Rocket League Rulebook

The 2023 - 2024 Rocket League Rulebook for High School leagues

Updated yesterday

Important: Middle School Leagues & Match Formats will mimic existing High School leagues. Further information and updates will come Summer 2024!

The overall High School Competition Rulebook can be viewed here.

Introduction and Purpose

These Official Rules (“Rules”) of the PlayVS High School Esports League apply to each of the teams who have registered and met the requirements for the 2023-2024 school year, as well as their head coach, assistant coaches, vice principals, athletic directors, Starters, and other members.

1. Game Rules

1.1 Definition of Terms

1.1.1 Game. An instance of competition that is played until a winner is determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first: (a) completion of the countdown timer or objective achieved, (b) Team Forfeit.

1.1.2 Match. A group of series (or "sets"). The winning team will either receive a win tally in a league format or advance to the next round in a tournament format.

1.1.3 Phase. A section of scheduled league play that comprises a season. There are three distinct phases: preseason, regular season, and playoffs. Each phase has its own league format.

1.1.4 Season. Scheduled league play will occur over an approximately three-month period of time.

1.2 Roster Requirements

1.2.1 Roster Submission

Team members must be eligible to compete on behalf of their school as listed in Section 2 of the High School Competition Rulebook.

In Rocket League, each team may have a maximum of six (6) players, broken down into three (3) starting players on the Roster, and three (3) substitutes on the Bench. No individual may simultaneously hold two or more roles as listed above. All players and coaches are expected to be present physically or virtually for all official PlayVS matches. Both the Roster and Bench must be finalized prior to the Roster Lock Date.

1.2.2 Substitutions

Players on the bench may be used for any match their team is competing in within their assigned league. Only the players shown on a team’s Bench before the start of the match can be used as substitutes in an official PlayVS Match.

Once a Game of Record is established, substitutions are not allowed. Once the game is complete with results recorded, player substitutions may be made before the start of the following game.

If a player on the starting roster cannot compete in the match and there are no available Substitutes, competition may continue without that player as long as it does not put the opposing team at a disadvantage.

1.3 Game of Record

A game of record (“GOR”) in Rocket League is established under the following conditions:

1.3.1 Game timer reaches the end of the countdown and states “GO”

Once GOR is established, game restarts are only allowed under limited conditions, as listed in section 7.4 of the High School Competition Rulebook.

1.4 Stoppage of Play

1.4.1 Directed Pause

At any time, League Officials may order the pause of a match at the sole discretion of League Officials. Teams may complete the current game and finalize the results.

1.4.2 Game Disconnection

If a player disconnects from the online match, they will not be able to rejoin the match. After the game has completed, Coaches can reset the match assistant to resend invites or substitute the disconnected player for another player. Rosters are locked for each game once the game begins and a GOR has been established according to Section 1.3.

If either team has disconnected fully, then the game will close automatically and players will be returned to the in-game starting screen lobby. If this happens, submit a ticket to PlayVS Support immediately for further assistance.

1.5 Match Format

  • Format:

    • Preseason & Regular Season: Best-of-Five (“Bo5”) Games

    • Playoffs & Finals: Best-of-Seven (“Bo7”) Games

  • Team Size: 3 Players (3 Starters & up to 3 Subs)

  • Game Mode: Soccar 3v3

  • Settings:

    • Arena: DFH Stadium

    • Bot Difficulty: No Bots

    • Region: Recommended

1.5.1 Preseason

This phase consists of each team enrolled in the league competing in official practice matches. The results of these matches do not impact a team’s standings. However, this match is strongly recommended to properly test equipment and player game connections.

1.5.2 Regular Season

This phase consists of each team competing in a season format against opponents within their region. Ranking in the league will be determined by each team's win-loss ratio.

1.5.3 Playoffs

This phase consists of eligible teams competing in a single-elimination Bo7 tournament until only two teams remain. Winning teams will advance to the next round of the Bracket while losing teams will be removed from the competition.

Playoff Eligibility, Bracket, and Tiebreaker information can be found in Section 5.2.3 Playoffs of the High School Competition Rulebook. More information about Tiebreakers can also be found here.

1.5.4 Finals

This match consists of the top two teams from each league. The Finals will be a series of Bo7 games. The team to achieve four game wins will be awarded the match win and declared the League Champion. If a single team reaches four(4) game wins before the seventh game, the following game(s) will not be played.

1.6 Special Rules

1.6.1 Game Restart Protocol

In the event a Game Restart is necessary, both teams should leave the lobby and recreate the match in a state that accurately reflects the score and remaining game time as when the pause/disconnect occurred.

If a Game Restart is needed to replay an Overtime scenario, the game will be played until a single goal is scored. The team that scores will be awarded the win for the game.

2. Player Equipment

2.1 Equipment

Each player on the Starting Roster must have access to school-provided equipment or must be permitted by the school to provide their own equipment in the following categories:

2.1.1 PC or Compatible Gaming Console

2.1.2 Monitor/Television

2.1.3 Headsets and/or Earbuds

2.1.4 Table and Chair

2.1.5 Compatible controller, or Mouse & Keyboard (for PC)

2.1.6 Rocket League game

3. Match Process

3.1 Pre-Match Setup

Teams must adhere to Section 6.2 Pre-Match Setup as they prepare to join their match.

3.2 Match Setup

3.2.1 Confirm Rosters & Platform

Once readied up, any team member can proceed through the Match Assistant. Teams will confirm starting rosters and each player’s competitive platform.

3.2.2 Automatic Invites

A team member will select “Ready for Invites” to prompt the system to issue automatic invites to the players directly. To receive invites, players must be logged into Rocket League and in the main menu to receive and accept the invite. Once a match has begun using automatic invites, the games will continue automatically until the match is completed.

3.2.3 Reset Game

Should a game need to be reset, at any time, a member from each team must select “Reset Game” from the PlayVS Match Lobby page. This will automatically remove all players from the lobby and send them back to the in-game main menu.

3.2.4 Changing Rosters

Once a match begins using automatic invites, the games will continue automatically. Should a roster change need to occur, teams should complete a game reset using the steps in section 3.2.3, from which each team can re-confirm starting roster and platforms as listed in section 3.2.1.

3.3 Match F.A.Q.

3.3.1 Spectating

In order to avoid giving any team an advantage spectators should be removed from spectating unless both Coaches have agreed to allow for a spectator by following section 7.7 Match Spectating from the High School Competition Rulebook.

3.3.2 In-Game Content Updates

Rocket League is a live-service multiplayer game that may release new content patches with new and/or updated champions and items while the season is occurring.

Any cars or items currently disabled in-game by Psyonix will not be available during official PlayVS matches. All PlayVS matches will occur on the most up-to-date patch, and any available cars or items are eligible for use in PlayVS matches unless otherwise stated by League Officials.

4. Post Match Process

4.1 Results

If the match is completed using PlayVS Match Assistant tool, then in-game statistics and results will be automatically recorded at the conclusion of each game.

In the event that the PlayVS Match Assistant could not be used and a custom match was created, then statistics will not be tracked, and the match results would need to be submitted manually within 1 hour of match completion. Players should take screenshots of the match results and share those with their coaches.

In the event of an error, coaches must contact PlayVS Support directly.

Changelog

V 1.0 // 2023//2024

V 2.0 // 1/16/24 Reformatted to match PlayVS Resources Style Guidelines
V 2.1 // 3/5/24 Fixed typo in 1.5.4 Finals

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