AWC The War Within Season 1 Cup 1 • Europe

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 September 25, 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, The Ukraine, Tunisia, Turkey, 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
  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, Ukraine, Tunisia, Turkey, 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 of at least three (3) eligible Participants and maximum four (4) eligible Participants (each a “Team”, collectively, the “Teams”) 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 AWC teams.

4. Overall Tournament Format

The World of Warcraft Arena World Championship (AWC) is a multi-stage tournament. The Tournament will consist of four (4) online “AWC Cup” tournaments in each Region (as defined in the Official Rules) leading into one “AWC Gauntlet” and one “AWC Finals”. The Tournament consists of head-to-head “PvP” matches between “Arena Teams” in World of Warcraft. Each Arena Team is made up of at least three (3) and no more than four (4) eligible participants. The members of each Arena Team shall be designated by one (1) eligible Participant who operates as the “Team Captain.” Team Captains must invite other eligible Participants to join their Arena Team.

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.

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ARENA TEAM COMPOSITION

An Arena Team must have at least three (3) players participating in each match. Teams are permitted to designate one (1) substitute player (the “Substitute”), in addition to the starting three (3) players. The one (1) substitute player can be substituted in between any games during the AWC competitions as part of the four (4) player roster. 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.

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MAP POOL

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

5. Arena Cups

AWC Cups are open sign-up Arena tournaments hosted for each in-game season. Each Cup awards AWC Points based on team’s placement in the tournaments. At the end of the AWC Cups, the top 8 teams in each region advance to the next stage of the competition. Of these 8 teams, the top 3 automatically advance to the AWC Finals. Teams ranked 4th through 8th qualify to the AWC Gauntlet with the winner advancing to the Season Finals.

(a)    “Arena Cups” are open to all eligible Participants who sign up in their respective Region. Teams can earn points and other prizes (as described below) during Arena Cups to qualify for the AWC Gauntlet or AWC Season Finals. All Arena Cup tournament competition will take place online.

(b)    There is one (1) season for Arena Cups. There will be four (4) Arena Cup Tournaments in each Region during the Tournament. The dates and times of all Arena Cup Tournaments will be announced by Blizzard prior to the respective Tournament.

(c)    Each Arena Cup will consist of a Double Elimination Tournament between Teams.

(d)    All Arena Cup matches shall be a best 3 of 5 series with the exception of the finals, which will be best 4 of 7 with no possibilities of a double finals being played.

(e)    At Blizzard’s discretion, one game-starting method will be set for the Tournament. In the event a Tournament Admin is not available to invite each team to a Wargame, Teams will need to Wargame themselves. Each match is comprised of up to five (5) engagements (each, an “Engagement”, collectively, the “Engagements”) with the first Team to win three (3) Engagements declared the winner of the match (each, a “Match”). Each Engagement continues until only one Team is left, or until the time limit for the Engagement is reached, at which time the Team with most players still alive is the winner. In the event the time limit for the Engagement is reached and both teams have the same number of players still alive without either team being eliminated, the Engagement will be replayed.

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.

(f)    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.

• Maps in a Match series cannot be played twice until every map has been played once.
  
• 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.

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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

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PRIZE POOL

Each Arena Cup has a $10,000 USD prize pool. The arena teams that place first through twelfth in each Arena Cup tournament will be awarded the following points toward their qualification into the AWC Gauntlet or Finals, along with the following cash prizing. 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.

ARENA CUP TOURNAMENT POINTS AND PRIZES (PER REGION)

Tournament Placement	Point Award Per Team	Prize Award Per Team (USD)
1st Place	120 points	$5,000
2nd Place	100 points	$2,800
3rd Place	80 points	$1,600
4th Place	60 points	$600
5th and 6th Place	40 points	No cash prize
7th and 8th Place	20 points	No cash prize
9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Place	12 points	No cash prize

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ARENA TEAM ROSTER SWAPPING

(a)    Arena Teams are permitted to “swap” player(s) from their team between the Cups. This swap includes adding another eligible player(s) to the roster, ensuring the final roster size remains at a minimum of three (3) members and a maximum of four (4) members.

• (i) Roster swap requests will normally be made by the Team Captain. If the team wishes to remove their captain, a majority of the team (at least 2 out of 3 players on a 3-player roster, at least 3 out of 4 players on a 4-player roster) must agree to this change by emailing the Blizzard Esports team at WoWEsportsAdmin@Blizzard.com and confirming the change.
  
• (ii) The first allowed swap will not result in any point penalties. All Roster Swaps after the first allowed swap will result in a 50% deduction in current total points earned. The composition of the remaining Team Members after the Roster Swap will determine which players retain the team’s remaining points for future competitions.
  
• (iii) In case of dispute, a Roster swap must be approved by a majority of the team (at least 2 out of 3 players on a 3-player roster, at least 3 out of 4 players on a 4-player roster). If a dispute is tied, the captain will decide the majority.
  
• (iv) The roster used for the last AWC Cup before the AWC Gauntlet and AWC Finals will also lock in rosters for the AWC Gauntlet and AWC Finals.

(b)    Arena Teams who qualify for the AWC Gauntlet and AWC Finals are required to play with the players with whom they originally qualified in the most recent AWC Cup.

(c)    The roster locking deadline for the last Arena Cup will also lock in rosters for the Gauntlet and Finals. If a Team that has qualified for the Finals does not sign up for the last Arena Cup of that season, that Arena Team must notify a Tournament Admin of any roster changes by the sign-up deadline of the last Arena Cup for that season.

(d)    In emergency circumstances, Blizzard reserves the right, in its sole discretion to allow Arena Teams to perform a temporary Roster Swap. Players must contact a Tournament Admin at WoWEsportsAdmin@Blizzard.com no less than 24 hours prior to a scheduled Match if any emergency Roster Swaps are needed for that Match.

6. AWC Gauntlet

Of the 8 teams per region that advance from the AWC Cups stage, the top 3 will automatically qualify to the AWC Finals. The teams ranked 4th through 8th will compete in the AWC Gauntlet with the winner earning the last spot into the Finals.

(a)    The AWC Gauntlet will consist of an online single-elimination competition between teams ranked (4) through (8) in the AWC Cups for their respective region.


(b)    The AWC Gauntlet will take place on the Friday prior to the AWC Finals, which will be hosted online on dates to be determined by Blizzard in its sole discretion. The AWC Gauntlet will take place over a single day, featuring 4 series per region.

In the Gauntlet, the following four matchups will take place in each region:

• (i) Match One: Seed (8) Team will play a best of 5 series against Seed (7) Team.
  
• (ii) Match Two: Winner of Match One plays against Seed (6) Team.
  
• (iii) Match Three: Winner of Match Two plays against Seed (5) Team.
  
• (iv) Match Four: Winner of Match Three plays against Seed (4) Team.

(c)    The winner of Match Four is the AWC Gauntlet winner and qualifies to the AWC Finals alongside the top 3 teams from AWC Cups. These 4 teams make up the AWC finalists in that respective region.

(d)    Tie-Breakers: In the event that two (2) Teams are tied in qualification for AWC Gauntlet or Finals, Blizzard at their discretion may require the tied Teams to play a best of 5 series at a time designated by Blizzard, in which case the match winner will prevail in the tie. In the event that three (3) or more Teams are tied at the end of the Cups, the tie will be broken using the following tiebreakers in order of precedence: (i) the head-to-head match score between the tied Teams during the Tournament, in which case the team with the higher match score prevails; (ii) the “Win Percentage” calculated by dividing a team’s total wins to losses in the Tournament, (iii) if there’s no clear leader through other tie breakers, teams may be required to play a best of 5 series at a time designated by Blizzard. The victorious team will earn 1 point. If a qualified Team disbands or otherwise decides not to participate in the Gauntlet or Finals before it begins, the Team with the next highest Arena Cup point total will replace them.

7. AWC Grand Finals

(a)    The “Finals” Tournament will consist of a competition between the top four (4) teams in each Region as sourced top (3) teams from AWC Cups, and top (1) team from AWC Gauntlet. A separate “AWC Season Finals” will be hosted for the Europe Region and North America Region.

(b)    The Finals Tournament will take place on date(s) and at locations (or online) to be determined by Blizzard in its sole discretion.

(c)    The Finals will consist of a double-elimination tournament between the qualified Teams.

(d)    Each Finals Match shall be a best of 5 series with the exception of the Grand Final, which will be best of 7 with no possibilities of a double finals being played.

(e)    Winners of the Finals will receive the following prizes. Cash prizes will be split equally among all members of the recipient team. Teams that compete in the AWC Gauntlet but do not qualify to the Season Finals will also be eligible for prizing as listed below.

ARENA SEASON FINALS TOURNAMENT PRIZES (PER REGION)

Tournament Placement	Prize Award Per Team (USD)
1st Place	$70,000
2nd Place	$40,000
3rd Place	$25,000
4th Place	$15,000
5th Place (AWC Gauntlet)	$2,500
6th Place (AWC Gauntlet)	$2,500
7th Place (AWC Gauntlet)	$2,500
8th Place (AWC Gauntlet)	$2,500

8. AWC TWW Season 1 Schedule

Tentative AWC Schedule:

• Fri. Sept 13 – Early sign-ups taken for TR access (12pm Pacific / 9pm CET)
  
• Fri. Sept 20 – Cup #1 sign ups close (12pm Pacific / 9pm CET)
  
• Tues. Sept 24 – Cup #1 ladder snapshot taken (7.30pm Pacific / Sept 25 4.30am CET)
  
• Wed. Sept 25 – Cup #1 Open Bracket (9am Pacific / 6pm CET for EU Cup, 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern for NA Cup)
  
• Fri. Sept 27 – Cup #1 EU Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sat. Sept 28 – Cup #1 NA Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sun. Sept 29 – Cup #1 EU & NA Top 4 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CE)
  
• Sun. Sept 29 – Cup #2 sign ups close (8pm Pacific / Sept 30 5am CET)
  
• Tues. Oct 1 – Cup #2 ladder snapshot taken (7.30pm Pacific / Oct 2 4.30am CET)
  
• Wed. Oct 2 – Cup #2 Open Bracket (9am Pacific / 6pm CET for EU Cup, 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern for NA Cup)
  
• Fri. Oct 4 – Cup #2 EU Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sat. Oct 5 – Cup #2 NA Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sun. Oct 6 – Cup #2 EU & NA Top 4 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sun. Oct 6 – Cup #3 sign ups close (8pm Pacific / Oct 7 5am CET)
  
• Tues. Oct 8 – Cup #3 ladder snapshot taken (7.30pm Pacific / Oct 9 4.30am CET)
  
• Wed. Oct 9 – Cup #3 Open Bracket (9am Pacific / 6pm CET for EU Cup, 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern for NA Cup)
  
• Fri. Oct 11 – Cup #3 EU Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sat. Oct 12 – Cup #3 NA Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sun. Oct 13 – Cup #3 EU & NA Top 4 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sun. Oct 13 – Cup #4 sign ups close (8pm Pacific / Oct 14 5am CET)
  
• Tues. Oct 15 – Cup #4 ladder snapshot taken (7.30pm Pacific / Oct 16 4.30am CET)
  
• Wed. Oct 16 – Cup #4 Open Bracket (9am Pacific / 6pm CET for EU Cup, 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern for NA Cup)
  
• Fri. Oct 18 – Cup #4 EU Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sat. Oct 19 – Cup #4 NA Top 8 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Sun. Oct 20 – Cup #4 EU & NA Top 4 (Starts at 10am Pacific / 7pm CET)
  
• Fri. Nov 15 – AWC Gauntlet
  
• Sat. Nov 16 – AWC Grand Finals Day 1
  
• Sun. Nov 17 – AWC Grand Finals Day 2

Blizzard will update the foregoing schedule frequently throughout the Tournament. Participants should check back often for updates to the Schedule and these Tournament Rules.

9. Additional Rules

TEAM AND CHARACTER NAMES

• Team names must not be longer than 15 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 AWC 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.

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AWC CUP SEEDING

AWC Cup Seeding will be determined based on 2 primary factors: The average rating of the team’s highest 3 players in 3v3 Rated Arena and the team’s AWC points accrued during the ongoing AWC season.

• Teams will be ranked (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) based on their ladder seeding and ranked (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) based on their accumulated AWC Points for the season.
  
• These ranks will then be added (e.g., 1st highest ladder seeding + 3rd highest AWC Points) to form the team’s overall seed.
  
• The team with highest ranking across ladder 3v3 rating & AWC Points will be seeded higher.

• If this combined ranking is tied, the team with higher AWC Points will be seeded higher.
  
• If teams are tied on AWC Points & average Arena rating, the highest rated individual player will break the tie.

• Teams with no AWC Points will be seeded purely on 3v3 Arena rating and will be seeded below a team with AWC Points. In AWC Cup 1 seeding will be determined purely based on 3v3 Arena rating.

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 (EU link / NA link) at the time listed under the “schedule” section of this tournament.

If you’ve name changed, server transferred, or faction changed please notify a Tournament admin via Discord within 24 hours before the bracket seeding on the Wednesday prior to that week’s Cup. 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.

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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.

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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

11. 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.