General Rules



Like any game or competition, there are a number of rules to follow and tournaments are no exceptions. Each tournament has followed a general set of rules and as time went on there have been new or changed rules.

This article has been created for those who wish to stay up to date on what is known as the General Ruleset and to verify what the existing rules are.


 * If you would like to suggest a new or existing rule, make a request via the talk page or elsewhere.

Special Rules
While the rules on this page are normally inherited by a tournament, there are cases that some special rules will apply to certain tournaments. These rules can be either new rules or modified versions of existing rules depending on the kind of tournament it is.


 * If it is a new rule and not an existing one, it will be appended to the General Ruleset.
 * If it is a modified rule derivative of an existing general rule, the modified rule will take priority over the General Ruleset.

Tournament Progression
These rules apply for advancing throughout the tournament.

Group Rounds

 * You are only allowed to compete with others in your group.
 * When you win a match, you receive 2 points.
 * When you lose a match, you receive 0 points.
 * When you have a draw, you receive 1 point,unless it is resolved.
 * Depending on how many people are in your group, the top 2 or 3 competitors in your group qualify for the next round.

Tie-breakers

 * If more than 2 have the same amount of points, an additional match known as a Triple Threat is held. No Draws are declared for this match.
 * If not all matches are done where a lower rank competitor is one rank away from advancing as a winner of the group based on points, the following tie-breaker occurs:
 * If the lower rank player beat the next higher rank player previously in a match, they move up a rank and advance as a winner of the group.
 * Example: Player A and B are ranked 1 and 2 in their group. Player 3 hasn't done a match with another player but can potentially advance if they won said match. Player C however has beaten Player B in a match. As a result, they move to rank 2 and Player B is moved to rank 3. Player C proceeds to the next round as a winner of their group instead of Player B.

Knockout Rounds

 * If you lose a match, then you are eliminated from the main bracket.
 * If there is a second bracket, such as a loser's bracket, you'll be moved to that bracket.
 * Losing in all brackets means you're ultimately eliminated from the tournament.
 * You can only compete with the competitor(s) assigned to you.

Dropouts

 * When a competitors drops out at any point, they may be replaced depending on circumstances.
 * In a Group Round,
 * If a competitor drops out with 1 or less matches, they can be replaced.
 * If a competitor is replaced, the competitor who dropped out will have all their matches become Void and need to be redone.
 * If a competitor drops out with at least 2 matches done, they won't be replaced.
 * If a competitor is not replaced, all remaining matches are counted as a loss and points are awarded to the other players.
 * In a Knockout Round,
 * If a competitor drops out before they done their match, they can be replaced
 * The dropout can be replaced with somebody from the previous round or by a voluntary replacement if it occurs in Round 1.
 * If a competitor drops out after they done their match, they may be replaced depending on circumstances:
 * If the match video is uploaded and the declared loser drops out, they won't be replaced.
 * If the match video is uploaded and the declared winner drops out, they can be replaced.
 * If they are replaced, the previous match becomes Void and needs to be redone.
 * In Round 2 onward,
 * If a competitor drops out, the following will occur
 * If the last Round was a Group Round, the next highest ranking competitor in their Group will replace them.
 * If the last Round was a Knockout Round, the loser of their match in that Round will replace them.
 * If a dropout can't be replaced when they should be, the other competitor will advance uncontested. This should be done as a last resort when no other option is available.
 * See Dropouts & Replacements for more info.

Speedruns
These rules apply when doing a speedrun, not when the video is being uploaded or edited.

Competitors

 * There must be two or more competitors for a Multi-Single Speedrun.
 * They must be able to record video from the game with acceptable visual quality and minimal slowdown. If the video is badly pixelated and/or choppy, it most likely won't be accepted.
 * The competitors need to sort out what they will be doing such as the game, objective(s), and other details. If needed, a Randomization can be requested.

Game

 * The game must run at a playable speed (25 to 60 fps depending on game and region) on emulator or real hardware.
 * If a game is running through an emulator, the competitor(s) must not use save states or speedhacks that artificially speed up the game.
 * It is advisable that the games be of the same region (NTSC, PAL, JAP) as notable speed difference such as load times can give an competitor an unfair advantage. However, in such cases that a rematch can't be done, the competitors may take full responsibility of the outcome.

Commentary

 * Competitors must to be able to use a microphone and record audio from a VoIP application such as Discord.
 * Spectators are asked  not to backseat or couch  during a race unless given approval beforehand by competitors. Doing so may result in them being penalized for the duration of the race.
 * When doing commentary, note your username, objective(s), and match rules if any. Doing this ensures the info is provided in the run itself as well as to avoid it being lost if the video is removed and the video description is lost.

Conditions

 * A void is called if any speedrunning rules are broken, one of the competitors withdraws, when a match is declared a draw, etc.
 * A chitched match, which involves the use of exploitable bugs/glitches which can be done by the competitors. By default, a match is considered chitched unless explicitly stated and agreed upon before the start of the match. If one or more competitors use game exploits in a non-chitched match and 'wins', it will not count and results in the match becoming void.

Draws

 * If a match is declared a draw, the resulting match becomes void and needs to be resolved. This is meant to compensate for hardware/software lag such as screen capture desynching, emulator lag, etc.
 * A draw is called when two competitors finish within a defined draw time.
 * The draw time is defined either by the tournament specific rules or the times listed on the Draws page if no tournament specific rules are present.
 * Draw times may also apply based on a per method of play, game region, and game basis if defined by the tournament specific rules.
 * A draw can be resolved in the following ways:
 * The competitors do a rematch.
 * All competitors involved in the draw match agree on who the declared loser is.
 * The tournament host(s) decides who the declared loser is. (If a host is also a competitor in the match, they must follow the second rule.)

Technical Difficulties

 * If the commentary is somehow lost or not usable after recording of the race, a post-commentary is recommended.
 * If one or more competitor's video is somehow unusable or lost, the race should be redone or it will be considered void, unless both competitors agree otherwise.
 * If you or one of the competitors drop from the voice call, continue the match as normal and attempt to reconnect when able. A good place to do so is during an unskippable part of the game such as a cutscene or loading screen.

Editing
These rules are for when the video is being edited.

Sending video

 * If you need to send your video and/or audio, make sure to compress it first if it is fairly large. Ensure though that the compression doesn't degrade the video too badly in the process.
 * Avoid sending over Discord if possible as the download will stop if the user sending logs off.
 * Good places to upload video and audio include Speedy Share, Mega, WeTransfer, and File Factory due to their generous upload size limit for free users.

Splitscreen

 * The editor of the speedrun must have each competitor's video shown in a split screen format. Otherwise, it will count as void.
 * As an effect of split screen footage, visual aids such as text are needed to note who is who.

Editing Footage

 * Do not edit the footage make it appear a competitor has won when they actually did not.
 * Avoid getting so fancy with editing that it blocks or changes the visibility of the footage.

Uploading
These rules are for when the video is being uploaded to the tournament channel.

Deadline

 * The video must be uploaded before the deadline or it will be noted as void and the possibility of disqualification. In some cases, competitors may upload their match past this deadline when permitted.

Details

 * Avoid making the title too long and make it quick to read at a glance. A good format would be: Round X - A vs B - Game - Objective(s), with any other information in the description.

Organization

 * To make it easy to find in the future, good organization such as putting videos in a playlist and having appropriate tags helps a lot. Though not a requirement, it is recommended.