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AoE3: DE Group to Glory Tournament Rules

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​📜  Overview

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• Multifaceted team tournament  

• 8 teams; 4 players per each team

• Teams first play in a group stage before moving on to a knockout round

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🏆  Tournament Format

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Group Stage Format 

• The 8 participating teams will be divided into 2 groups of 4 teams (1, 3, 5, 7 and 2, 4, 6, 8)

• Each team will play the other teams in their group once: involving a total of 3 sets for every team

• Group standings are determined by the number of set wins

• In case of a tie, the first tiebreaker goes to the team with the higher number of total game wins, followed by the higher total game wins of each team's tier 4 player, then tier 3 player, and so on​

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Knockout Stage Format 

• Once the group stage is complete, the top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage 

• The top seeded teams will then play vs the second seeded teams of the opposite group for the semi-finals matches

• The winners of these semi-final matches will advance to the Grand Final to compete for the tournament championship.​​​

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📋  Drafting and Captain Rules 

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• The top 8 players are determined via internal player ranking polls

• After player rankings are concluded, the top 8 players will draft from the remaining pool of players until the teams are filled

• The 8th ranked player will always draft first each round, and the 1st ranked player last, and so on

• After the teams are formed, they elect one of their members as team captain (it does not have to be one of the top 8 players)

• Captains are responsible for scheduling, organization, and serve as the final authority for decision making within the team  

⚔️  Game, Set, and Round Rules 

Match Rules:

• A set between two teams is composed of a single BO5 that alternates between 2v2 and 3v3 each game (2x, 3x, 2x, 3x, 2x)

• All four team members must play during the set, with the caveat that whoever has currently played the least number of games must be subbed in for the next game (a team can decide between players if there's a tie)

 

Lineup Summary: "After every game, track how many games each player has played.
For the next game, the player(s) with the fewest total games played must be included.

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• Teams must report their lineup decision to an admin before the start of each successive game (Note, civilization picks only occur after both teams are aware of the lineup for the upcoming game)

• Each team has 1 week to schedule their set, with the tournament running over a 5 week period ​

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Grand Finale:

• During the finals, a single BO7 set will be played that adds a 4v4 at the start and end of the match (4x, 2x, 3x, 2x, 3x, 2x, 4x)

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🌍  Civilization and Map Rules 

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Civilization Rules:​

• Every civilization can be played max TWO times per team during a set

• At the start of each week, two random civilizations will be globally soft-banned for all series scheduled during that week  

• After this, each team will soft-ban 2 civilizations from the opponent’s remaining civilization pool (A team cannot soft-ban a civilization that has already been the target of the global soft-ban)

• Civilizations that are soft-banned can only be played ONCE by a team during the set

• The global and team soft-ban process is repeated before the start of each team's successive set 

• Teams may NOT select duplicate civilizations for a game

• Game 1 of every set will be blind civilization picks; afterwards, the winners of the previous game will pick first

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Banned Cards/Techs:

ETHIOPIA:

• Team 1 Camp Builder (Age1 card)

FRENCH:

• Edict of Nantes (Age2 card)

MEXICO:​​​​

• Baja California (Age2 revolution)

• Central America (Age2 revolution) before 7:00 minute mark 

• Charreada (Age4 card)​

OTTOMANS:​

• Mosque Construction (Age3 card)

• Team 4 Sipahi (Age4 card)

PORTUGUESE:

• Grapeshot (Age4 card)​​​​​

MISC:

• A player cannot sling while being in Age1

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Group Round Map Sets: 

Round 1:

• Darfur, Texas, Finland, Saguenay, Punjab

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Round 2:

• Karelian Lakes, Dakota, Hokkaido, Florida, Colorado

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Round 3:

• Fertile Crescent, Great Plains, Dnieper Basin, Guianas, Painted Desert

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Knockout Round Map Sets: 

Semi Finals:

• Sahel, New England, Central Asia, Mongolia, Yukon

 

Grand Finals:

• Hungarian Plains, Darfur, Florida, Wallachia, Great Plains, Texas, Pomerania

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📅  Scheduling and Results 

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• Teams have a week to schedule and play their set

• Each team will have the possibility to use substitute players in case a member is unavailable for the match

  • ​​​A substitute may replace one specific player during a set.

  • Once a substitute has replaced a player, that substitute is tied to that player's position for the remainder of the set. They may not switch to another player's spot

  • Each roster position may only be substituted once per set. If the original player returns later in the set, they may reclaim their position

  • If a team cannot field a substitute for an unavailable player, then the team forfeits the set

• Should a player drop entirely out from the tournament, an appropriate replacement will be made pending the approval of the majority of team captains 

• Scheduling, match scores, and game recordings are to be posted in the appropriate Discord channels

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⚙️  Miscellaneous and Conduct Rules

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• All games will be played using the Supremacy gamemode with standard settings

• Disconnects before 2 minutes will result in a restart; disconnects after 2 minutes will be resolved by a restore, and if this fails to work, an admin will judge whether the game should be replayed or assigned as a win based on in-game context

• Players who fail to communicate with their team or are repeatedly unavailable during the agreed match time may face disqualification

• Should a player drop or be disqualified from the tournament, the admins will try to find a suitable replacement from those who signed up

• Cheating, bug abuse, and exploits are grounds for disqualification

• Good sportsmanship is expected throughout the event