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PlayVS College League Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Competition Rulebook

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Rulebook for college leagues.

This competition is not affiliated with or sponsored by Activision Publishing, Inc. or Call of Duty Esports.

Introduction and Purpose

By entering and participating in the Competition, each Student-athlete, as defined below, and any associated Roster coaches/managers/trainers/etc., unconditionally accept and agree to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and Regulations (the "Competition Rules"). All decisions regarding the interpretation of these Competition Rules lie solely with the Administrator, the decisions of which are final and binding in all respects. In addition, all Student-athletes and any associated Roster coaches/managers/trainers/etc. must adhere to the Esports Code of Conduct (the “Code of Conduct”).

1. Game Rules

1.1 Game Account Connections

Prior to the start of the Competition, all Student-athletes must have a good standing Activision Account and valid Activision ID. This same account must be used for the full duration of the Competition.

All Activision IDs must be in format Activision ID#Tagline (Example: PlayerName#PCE). League Officials reserve the right to modify Activision IDs if they do not abide by the rules of the Competition. Activision IDs must be in-line with the standards set out in the Code of Conduct. A Student-athlete will be notified by League Officials if their name must be changed and will be permitted to change to an acceptable name.

Players may not change their account username at any time throughout the Competition, unless instructed to by League Officials. The account username the Player used to register is to be used for the entirety of the Competition. League Officials will issue a Warning to any Player that has changed their account username during the Competition and will ask the Player to revert the change. Further sanctions will follow for failure to revert the change/repeating this infraction.

All Players in the Competition must link their Activision ID to their LeagueSpot Account. This can be done by going to Profile Settings (top right of the main page, where you see the Player’s name). At the bottom of the Profile Settings select +Add New Handle. In the dropdown menu, select Activision ID and then Save.

1.2 Registration/Rank Requirements

All details are subject to change at the discretion of the Administrator. Any changes will be communicated to each participating Player and posted on the Website (as defined below) as early as possible. Any disputes will be resolved by League Officials, whose decision shall be final, conclusive and binding. League Officials decisions shall be made strictly in accordance

with these Competition Rules, the Code of Conduct, and any other rules and procedures put in place during each of the individual Stages.

Rosters must be made up of the minimum required number of Players to be eligible. This is game dependent. A Call of Duty Roster must have at least Four Players on the Roster at all times. A Roster of Three or fewer Players is not considered eligible to play in Matches.

For the Premier Division, rosters must be made up of the minimum required number of Players to be eligible plus one substitute player. In this case, a Call of Duty Roster must have at least Five Players on the Roster at all times.

Teams will only be eligible for Premier if their Team’s rank average is at or above Gold III. The recommended rank for players in the Ranked Divisions is Gold III and below.

The rank provided during registration for each Player should be their current ranks. If a season is just beginning, the previous season's rank should be reported.

For Premier and Ranked, Rosters will be seeded based on the average In-Game rank of their top Four players at the time of registration. The Advisory Committee has the authority to manually adjust regional conferences and divisions, if necessary, with the intent of providing a more equitable distribution of Rosters between them.

For the Ranked Division, the number of divisions will be based directly on the number of Rosters registered. Rosters will be placed in a particular Ranked Division based on their skill level (in-game rank). Ranked Divisions will consist of up to sixteen Rosters each.

For the UREC Division, Rosters will compete against other Rosters within the same Region (East or West) that have the same or similar seasonal record (win/loss).

1.3 Match Format

Format

Best of 5; Premier Grand Finals : Best of 7

Team Size

4 players

Game

Settings

All maps will be played using default in-game CDL competitive settings unless otherwise noted. Any changes to the default in-game CDL competitive settings will take immediate effect unless otherwise noted.

Unless otherwise stated, this format applies to all phases within a PlayVS season.

1.4 Specific Rules

The Competition will utilize the latest CDL Map Pool for each Game Mode, as identified below. Any changes to the current CDL Map Pool will be reflected below.

Game

Mode

Game 1: Hardpoint

  • Hacienda

  • Colossus

  • Den

  • Gridlock

  • Sake

  • Scar

Game 2: Search and Destroy

  • Den

  • Fringe

  • Gridlock

  • Sake

  • Raid

  • Hacienda

Game 3: Overload

  • Den

  • Exposure

  • Scar

  • Gridlock

Game 4: Hardpoint

  • Hacienda

  • Colossus

  • Den

  • Gridlock

  • Sake

  • Scar

Game 5: Search and Destroy

  • Den

  • Fringe

  • Gridlock

  • Sake

  • Raid

  • Hacienda

The Map Veto should be completed by Coordinators on the corresponding Match page on the Competition Website. The winner of a coin flip will choose to act as Roster A or Roster B. You can flip a coin inside the match chat feature on the Competition Website by typing “!coinflip”. In the Postseason, the higher seed chooses which Roster to act as.

Roster A will host Maps 1, and 3 (if applicable). Roster B will host Maps 2, 4, and 5 (if applicable). The veto order for each game mode is outlined below.

Mode

Order

Hardpoint

  1. Roster A bans one map from pool.

  2. Roster B bans one remaining map from pool.

  3. Roster A picks Map 1 of the remaining maps.

  4. Roster B picks side on Map 1.

  5. Roster B picks map Map 4 from remaining maps.

  6. Roster A picks side on Map 4.

Search and Destroy

  1. Roster B bans one map from pool.

  2. Roster A bans one remaining map from pool.

  3. Roster B picks Map 2 of the remaining maps.

  4. Roster A chooses side on Map 2.

  5. Roster A picks Map 5 of the remaining maps.

  6. Roster B chooses side on Map 5.

Overload

  1. Roster A bans one map from the poll.

  2. Roster B picks Map 3 of the remaining maps.

  3. Roster A chooses side on Map 3.

For the Grand Finals of Premier Divisions, Map Veto Process for Best of 7 can be found on the Call of Duty League website.

1.5 Substitutions

Rosters may freely substitute Players between Games in a Match, but the opposing Roster must be allowed at least five minutes between notification of the substitution and the start of the next Game. Players may not be substituted during an ongoing Game. All substituted Players must have been on a Roster before the start of the Match to be considered eligible.

2. Player Equipment

2.1 Equipment

All Matches may be played on either of the listed equipment. Crossplay is required for all matches.

  • PlayStation 5

  • Xbox Series X/S

  • Windows PC

Players are to use platform compatible controllers/gamepads for all Matches. Mouse and Keyboard controls are not permitted. Players may not use a turbo controller which allows a single button press to replicate pressing the button multiple times. Players may not use a button macro controller which allows a single button press to perform a set of actions that would normally require the player to press multiple buttons. Rosters found to be using ineligible equipment will be required to forfeit each Game of the Match in which the equipment was used.

3. Match Process

3.1 Pre-Match Setup

Teams must follow section 4. Match Setup and Procedures in the league’s Competition Rulebook as they prepare to join their match.

3.2 Match Setup

The Host Roster is responsible for inviting the opposing Roster’s Captain to the lobby and for ensuring that all settings are correct. Once all eight participating Players have joined the lobby the game may be started. Both Rosters are responsible for ensuring that all settings are correct. Once all participating Players have joined the lobby the Game may be started.

Any Game started with the wrong settings may be remade. If either Roster invites a Player/Spectator to a Game that is not a member of their Roster or School administrative staff member (i.e. coach, broadcaster) they may forfeit that Game, at the discretion of League Officials.

3.3 Remaking Game

During the first 30 seconds of a Game and before any Player has been eliminated, Rosters may agree to restart and/or switch the Server (if applicable).

Rosters may agree to restart and/or switch the Server (if applicable) if connectivity issues significantly hinder gameplay.

Rosters must restart and/or switch the Server if the Game is created with ineligible characters, weapons, map, items, settings.. Etc.

3.4 Match F.A.Q

In-Game Content Updates

  • Any weapons, perks or any other items released after the base release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 are not permitted for the competition.

  • New Maps or Maps that have undergone major reworks will be automatically restricted for two weeks from their release on public servers.

Gentlemen’s Agreements (GAs)

  • PlayVS College League does not recognize or enforce Gentlemen’s Agreements (GAs) at any time.

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