This page contains the game-specific rules for Gamer.LK Honor Of Kings tournaments. These rules must be followed in conjunction with the General Competitive Rules of Gamer.LK  Tournaments.

The tournament bracket used (single elimination/double elimination/group stage) will be decided by the Organizer and announced on the Tournament Announcement. The Organizers will make every effort to have a Best of 3 semifinals and finals, but depending on time constraints, this may change at the discretion of the Organizers.

3.1 – Each Team Member must agree & accept all the rules in this ruleset & the fixed server location with variable latency in order to participate in this tournament. Not knowing that a rule existed or that it was in place will not be considered as an acceptable reason for breaking said rule.

3.2 – Players Eligibility
3.2.1 – All Players must comply with the age regulations of the country or region they represent, with a minimum age limit of 16.

3.3 – Player Name
3.3.1 – Player name must only include English characters and numbers and may not exceed 12 characters. Players may not include using names identical or like Heroes in Honor of Kings. Player names may not include all or part of a corporate name or make use of the trademarks or other intellectual property of any third party. Player names may not include any word or phrase in any language that is offensive, toxic and hurtful. Player names will be selected at the time of registration and may not be changed during the tournament.

3.4 – Profile Avatar
3.4.1 – Profile picture or logo may not contain any of the following: profanities, obscene language, gang affiliation, drugs, sexual material, or offensive material.

4.1 – Team Size
4.1.1 – A Team has to consist of at least FIVE players.
4.1.2 – Up to TWO substitute players can also be registered for each team.
4.1.3 – Each player can be registered and can subsequently play for only one team during the tournament.

4.2 – Substitutions
4.2.1 – The substitute player/s must be registered with the team prior to the tournament starting.
4.2.2 – Use of a substitute player must be informed to the Staff well before the start of the scheduled match.
4.2.3 – The use of non-registered, suspended, or otherwise ineligible players in a match is not allowed under any circumstances.
4.2.4 – Doing so will result in a suspension or extended suspension of the individual in question, suspension of relevant team management, and may result in a match overturn.

4.3 – Stand-ins
4.3.1 – By definition, a stand-in here refers to a player who hasn’t been registered to a team on the registration form but wants to play for a team after registrations close/matches commence.
4.3.2 – The use of a stand­-in in online tournaments is strictly prohibited and is grounds for disqualification.
4.3.4 – This applies to account sharing as well. The Game account that was used during registration should be the only one used for playing.

5.1 – For online tournaments, both teams scheduled to play at a certain time should be present online on Discord or Ingame at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.

5.2 – If by 10 minutes past the scheduled match start time a team doesn’t have enough players to play, the match will be deemed a walkover to the team that is present with its full roster.

5.3 – A team CANNOT start a game shorthanded. Both teams should necessarily have 5 players and there can be no games with 4 players on either site. Any team with players missing after the grace time provided will be considered as having forfeited the match.

5.4 – In a best of 3 or 5 games match, a maximum delay of 10 minutes in between matches will be allowed.

5.5 – Regarding the scheduling of online matches, matches can be played on all days of the week (including public, bank. mercantile holidays, etc) and will be scheduled beforehand and announced on a “Draw/Schedule” on Ingame.gg . Scheduling will be done at the discretion of Organizing Staff.

5.6 – Gamer.LK and any Organizers will make every effort to inform the teams of scheduled match dates and times – but please note it is the responsibility of the teams to check their game time and date. Gamer.LK or any Organizer will not be responsible to inform matches to teams. Not attending a match due to not being informed of the schedule is NOT an excuse.

6.1 – Definition of Terms

6.1.1 – Game
A “Game” refers to a single instance of competition on the Hero’s Gorge map that is played until a winner is determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first:
(A) Destruction of the Enemy’s Crystal,
(B) Awarded Game Victory

6.1.2 – Match
A “Match” consists of a set of Games that is played until one Team wins the majority of the total Games (e.g., winning three Games in a Best-of-Five Series (“BO5”)). The Team that wins the Match either earns points in a league format or advances to the next round.

6.2 – Game Settings
– 6.2.1 – Game Mode : 5v5 PVP Mode
– 6.2.2 – Game Map : Hero’s Gorge
– 6.2.3 – Team Size : 5
– 6.2.4 – Spectators : Allowed only for the tournament staff

6.3 – Use of public chat

6.3.1 – Public chat can only be used by the team captains and/or Tournament Staff regarding game pauses, disconnections, etc. Team members are allowed to greet each other at the start and end of the match on public chat (i.e: GGWP, GLHF, etc) but should avoid using it during a match. No foul language is allowed on public chat and doing so may lead to the match being awarded to the opposing team and the offending team being disqualified from the match. Penalties for future matches may also be applied.

6.4 – Suspended Accounts

6.4.1 – Any player who loses access to their registered account due to a suspension or penalty issued by tencent in the middle of a tournament, regardless of the reasons will NOT be allowed to take part in the tournament. They will not be allowed to switch their account. The team may proceed with a Substitute player if they have one registered on their roster or if not they will have to forfeit their matches. This rule applies to online tournaments and tournaments with online qualifiers.

6.5 – Side Selections

6.5.1 – Side Selection for the first Game of each Match will be randomly determined by a coin flip. In the rest of each Match, for all Games
after the first, the losing side of the previous Game will have the right of Side
Selection.

7.1 – Abuses & Exploitation
7.1.1 – Exploiting game or map bugs/glitches/flaws (“exploits”) for the purposes of gaining an unfair advantage is prohibited. Exploits that are not specifically named here are still prohibited but will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Tournament Staff reserve the right to decide what will be deemed as an exploit or abuse.

7.2 – Scripting
7.2.1 – The use of scripts is illegal.

7.3 – Use of Third party softwares
7.3.1 – The use of any third-party addons, hooks, programs or wrappers that interact with or alter the game client, its appearance or behavior for the purposes of gaining an unfair advantage is prohibited. Exceptions: Third party voice communication software such as (but not limited to) Teamspeak are allowed.

7.4 – Impersonations
7.4.1 – Impersonating an eligible player by attempting to alias as them, using their account (Honor of Kings) or by any other method is prohibited and will result in the aliasing player and the player they are aliasing as being removed from the tournament. The Tournament Staff will have access to player IP addresses and other information to monitor accounts and players.

7.5 – In-game names
7.5.1 – Each team member must have his/her primary nickname or something very similar as his ingame name during all matches to be easily identifiable for referees, broadcasters, and viewers. What counts as similar is for the Staff to decide. The only additional information allowed in a player’s in­game name is clan tags or sponsor names. Team members are kindly requested to limit the use of profanity on in-game names/aliases as this degrades the value of the team and the tournament as well.

8.1 – Lobby Hosting
8.1.1 – All lobbies should be hosted ONLY by Organizers. Under no circumstance should players join a lobby created by anyone else.

8.2 – Game Setup
8.2.1 – Start of Pick / Ban Process. Once all ten players have reported to the official game lobby, a referee will request confirmation that both teams are ready for the pick/ban phase (as defined and described below). Once both teams confirm readiness, a referee will start the game.

8.3 – Restrictions on gameplay elements
8.3.1 – Restrictions may be added at any time before or during a match, if there are known bugs with any items, Heroes, skins, emblems, or battle spells, or for any other reason as determined at the discretion of the staff.

8.4 – Spectators
8.4.1 – Team managers/Sub players are NOT allowed in the game lobby. Random players are not permitted in the private lobby for any reason. Referees and Casters have the right to spectate any game.

9.1 – Pick & Bans

9.1.1 – Once all ten Players have joined the Official Game Room, the Referee will request confirmation that both teams are ready for the Ban and Pick (B/P) phase. The time limit for each B/P round is on the B/P Order & Time Limit Table below. Help Pick is not allowed, once both teams confirm readiness, the Referee will instruct the lobby Room to start the Game. During a consistent Game, in the event of an erroneous selection or trading of Heroes, Ban and Pick, Summoner Skill, Arcana, or pre-match setting due to Players’ mistake, including but not limited to an accidental touch on the screen or failure to finish the Ban and Pick within the allotted time, the Game will continue, and the team will bear all consequences for its mistakes.

Four-Ban Matches B/P Order & Time Limit Table
-Blue Side Pick-&-Ban time limit: 225s (30s*4+30s+30s+45s=225s)
-Red Side Pick-&-Ban time limit: 270s (30s*4+30s+30s+45s+45s=270s)

9.2 – Trading Champions
9.2.1 – Teams must complete all champion trades before the countdown ends during the Trading Phase, or will be subject to a penalty in future games.

9.3 – Pause
9.3.1 – If it is an online match, the maximum pause time for each team during each game is 3 minutes, the Referees must pause the match as soon as a team calls for a game pause and ask for the reason for pausing. If no good reason for pausing the game can be given, the referees have the right to penalize the team which called for the pause according to severity. Acceptable reasons include, but are not limited to: Lag, software malfunction such as a glitch, phone hardware malfunction, the health of a player, referees have the final right of interpretation for what is deemed an acceptable reason. If one team has used up all of its pause time during a game but still signifies they wish to pause, the Referee must first assess the situation and decide whether they will pause the match on behalf of the officials (due to a major issue such as a phone malfunction, internet disconnection, game crash etc.), if it’s just a little bit of lag or another minor issue the Referee can refuse the player’s request to pause the game and ensure the smooth running of the match. Once the problem has been resolved, the Referee must ask all players whether they are ready or not, once all the players have agreed, the Referee can resume the match.

9.4 – Disconnects & Reconnects
9.4.1 – If a player disconnects, the game is to be paused instantly. When the number or the duration of breaks becomes too high or long, Staff reserve the right to force the continuation of the game. Tournament organizers are not allowed to take a decision in these situations.

9.5 – Controlled Game Start
9.5.1 – In the event of an error in game start or a decision by Staff to separate the pick/ban process from game start, The Referee may start the game in a controlled manner and all players will select Heroes in Custom. All players will select Heroes in accordance with the previous valid completed pick/ban process.

9.6 – Stoppage of Play
9.6.1 – If a player intentionally disconnects without notifying a referee or pausing, the referee is not required to enforce a stoppage. During any pause or stoppage, players may not leave the match area unless authorized by a referee.

9.6.2 – Directed Pause : Referees may order the pause of a match or execute a pause command on any player station at the sole discretion of the referee, at any time.

9.7. – Game of Record
A game of record (“GOR”) refers to a game where all ten players have loaded and which has progressed to a point of meaningful interaction between opposing teams. Once a game attains GOR status, the period ends in which incidental restarts may be permitted and a game will be considered as “official” from that point onward. After the establishment of GOR, game restarts will be allowed only under limited conditions (see Section 9.4)

Examples of conditions which establish GOR:
9.7.1. – Any attack or ability is landed on minions, jungle creeps, structures, or enemy heroes.
9.7.2. – Line-of-sight is established between players on opposing teams.
9.7.3. – Setting foot, establishing vision or targeting skillshot ability in opponent’s jungle by either team, which includes either leaving the river or entering brush connected to enemy jungle.
9.7.4. – Game timer reaches Thirty Seconds (00:00:30).

9.8 – Player Pause
9.8.1 – Players may only pause a match immediately following any of the events described below, but must signal a Referee immediately after the pause and identify the reason. Acceptable reasons include:

– An Unintentional Disconnection.
– A hardware or software malfunction (e.g. monitor power or peripheral disability or game glitch)
– Physical interference with a player (e.g., fan gank or broken chair or table)

Player illness, injury, or disability is not an acceptable reason for a player pause. In such a situation, the team must alert a referee, who may in his/her sole discretion, grant a pause in order to evaluate the identified player to determine whether player is ready, willing, and able to continue playing within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the referee, but not to exceed a few minutes. If the referee determines that the identified player is not able to continue playing within such a reasonable period of time, then the identified player’s team shall forfeit the game unless a referee, in his/her discretion, determines that the game is subject to an Awarded Game Victory.

9.8.2 – Resuming the Game, Players are not permitted to resume the game after a pause. After clearance from a referee is issued and all players are notified and ready at their stations, which will be contingent on the team captain confirming through in-game chat that both teams are ready to resume play, the client spectators will unpause the game.

9.8.3 – Unauthorized Pause, If a player pauses or unpauses a game without permission from a referee, it will be considered unfair play and penalties will be applied at the discretion of Organizers.

9.8.4 – Resuming the Game, Under which conditions can a game be reset is entirely decided by the referee. The following conditions are examples used to illustrate:

– If a player notices that the player’s emblems, battle spells or GUI settings have not applied correctly due to a bug between the game lobby and match, the player can pause the game to adjust these settings. If the settings cannot be correctly adjusted, then the game may be restarted.
– If the referee determine that technical difficulties will not allow for the game to resume as normal (including a team’s ability to be in proper position for certain game events, such as minion spawn)

9.9 – Restart Protocol
If a game experiences a critical bug at any point during the match that significantly alters game stats or gameplay mechanics, or the external environmental conditions become untenable then a restart may occur.

Certain circumstances must be met before a restart may occur. referees must determine that the bug is critical and verifiable.
For the bug to be considered critical, the bug must significantly damage a player’s ability to compete in the game situation. The determination of whether the bug has damaged a player’s ability to compete is up to the sole discretion of the referees. In order for a bug to be considered verifiable, the bug must be conclusively present and not possibly attributable to player error.

The spectator must then be able to replay the instance in question and verify the bug. If a player believes s/he has experienced a critical bug, s/he must pause the game and alert a referee in a timely fashion. If it is believed that a player is attempting to delay reporting of a bug to wait for a possible restart at a more advantageous time, then a restart will no longer be granted. If referees determine that the bug is critical and verifiable and that the player followed the pause protocol, then the disadvantaged team will be presented with the option for a restart. If the team accepts, officials will attempt to utilize the rules set in Section 9.3 to recover the game. An exception to Rule 9.3 is if the restart occurred due to a hero bug, then settings no longer will be retained (including picks and bans) regardless of Game of Record status and the hero may be made ineligible for at least the remainder of the day’s matches unless the bug can be conclusively tied to a specific game element that can be fully removed (i.e. a skin that can be disabled).

This section is applicable if the pause is directed as per Section 9.3 and does not limit the ability of an referee to institute a restart.

9.10 – Awarded Game Victory.
9.10.1 – In the event of a technical difficulty which leads referees to declare a restart, Organizers may instead award a game victory to a team. Referees, in their sole discretion, may determine that a team cannot avoid defeat to a degree of reasonable certainty. The following criteria may be used as reference for determining this acknowledgement, if the two criteria are not satisfied, one team’s victory is unable to be directly determined, however, if one of the criteria has been satisfied the referee will use their own judgment according to the situation to determine whether one team would be inevitably defeated.

9.10.2 – A game has been played for more than 10 minutes on the game clock while gold difference is more than 800*gaming time.

10.2. – Examples of collusion include, but are not limited to:
10.2.1. – Intentionally losing a match for any reason.
10.2.2. – Playing on behalf of another competitor, including using a secondary account.
10.2.3. – Any form of match-fixing.
10.2.4. – Agreeing to split prize money.
10.2.5. – Allowing an opponent to score goals than they normally would to impact the Goal Differential tiebreaker.