Rulebook

FOX Legacy #1 is a Counter-Strike 2 competition held from 1 to 4 October (depending on the number of teams) at SAW Esports Arena, Vila Nova de Gaia. The event is open to the global region through the Valve Regional Standings, in line with Valve's regional eligibility rules, and runs two stages — group stage and playoffs — both played offline on LAN.

• Teams are distributed across the venue areas, e.g. Group 1: Team A — Arena 1, Team B — Arena 2, Team C — Gaming Room 1, Team D — Gaming Room 2, Team E — Playground 1, Team F — Playground 2.
• Each player must bring their own peripherals: keyboard, mouse, mousepad, sound card, headset and in-ears.
• Every game must be played with noise-cancelling headphones and in-ears.
• If a player is missing equipment and no solution is found within 15 minutes of the scheduled match time, the team is sanctioned with a loss of that match/map.

Teams register through the official forms, handled by a team representative who must complete all required fields — otherwise the registration is marked invalid. The registration fee is €850 + VAT per team if applied. Registration opens August 21 at 19:00 CET and closes September 28 at 13:00 CET.

• The first registered teams are selected to participate in the event.
• Teams are contacted to proceed with the registration payment; a confirmation email is sent to the team representative once payment is completed.
• All payments must be completed for the registration to be considered complete.
• A team that misses the payment deadline is replaced by a backup team according to the order of form submission.
• All team captains must sign a liability statement regarding equipment damaged through misuse, negligence or theft.
• Only individuals over 13 years of age may register.
• A maximum of two player changes in total are permitted after the roster is submitted. Until 16 days before the event any player may be replaced. From 15 to 7 days before, changes are allowed but the VRS core must remain unchanged. Within 7 days, emergency changes are only permitted in exceptional circumstances with valid justification, subject to administration approval.
• Teams have a 15-minute grace period from the scheduled match time to be ready. Exceeding it means a default loss. In BO3 matches the same sanction applies to that map, with an additional 15 minutes to join the server for the next map.

The schedule depends on the number of registered teams and follows a rolling format: matches may start earlier depending on administration decisions and the progress of other ongoing matches.

• Each team must be present for its first matches 1 hour before the scheduled start time.

• Teams may withdraw without penalty only more than 15 days before the event start date.
• From 15 days before the event onward, withdrawing or failing to appear for a scheduled match counts as a loss (forfeit).
• No exceptions are allowed after this date; administration decisions are final and binding.

Round restoration may only be applied if all of the following conditions are met:

• No more than 60 seconds have passed after the end of freeze time.
• No player has taken damage.
• The bomb has not been planted.

• Each team is entitled to 3 tactical pauses of 30 seconds each, plus 1 additional pause if the match goes to overtime.
• The coach may only speak during tactical breaks and when switching sides.
• All players must keep their Steam status offline while in a match.

• Any software or hardware that offers an unfair advantage over the opponent is strictly prohibited.
• Using exploits or bugs present in the game to gain an unfair advantage is forbidden.
• Any communication between a participant and anyone not involved in the match is strictly prohibited.
• The organization may apply sanctions to the final prize and/or ban players and teams from future competitions for unsportsmanlike or disrespectful behaviour towards participants, staff or organization.

FOX Legacy #1 is compatible with the Valve Regional Standings system, but teams are not required to have VRS points to participate.

• The competition is open to all regions, in accordance with Valve's general eligibility rules.
• Teams without VRS may freely participate and are seeded using alternative criteria defined by the administration.
• For teams with VRS, seeding takes into account the VRS ranking as of 7 September.
• To assure the respective VRS position, the team must use the core present in that ranking.
• Changes to the VRS after 7 September do not affect seeding for this competition.
• If teams remain unseeded after the VRS, the HLTV ranking from the same date is used.
• For teams without VRS and HLTV ranks, the average FACEIT elo of registered players at the end of 7 September is used. Players without current elo use their last known rank; players who never had elo count as 1000.

• The participation fee is non-refundable, except if the tournament is cancelled.
• No refunds are issued for withdrawals, no-shows or inability to participate for reasons not caused by the tournament operator.

• All participants must treat event equipment, furniture and venue facilities with care and respect.
• Intentional or negligent misuse of equipment, tables, chairs, computers, monitors or any other event property may be penalised.
• A minimum fine of €500 applies to any misuse of event equipment or facilities.
• If the behaviour causes physical damage, the responsible participant and/or team may cover the full cost of repair or replacement, in addition to competitive penalties.

• The Tournament Administration may interpret, modify or add rules for situations not explicitly covered by this rulebook.
• The Head Administrator may adjust or enforce rules at any time to preserve the integrity, fairness and smooth operation of the competition.
• All decisions made by the Tournament Administration are final and binding.

• All broadcast rights belong to the organization, which may assign them to third parties.
• By registering, teams grant image rights of their members to the organizer, for the promotion of the competition, content for partners or future competitions.
• No team or participant may refuse the broadcast of their matches by the organization.