These official rules (rules) of the PlayVS Scholastics Esports League apply to each of the teams who have registered and met the requirements for the 2024-2025 school year, as well as their head coach, assistant coaches, vice principals, athletic directors, starters, substitutes (collectively team members), and other members.

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 surrender, or (c) Team forfeit.

1.1.2 Round. An instance of individual competition, often between individual team members. The player or team that wins the majority of available rounds will be determined the winner of the game.

1.1.3 Set. A series of games that is played until one player wins a majority of the total games (e.g., winning two games out of three, best-of-three). The winning player will receive a win tally in favor of their team for the match.

1.1.4 Match. A group of sets that is played until one team wins a majority of the total sets (e.g., winning two sets out of three, best-of-three). The winning team will either receive a win tally in a league format or advance to the next round in a tournament format.

1.1.5 League. A group of teams that regularly play against one another. There are two distinct types of PlayVS leagues: (a) Recreational and (b) Competitive.

1.1.6 Phase. A section of scheduled league play that comprises a season. There are distinct phases for leagues, with each phase having its own league format.

1.1.7 Season. Scheduled league play that will occur over a predetermined amount of time.

Team members must be eligible to compete on behalf of their school as listed in section 2. Team Member Eligibility of the league's Competition Rulebook.

Each league page will list the number of players necessary to fill a team’s roster and 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. The roster and bench must be finalized before the roster lock date, as listed in section 3.4 Roster Submission of the league’s Competition Rulebook.

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

Substitutions must be made by one of the following:

In the event the Match Assistant is unavailable, rosters and substitutions must be confirmed before the start of each game unless otherwise approved by a League Official and stated by a PlayVS Admin in the Match Lobby Chat.

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.

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.

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 will only be allowed under limited conditions as listed in section 7.4 Game Restart of the league’s Competition Rulebook.

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.

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 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.

Each team will compete in a Bo5 games match. The winner of each game will be determined by the team that scores the most goals in a single 5-minute game. If the game is tied at the end of the 5-minute timer, the game will enter into an overtime where the first goal scored will determine the winner of the game.

The match format listed above will be the standard format for all preseason and regular season matches.

Starting in the playoffs phase, the match format will be adjusted to be Bo7 games to determine the overall winner

For a detailed breakdown of each phase available for the league, see section 5.2 Phase Details of the league’s Competition Rulebook.

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.

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

2.1.7 Computer Specifications (for PC)

Teams must adhere to Section 6.2 Pre-Match Setup in the league’s Competition Rulebook as they prepare to join their match.

Teams competing via splitscreen will not be able to receive Automatic Invites (as listed in 3.2.2 below), and must use the Custom Lobby Process to play out the match. Teams needing to use custom lobbies to compete must share a message in Match Lobby Chat to inform their opponents of the change in order to proceed.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 league’s Competition Rulebook.

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.

Players are required to create and connect the in-game name of their Epic Games account to their PlayVS profile before competing in a match. Players without in-game accounts connected are ineligible to participate in the match.

Per 6.2.7 Connected Accounts, teams must address missing game account connections before establishing a game of record. Reaching a game of record without confirming game accounts or addressing missing game account connections is not grounds for a match restart or loss.

If the match is completed using the 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.