. Teams are allowed up to (1) player from the other region as long as they are listed in the eligible locations listed above. The regions are set out as follows:

• (i) North America. The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, or Venezuela, excluding where otherwise prohibited or restricted.
  
• (ii) Europe
  Europe. Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Republic Of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, State of Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, or United Kingdom, excluding where otherwise prohibited or restricted.

(d) Tournament Communication. All participants must join the Tournament Discord for communication with the Tournament Admins.

(e) Signups. Participants may register to participate in the Tournament by signing up at Raider.IO prior to a Tournament. Signup periods will be publicly announced by Blizzard prior to each Tournament.

Teams must be fully registered with a complete roster with exactly three (3) eligible Participants to receive access to the Tournament Realm. Pending or incomplete Teams will not be granted access.

Players cannot compete simultaneously in multiple regions, or on multiple teams.

4. Tournament Format

The World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic Arena Tournament will consist of a double-elimination bracket taking place across multiple days. Each tournament region will have its own bracket.

• Team roster shall be three (3) players maximum.
• All Matches during the tournament shall be best 3 of 5 Matches. The Finals match between the top 2 teams shall be a single best 4 of 7 Match with no double-finals being played.
• Each Game will last a maximum of twenty-five (25) minutes.

• If no team has a clear lead after twenty-five (25) minutes, as determined by an admin (i.e. three players vs two players), both teams’ Game records increase by 1 Game win and loss, and may result in a Match win for one of the teams.
• In a case where the Game score is tied and applying a win to both players produces no accurate Match winner (e.g., during a best of 3 Match, Game 3 ends in this way), the Game will be replayed.

• All matches will be played on the Arena Tournament Realms.

Teams will be seeded into the Double Elimination Bracket based on their 3v3 ladder rating prior to the tournament.

Teams are required to join the Tournament Discord to communicate with Admins and submit Match results.

TOURNAMENT REALM

The Arena World Championship takes place on the Arena Tournament Realm. Teams who are eligible and have their accounts in Good Standing will have their main account flagged to access the Tournament Realm.

• All matches, including any applicable offline portion of the tournament, will take place on the Arena Tournament Realm.
  
• Blizzard will grant access to the tournament realm at least 24 hours before tournament play based on the volume of teams.
  
• Players are expected to create and setup all characters before the tournament begins, there will no additional delay time for setup once the Tournament has started.

---

ARENA TEAM COMPOSITION

An Arena Team must have exacty three (3) players participating in each match. The numbers of participating players in each match will never exceed three (3).

Arena Team character compositions cannot consist of greater than one “Healer” specialization or greater than one “Tank” specialization.

---

MAP POOL

All Arena Maps available in World of Warcraft Cataclysm will be available during the tournament. The first map of any given match will always be Nagrand Arena.

5. Schedule

Tentative Cataclysm Classic Arena Tournament:

• Tues May 22 – Signign-ups open (10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Fri. Jun 7 – Sign ups close (10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Tues June 11 – Ladder snapshot taken (7.30pm Pacific / Jun 12 4.30am CET)
  
• Wed Jun 12 – Open Bracket begins at the following times

• Europe Open Bracket (9am Pacific / 6pm CET)
• Americas Open Bracket (3pm Pacific / Jun 13 12am CET)

• Fri. Jun 14– Top 8 Europe Live Broadcast
  
• Sat Jun 15– Top 8 Americas Live Broadcast

• The tournament finals will conclude on Sunday, June 16th.
  
• All live broadcast days commence at 10:00am Pacific Time streamed on YouTube and Twitch.
  
• Players may broadcast their matches from their point of view.

• Players are required to be available to compete during the times listed above.
  
• Teams are required to check-in an hour prior to their scheduled matches.

6. Tournament Realm

The Cataclysm Classic Arena Tournament takes place on the Arena Tournament Realm. Teams who are eligible and have their accounts in Good Standing will have their main account flagged to access the Tournament Realm.

• All matches, including any applicable offline portion of the tournament, will take place on the Arena Tournament Realm.
  
• Blizzard will grant access to the tournament realm at least 24 hours before tournament play based on the volume of teams.
  
• Players are expected to create and setup all characters before the tournament begins, there will no additional delay time for setup once the Tournament has started.

7. Map Pool

All Arena Maps available in World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic will be available during the tournament. The first map of any given match will always be Nagrand Arena.

Map Selection and Composition Procedure

• There are no restrictions on a team’s class and talent specializations.
  
• An Arena Team must have at least three (3) players participating in each Match.
  
• Each team will declare a team captain.
  
• The first map will always be Nagrand Arena.
  
• The second map may NOT be Nagrand Arena. There are no other map restrictions.
  
• If available, the admin/observer will create the Wargame and invite each team to join.
  
• Starting Comps can be altered between rounds, using the method outlined below in “First Game of a Match”.

8. Tournament Play

The first Engagement of every series will be played on Nagrand Arena. Each Team will declare a starting composition to Blizzard’s Tournament Admin. In the event a Tournament Admin is not available, the higher ranked or seeded Team will start the Wargame. Note that this will be a blind pick, and the opposing team’s composition should not be revealed prior to the match.

HOW TO WARGAME

/wg GroupleaderBattletag Mapname 5

• Replace “GroupleaderBattletag” with the battletag nickname of the opposing team’s party leader. For example when challenging “Player#1234”, only “Player” would be added to the command.
  
• Both the challenging and receiving player must have party lead for this command to work. If teams aren’t receiving a wargame request, all players from each team should completely exit the game and reform each party. If the issue persists, get in contact with an Admin.
  
• “5” Represents Tournament Rules being turned on and must be included in every wargame command.

Following the first Engagement of the Match, chat shall be set to show timestamps, and the below conversation must be screenshotted in-game for potential dispute resolution. Chat logs will not be accepted. This process must take no more than 5 minutes.

• The losing Team of each Engagement will select the next map from the Map Pool of non-played map.
  
• Following this selection, the winning Team will declare and lock in their composition.
  
• Following the winning Team’s lock-in, the losing Team will declare and lock in their composition.
  
• These actions will be announced via in-game Battle.net chat to either to a Tournament Admin or the Captain of the opposing Team by the Team Captain following this script:

• (a)  Losing Team Captain: “’s map selection is ”
  
• (b)  Winning Team Captain: “ confirmed”
  
• (c)  Winning Team Captain: “’s comp is ”
  
• (d)  Losing Team Captain: “ confirmed”
  
• (e)  Losing Team Captain: “’s comp is ”
  
• (f)  Winning Team Captain: “ confirmed”
  
• (g)  Following this in-game chat conversation, the next match must be started within five (5) minutes.

SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT GAME OF A SERIES

After the end of each game, the following order of events will occur:

• The losing team of each game will select the next map from the Map Pool of non-played maps.
  
• Following this selection, the winning team will declare and lock in their composition.
  
• Following the winning team’s lock-in, the losing team will declare and lock in their composition.
  
• These actions will be announced via in-game Battle-.net Whispers.

• The second map may NOT be Nagrand Arena. There are no other map restrictions.
  
• Players experiencing connection or other issues should leave the map before the doors open.

• Once a match begins, should one or more eligible Participants on a Team lose their connection to the in-game match and ‘drop,’ the Engagement will continue, with the other members of the Team continuing to play.

• Each Engagement will last a maximum of twenty-five (25) minutes. If no team has a clear lead after twenty-five (25) minutes of play, as determined by a Tournament Admin (i.e. three players vs two players), the Engagement will be replayed.
  
• Team Participants will have ten (10) minutes prior to the start of the first Match to prepare the computer on which they will participate in the Match.
  
• Should an Arena Team use an eligible Participant who is not a registered member of the Arena Team in a Match, or who is not designated as a substitute player by the Team Captain prior to the Match, Blizzard will penalize the Arena Team, which could include loss of the Match, disqualification, or a re-game, at Blizzard’s sole discretion.

---

MATCH RULES

• Competing Participants may be added to Battletag by a Tournament Admin
  
• Teams May be Required to provide screenshots of each game to prove the results of any series and Map and Composition selections by each team.

• Screenshots of game results must include a chat log of the following information

“X team vs Y team - Game Z - ”
X=Team 1 name, Y=Team 2 name, and Z=the game played.
Example:

• Players are required to be online, grouped, and ready to compete at the start of the specified time. Once prepared, the Team Captain must notify a Tournament admin or opposing team leader as applicable, and Check-In on Raider.IO.
  
• Teams will have ten (10) minutes prior to the start of the first Match to prepare the computer on which they will participate in the Match.
  
• In the event that a Team cannot compete, a waiting period of 3 minutes will commence at the discretion of the Tournament admin.
  
• If the Team is still unable to compete after the 3-minute waiting period has elapsed, they will forfeit the first Engagement.
  
• If the Team is still unable to compete, the admin will commence a second 3-minute waiting period. If, after that second 3-minute waiting period, the Team is still unavailable they will forfeit the second Engagement.

• Should the series be a Best of 3, forfeiting the second Engagement will forfeit the Match.
  
• Should the series be a Best of 5 or Best of 7, the Tournament admin will commence subsequent 3-minute waiting periods until enough Matches have been forfeited that would forfeit the Match.
  
• If it is the first Match of the open bracket Tournament, the above ten (10) minute grace period will be enacted, and the first Engagement will not be forfeit until 13 minutes after the Match was scheduled to started. Please contact the acting Tournament Admin if you are having trouble contacting your opponent.

• A best of 5 will have a total of a 9 minutes of allowed delay, and a best of 7 will have 12 minutes of allowed delay. (online only)
  
• Players who intentionally quit an Engagement after the doors have opened will concede the Engagement.
  
• Players experiencing connection or other issues should leave before the doors open.
  
• Blizzard may restart the Engagement from the beginning at their discretion.
  
• In order to dispute any Engagement issue, Players must notify the Tournament admin immediately. Once the next Engagement has started, players may not protest results. Blizzard may investigate past results at their discretion.
  
• Players may not use known bugs or exploits in the Tournament Matches, as determined by Blizzard in its sole discretion.

• Any questions on a specific bug, players must ask a Tournament Admin. Lack of acknowledgment will not excuse players from malicious use of any bugs.

• Any use of bots, hacks or any code and/or software not expressly authorized by Blizzard that allows the automated control of World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s online gaming service, or any component or feature thereof; is not allowed.

• Though addons and macros are permitted.

All Match result submission and disputes shall occur via the Arena Cup Discord Server

---

9. Prize Pool

Each Region of Cataclysm Classic Arena Tournament has a $25,000 USD prize pool. Cash prizes will be split equally among all members of the recipient team. All prizes are subject to the prize award terms set forth in Section 5 of the Official Rules.

Cataclysm Classic Arena Tournament Points and Prizes (Per Region)

Tournament Placement	Prize Award Per Team (USD)
1st Place	$10,000
2nd Place	$7,500
3rd Place	$5,000
4th Place	$2,500

10. Additional Rules

TEAM AND CHARACTER NAMES

• Team names must not be longer than 20 characters, spaces included.
  
• Team names must not contain profanity, the names of people not on the team, or the names of any third-party name, trademark, or intellectual property.
  
• Blizzard may reject team names and request renames. If the rename is not acceptable, Blizzard may assign a team name to the team.
  
• Character names must not contain profanity, the names of people not on the team, or the names of any group at odds with Blizzard.
  
• Character names must include the full version of the players’ alias/handle. Only small variations of this handle for multiple characters will be allowed. (Ex: NameA. NameB, NamePala, NameSham, etc.)
  
• If character names do not follow the above criteria, players may be required to remake the character at a moment's notice.
  
• Blizzard may flag characters for a free rename for any reason. If renames are not acceptable, Blizzard may assign new character names to characters.

Team Logos:
For teams who qualify to Arena Broadcasts and have existing team logos, the team must submit their team logo to the WoW Esports team for approval via WoWEsportsAdmin@blizzard.com on the date of their qualification to the Broadcast or at least 7 days prior to the Tournament Broadcast. Team logos should be at least 512x512 pixels or above, and ideally PNG format. Teams must own the rights to any submitted logo.

---

CATACLYSM CLASSIC ARENA TOURNAMENT SEEDING

Seeding will be determined based on the average rating of the team’s highest 3 players in 3v3 Rated Arena.
The 3v3 Rated Arena component of the seeding is calculated based on the average of the team’s 3 highest players in 3v3 Rated Arena. Your recording rating will be taken from the official 3v3 leaderboard in your region at the time listed under the “schedule” section of this tournament.
If you’ve name changed, server transferred, or faction changed please notice a Tournament admin via Discord within 24 hours before the bracket seeding on the Wednesday prior to that week’s event. You will also need to notify an admin if your highest rated character is on a different Battle.net account to the account you signed up with, as it may not be factored into tournament seeding otherwise.

---

IN GAME SETTINGS

Players are required to turn their in-game timestamps on (Option “15:27:32”) to be capable of providing accurate proof when taking screenshots of Match results as well as Map and Composition selections.

• To turn Timestamps on, go to the Game Menu, Options, search “Chat Timestamps” in the search menu. Choose the option “15:27:32”.

The background of the chatbox of each screenshot must be completely transparent.

• To make your chatbox transparent, right click on the chat channel and click on background then drag the opacity dial all the way down. Screenshots without transparency may not be able to provide accurate proof during a dispute.

---

PLAYER PRIZE DISTRIBUTION

Players who win prizes under these Tournament rules must provide Blizzard with payment information that will allow Blizzard to pay out their winnings without violating any embargoes, sanctions, etc., to which Blizzard, as a company organized in the United States, is required to comply with.

10. Match Offenses

• If a player violates these Tournament Rules, they may be subject to disciplinary action.

All Match result submission and disputes shall occur via the Arena Cup Discord Server

12. Glossary

“Advertising Materials” means (a) the websites of Blizzard and its streaming and broadcast partners; (b) social media postings; (c) print and online advertising and content; (d) network, cable and local television and radio; (e) newspaper and magazine advertising and content; (f) online advertising and content, including banners, leaderboards and skyscrapers; (g) outdoor and indoor billboards, posters, signs and displays; (h) product catalogues, point-of-sale materials, hang tags, product packaging and instruction manuals; (i) press releases, newsletters and e-alerts; and (j) hats, shirts and other apparel and gaming gear and peripherals.
“Battle.net Account” means a full Blizzard Battle.net account registered on Blizzard’s America on-line gaming service that is in good standing and that remains in good standing throughout the Tournament. “Battle.net Account” does not refer to a Battle.net lite account; a lite account is not sufficient for participation in the Tournament.
“Battle.net lite account” means a version of Battle.net that mobile users can create without accepting the Blizzard End User License Agreement.
“Blizzard”, “we” or “us” means Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and its affiliates.
“Blizzard Group” means Blizzard, its parent and any of their respective affiliate companies and subsidiaries.
“Dispute” means any dispute, controversy, or claim, whether based on contract, tort, fraudulent misrepresentation, statute, regulation, constitution, common law, equity, or any other matter, that arises out of or relates to the Tournament, a Tournament Event or these Official Rules, or the breach thereof.
“Engagement,” means a battle arena match that is one of the matches that comprise a Match in the Tournament.
“Official Rules” means the Activision Blizzard Esports Standard Rules.
“Roster Swap” means any addition made for any reason to a team’s active roster of players. This includes, but is not limited to, swapping a player out for another. Removing a player without reducing the Team’s roster below three players is not considered a Roster Swap.
“Tournament” means all of the tournament events that are outlined in these Tournament Rules. The Tournament includes the four (4) Arena Cup tournaments, one Gauntlet, and Finals.
“Tournament Admin” means an individual appointed by Blizzard that enforces Blizzard’s rulings related to the Tournament, and helps organize and orchestrate the in-game portion of the Tournament.
“Tournament Event(s)” means all games, matches, media events, autograph signings, photo sessions, sponsor events and other gatherings or events occurring with or as part of the Tournament.
“Website Terms” means the Blizzard End User License Agreement applicable to your use of Blizzard’s online gaming service, the Online Privacy Policy applicable to your use of Blizzard’s online gaming service, and the other terms and conditions governing use of the Blizzard’s websites. The current version of the Blizzard End User License Agreement for is found at http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/eula.html and the current version of the Online Privacy Policy is found at http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/privacy.html.
“Your Brand Materials” means your name, nickname, BattleTag, logo, initials, likeness, image, photograph, animation, autograph, voice, public persona, Social Media posts, biographical information and backstory.