General Information Player Eligibility...3. What to Bring 3. How to Participate 4. Format...4. Official Tournament Map Pool & Game Types...

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2 Table of Contents General Information Player Eligibility....3 What to Bring 3 How to Participate 4 Format...4 Official Tournament Map Pool & Game Types...5 Veto Process 6 Disconnect Rules.7 Game Ties 8 Schedule...9 Event Rules..9 Equipment Rules...10 HCS Points Prizes.. 12 Penalties and Disputes.12 Amendments & Additions...12

3 GENERAL INFORMATION DESCRIPTION The Halo Championship Series ( HCS ) is the official Halo esports league established by 343 Industries ( 343 ) to create the best environment and platform for competitive Halo gameplay. 343 is responsible for the coordination of partner management, direction, and government of the HCS. The official Halo game of the 2016 year is Halo 5: Guardians. Pro Gaming League ( PGL ) is the official tournament organizer. HCS Las Vegas by PGL is an officially sanctioned tournament in the Halo Championship Series. HCS Las Vegas is the second LAN event of the HCS Open Circuit for the Fall 2016 Season. This tournament features teams of 4 competing in a double elimination bracket (teams must lose two matches to be eliminated) using Halo 5: Guardians on the Xbox One. The tournament is open to registered competitors with a limit of 64 total teams. HCS Las Vegas will also host a Free-For-All tournament powered by ASTRO Gaming. This FFA tournament is free to enter and open to all competitors. HCS Las Vegas will take place from Friday, November 18 to Sunday November 20 at the Neonopolis Freemont St, Unit 304 Las Vegas, NV HANDBOOK NOTES The rules within this document apply to all HCS teams, players, coaches, managers, and staff, as well as all tournament staff, sponsors, event attendees, and those associated with the HCS. The Halo Championship Series handbook is considered a living document and may be updated and modified at any time, for any reason, by 343 only. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY HCS is open to participants who meet the following requirements: Players must be 16 years of age, must have permission from a parent or guardian if under 18 years of age. Participants may not be employees of 343, Microsoft or any HCS partner company including but not limited to PGL.

4 WHAT TO BRING Players must provide their own Xbox One controller with USB controller cable. Batteries MUST be removed from the controllers. Custom controllers are subject to approval by tournament officials. Xbox One consoles, Astro Mix Amps and monitors will be provided at the tournament. Players and coaches must bring their own headsets. Default Xbox Live profiles will be provided and loaded onto the consoles. HOW TO PARTICIPATE To register for the HCS Open Circuit Finals - HCS Las Vegas, head to To register for the $5,000 FFA powered by ASTRO Gaming head to If your team has acquired HCS Points during the 2016 Fall Season, players and teams must compete under their official, registered HCS team names and gamertags. If teams compete under a different name or gamertags, they risk not being seeded based on their HCS Points. FORMAT OPEN CIRCUIT OPEN BRACKET 64 team cap Predetermined gametype rotation Double Elimination Best of 5 matches Seeded by HCS points Top 4 teams go to Open Circuit Finals Bracket OPEN CIRCUIT FINALS BRACKET Top 4 teams from Orange County (Seeds 1-4) Top 4 teams from Vegas Open Bracket (Seeds 5-8) Double Elimination Best of 5 matches

5 Top 2 go to Relegation tournament at HCS Pro League Fall 2016 Finals CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET 16 teams Double Elimination Best of 5 Seeds 1-8 Pro Teams Seeds 9-16 Open Circuit Teams Teams veto for gametypes played Best of 5 until Winners Bracket Finals & Loser s Bracket Semi Finals. Best of 7 onward FFA POWERED BY ASTRO GAMING Free to Enter 6 players per match Predetermined maps per round 2 games played per round 12 minute games Unlimited kills Top 3 player scores advance Players score points based on their placing 1st-6th FFA Scoring System 1 st = 6 Points 2 nd = 5 Points 3 rd = 4 Points 4 th = 3 Points 5 th = 2 Points 6 th = 1 Point View Official Tournament map pool and game types on page 6 of the HCS Handbook. $5,000 Prize by ASTRO Gaming OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT MAP POOL & GAME TYPES GAME SETTINGS HCS Las Vegas by PGL will use official HCS maps and gametype settings. Complete information can be found below:

6 TEAM 4v4 SLAYER Regret The Rig Eden Plaza Truth Coliseum CAPTURE THE FLAG Truth Fathom Stasis Coliseum STRONGHOLDS Eden Empire The Rig Plaza FREE-FOR-ALL MAPS Mercy Truth Regret Official HCS FFA Maps/Settings (Settings can be found in the gamertag s File Browser, Official HCS ) VETO PROCESS All matches in the Championship Bracket (Best of 5, and Best of 7) will take advantage of the Veto Process. Vetoes must be performed with station admins before each match. Objective gametypes will alternate each round starting with: CTF Slayer Strongholds

7 CTF Slayer, and moving to Strongholds Slayer CTF Strongholds Slayer. 1. Game 1 (Objective) - The Red team acts first and vetoes one map. The Blue team then vetoes a different map. This continues alternating until only one map remains. The remaining map is the map played. 2. Game 2 (Slayer) - The Blue team acts first and vetoes one map. The Red team then vetoes a different map. This continues alternating until only one map remains. The remaining map is played. 3. Game 3 (Objective) - The Red team acts first and vetoes one map. The Blue team then bans a different map. This continues alternating until only one map remains. The remaining map is the map played. The game type played in game 1 cannot be played. 4. Game 4 (Objective) - The Blue team acts first and bans one map. The Red team then bans a different map. This continues alternating until only one map remains. The remaining map is played. Any game type played in games 1 or 3 cannot be played. 5. Game 5 (Slayer) - The Red team acts first and bans one map. The Blue team then bans a different map. This continues alternating until only one map remains. The remaining map is the map played. The game type played in Game 2 cannot be played. DISCONNECT RULES FOR FREE-FOR-ALL 1. If a player disconnects from a game in the first minute (60 seconds) of the game, the game is completely restarted and no score is carried over. 2. If a player disconnects after 60 seconds is played and before 6 minutes is played, a full 12-minute game is replayed and each player carries over the score from the previous game. 3. If a player disconnects after 6 minutes is played, a 6-minute game is replayed and each player carries over the score from the previous game. IN ALL RESTART CASES 1. At the time of the disconnect, the referee must indicate that all players must stop playing and that the party leader must end the match. 2. All scores will be taken and confirmed with each player, and referees are to explain that the final score from this round will be a sum of the game that ended early and the replay game.

8 DISCONNECT RULES FOR TEAM PLAY 1) In the event that a player or players disconnect from a game, the game may end in a victory for the other team, a full restart, or a continuation from the point of the disconnect. An admin will review the disconnect, the state of the game when the disconnect occurred, and communicate a ruling to the teams. 2) In any game, if it is decided that the game should be continued from the point of the disconnect, the score difference at the point of the disconnect will be recorded. In the restarted game, the team that was leading will need to score the score to win limit minus the score difference at the point of the disconnect, and the team that was trailing will need to score the standard point total to win. A. Slayer Example: Team A is leading 27 ~ 22 (5 points) against Team B and a player disconnects. In the remade game, Team A must score 45 points (50 ~ 5) and Team B must score 50 points to win. B. Capture The Flag Example: Team B is leading 1~0 (1 point) against Team A and a player disconnects. In the remade game, Team B must score 2 (3 ~ 1) and Team A must score 3 points to win. C. Strongholds Example: Team A is leading 90~70 (20 points) against Team B and a player disconnects. In the remade game, Team A must score 80 points (100 ~ 20) and Team B must score 100 points to win. GAMES TIES A. In the event of a tie in a Capture The Flag game, the game will be replayed in its entirety for one (1) game. If the second game also ends in a tie, the game will be replayed with a Sudden Death rule where the first capture by a team will win the game. B. In the event of a tie in a Strongholds game, the game will be replayed in its entirety for one (1) game. If the second game also ends in a tie, the game will be replayed with a 50 point score limit. The 50 point score limit will be used indefinitely if the games continue to end in a tie. C. In the event of a tie in a Slayer game, the game will be replayed in its entirety for one (1) game. If the second game also ends in a tie, the game will be replayed with a 25 point limit. The 25 point limit will be used indefinitely if the games continue to end in a tie.

9 SCHEDULE Friday, November 18, 2016: 9AM: CHECK-IN 10AM: Doors open & warm up begins 10:30AM: Check-in CLOSES 11AM: Tournament play begins 8PM: Tournament play ends Saturday, November 19, 2016: 9AM: CHECK-IN 10AM: Doors open & warm up begins 10:30AM: Check-in CLOSES 11AM: Tournament play begins 10PM: Tournament play Ends Sunday, November 20, 2016: 10AM: Doors open & warm up begins 11AM: Tournament play begins 10PM: HCS Las Vegas by PGL comes to an end EVENT RULES 1. After a match has ended, players must remain on the Post Game Carnage Report stats screen until station referees have recorded match stats 2. All competitors on mainstage must use a headset. If a player does not have a

10 headset, one will be provided. 3. Tampering with tournament structure or bracket will result in a player and team removal from the tournament 4. Players must play maps and gametypes in the order they are provided by the station referee 5. All loser s bracket matches will be played as a new match and not as a continuation match 6. The higher seeded team will play as, Red Team and will host the majority of matches in both a best- of-3 and best-of-5 series. Choosing host is done as follows: In a Best-of-3 series, the higher seeded team will choose the two games that they wish to host. In a Best-of-5 series, the higher seeded team will choose 1 game they wish to host. The lower seeded team will then choose 2 games they wish to host. The higher seeded team will then host the remaining two games. 7. Only station referees and HCS Officials can determine if a match should be ended prematurely and/ or restarted. 8. After check-in, a team s roster, including their coach, is considered locked and no members can be replaced or play/coach another team at any point during the tournament. 9. If a player has a dispute, complaint or concern during a match, they must bring it to the station referee s attention before the next game begins. 10. Use of obscene gestures, language or offensive comments toward other competitors, spectators or staff will result in a warning. After two warnings have been given, the team will have 1 strike remaining. After these 3 total infractions, the team will forfeit 11. Player and Coaches must remain on the team they registered with for the entire during of the tournament and cannot become part of another team at any point. EQUIPMENT RULES 1. Players are required to ensure that their equipment works before a game begins, and restarting a match could result in a forfeit of that game. 2. Players must not tamper, unplug or interfere with Xbox One consoles, monitors,

11 seating or other equipment provided. 3. Competitors are responsible for their own belonging during the tournament including controller, bags, clothing, etc. 4. All custom controllers are subject to approval by tournament officials. Gamealtering controllers are not permitted for use during the tournament. 5. Controllers must be plugged in at all times, and may not contain batteries. 6. All headsets must work with Astro Mix Amps and must not require an external power source. HCS POINTS Halo Championship Series Points (HCS Points) were awarded at each of the Open Circuit Online Cups hosted by Pro Gaming League (PGL). HCS Points will be used to seed the HCS Las Vegas Open Bracket. TEAMS WITH NO POINTS Teams that do not currently hold HCS points are allowed to make any number of roster changes until HCS Las Vegas Check-in. TEAMS WITH POINTS - ROSTER LOCK Between November 5 and HCS Las Vegas, teams with HCS points are allowed to make roster changes and keep their points so long as they comply with the Majority Rule. The Majority Rule states that teams must maintain three players of their current roster in order to retain their points. Teams with points may lose a player for any reason and at any time and retain their points so long as three of the current members of the roster remain intact. MAINTAINING SEEDS AND POINTS In order to maintain HCS Points (and the corresponding seed), teams must adhere to the aforementioned team change rules. If a team makes roster changes that violate these rules, the team will lose the HCS points and seed that were associated with that team. In this event, the team may still operate under the same name and logo. COACHES Teams may use a coach. Teams cannot change coaches during a live event. Coaches are held to the same code of conduct and eligibility guidelines as players, team

12 managers, and team staff. PRIZES $5,000 FREE-FOR-ALL 1st $3,000 ASTRO Care Package 2nd $1,500 ASTRO Care Package 3rd $500 ASTRO Care Package 4th-6th Halo A40 + MixAmp M80 4v4 TEAM 1st $10,000 2nd $6,000 3rd $4,000 4th $3,000 5th $1,000 6th $1,000 PENALTIES AND DISPUTES Any form of cheating, glitching, abusing in-game mechanics, or unsportsmanlike behavior may result in the forfeit of a map, match, or disqualification from HCS Las Vegas. Players must not use obscene gestures, language, or offensive comments during tournament activity. These include: Profane words or phrases Hate speech Illegal activities Controversial religious topics Any sound-alike or look-alike words, phrases or gestures that reference these topics. Any other conduct deemed inappropriate at the discretion of tournament referees and officials Use of Illegal drugs or controlled substances is also not permitted. All decisions of the tournament managers, and 343 Industries are final. Players must respect referees and event staff at all times. Failure to do so will result in disqualification from HCS Las Vegas. Pro Gaming League and HCS reserve the right to update rules at any point in time. AMENDMENTS & ADDITIONS 343i may, at any time, make changes to the official HCS handbook in order to ensure the highest level of competition and integrity.