PARTICIPATION

• All participants in the IESF 2025 Nigeria National Qualifiers must be at least 16 years old. If national legislation requires, the minimum eligible age for player participation may be raised.
• Individuals who are not restricted by applicable laws, tournament organizer rules, or host regulations are eligible to participate in the competition.
• Tournament officials and staff are prohibited from participating in events they are directly overseeing.
• Only players with a valid Moonton account, unless officially banned, are eligible to participate in the competition.
• All players must compete using their own Moonton account. Using another player's Moonton account is strictly prohibited.
• The total number of team members is limited to 8, including 5 players, 2 stand-ins, and 1 coach.

TEAM LEADER

Each team must designate a team leader, who can be an external e.g. team manager. The team leader is the link between the team and those responsible for the tournament and may not belong to another team regardless of the function in the same competition. Team leaders have the following responsibilities:

• Team representation requires maintaining communication with tournament officials, ensuring constant availability on-site, and providing notification in case of a brief absence.
• Representing the team in communications with other teams.
• Approve team decisions throughout the tournament.
• Ensure the entire team is informed of all essential details, such as the schedule, tournament format, and other relevant information.
• Clearly represents the opinions of the entire team.

After the tournament begins, changing the team leader is only allowed if the designated leader is no longer able to manage the team. Tournament officials must be notified immediately of any team leader change.

PREPARATION PROCESSES

Preparation time is the designated period before the start time (unless otherwise specified), set to a minimum of 30 minutes between matches. Teams should use this time to ensure they are fully prepared. During this period, players must complete the following tasks:

ONLINE (30 minutes):

• During this period, players are free to use any method they deem necessary to prepare for the match.
• If a player is substituted due to an emergency during the preparation time, the tournament organizers must be notified immediately.
• The entire team must be present in the lobby at least 10 minutes before the official game starts.
• To use a substitute for the match, officials must be notified at least 1 hour before the official game starts.

STARTING TIME

The match start time is set by the tournament organizer. The minimum break between match series is 25 minutes. At the scheduled start time, all tournament officials and players must be ready. The tournament organizers are responsible for announcing the start times, while the team leader is responsible for ensuring the team is on time and prepared.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

Each match must start with five players per team (5v5). If a team fails to show up with enough players, the match will be considered a no-show.

GAME OF RECORD (GoR)

A Game of Record (GoR) refers to a game where all ten players have loaded, and meaningful interaction between opposing teams has occurred. Once a game reaches GOR status, remakes are no longer permitted, and the game is officially recorded. Exceptions may be granted at the referee's discretion, as outlined in the Disconnection section.

Any one of the following conditions establishes a GOR:

• Any attack or ability is landed on minions, jungle creeps, structures, or enemy heroes.
• Line-of-sight is established between players on opposing teams.
• Setting foot, establishing a vision, or targeting a skill shot ability into the opponent’s half of the map.
• The game timer reaches two minutes (00:02:00).

REMAKING THE GAME

The decision to reset a game is entirely at the discretion of the official Tournament Administration. The following conditions are examples used to illustrate situations in which a reset may occur:

1 Before GoR

• If a player notices that their emblems, battle spells, or GUI settings have not been applied correctly due to a bug between the game lobby and the match, the player must inform the referee. If the settings are not properly adjusted, the game may be restarted.
• If the Tournament Administration determines that technical difficulties prevent the game from resuming as normal (including issues with a team's ability to be in the correct position for certain in-game events, such as minion spawn), a game reset may be initiated.
• Should any remakes occur due to the aforementioned situations, the gold and XP lanes will not carry over from the previous game. The randomization of these lanes in the subsequent game will be final, and the game must be played to completion based on the new setup.

2 After GoR

• If a game encounters a critical bug at any point during the match that significantly affects game stats or gameplay mechanics, the tournament administration may decide to pause, restart, or invalidate the match depending on the severity and impact of the issue.
• If a remake occurs due to this issue, the game will start with no settings retained, and new picks and bans will be conducted. Teams will be granted an additional five (5) minutes to regroup and replan their strategy before the remake.
• Technical issues on the organizer's side will be evaluated by the Tournament Administration, and a decision will be made accordingly.

DETERMINATING A WINNER

• The first team to destroy the opponent's base wins the game.
• If a team calls for a surrender, it will be considered a concession to the opposing team.
• In the event of a dispute, the referee's decision shall be final.

PAUSE/BREAK/TIMEOUT

Team Captain can request a pause from the host and have the option to pause the game. There are different types of breaks:

1 Tournament Administration Pause: Tournament officials have the authority to pause the game at any time, at their sole discretion. 2 Team Timeout: Each team is permitted to call a pause for the following reasons:

• Unintentional disconnection.
• Malfunction of hardware or software (e.g., phone failures, issues with peripheral devices, or in-game errors).
• Physical impairment of a player (e.g., broken chair).

Teams must inform the tournament referee of the reason for the pause and collaborate with the official to resolve the issue promptly.

DISCONNECTIONS

1 When a player disconnects, the team must immediately request a pause and notify the referee about the situation.

In the situations listed below, the referee will confirm and make a final decision, rendering the relevant match void, and a re-match will be conducted.

• In the case of unidentified or unintentional occurrences of bugs.
• When the outcome of a match cannot be determined due to the progress of the game.

In the situations listed above, if the outcome is determined by the referee's decision, the result will be announced at the conclusion of the match.

2 In the event of a malfunction with the referee or observer's mobile device, the match will continue if it is deemed to have no impact on the game. Time will be allowed for players to refocus and adjust their strategies. The referee may adjust the match operation based on the circumstances.

CONNECTION ISSUES

In case a player disconnects during the draft, the draft will be reset and restarted, retaining all previous picks and bans up until the point of the disconnection. Reminder to all players: If a bug results in a game remake with the same settings (draft pick, emblem, etc.), players must use the same draft pick, emblem, and battle spell in the remake. Even though the game is being remade, players are required to select the exact emblem and battle spell they would have used in the original match.

SELECTION ERROR

If a team makes an erroneous Hero pick or ban, they must immediately notify the referee of their intended pick or ban before the opposing team locks in their next selection. In such a case, the process will be reset to the point of the error, allowing the team to correct their mistake. If the opposing team locks in their selection or if the error is not reported before the next selection is made, the erroneous pick or ban will be considered final.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The following tournament format and schedule will be applied throughout the tournament, depending on the different tournament phases:

1 Playoffs:

• Will be conducted in a double-elimination format.
• Matches will be played in a best-of-3 series.

2 Grand Final:

• The winners of the playoffs will meet in the Grand Final, which will be a best-of-5 match to determine the overall champion.

MATCH SETTINGS

1 Side Selection

• A coin toss will be conducted by the referee to determine which team will have the choice between 1st/2nd pick or side selection for the first game, with alternates for game two.

• A coin toss will be used again if a third or fifth game is required.

• For the third or fifth game, the team that wins the toss may choose either the first or second pick or side selection. 2 Lobby Settings All matches will follow these settings:

• Mode: 5v5, Tournament Mode, 5 Bans per team.

• Server: The server designated by the tournament officials shall be used for all matches.

• Spectators: Only tournament officials and authorized personnel are permitted to spectate the match.

• All matches will be played on the live patch.

WRONG HERO PICK

If a team makes a mistake in picking or banning a hero, the game will proceed as usual without a remake or restart. Teams are encouraged to carefully review their selections during the drafting phase to prevent such mistakes.

SWAPPING HEROES

If a mistake occurs due to player negligence when swapping heroes, the match will proceed as planned. No remakes or restarts will be allowed for hero-swapping errors. Players must ensure all hero swaps are correctly executed during the pre-game phase.

HERO AVAILABILITY

Newly added heroes will be banned for two (2) weeks following their release or update to ensure fair play and stability. If heroes cause disturbances due to bugs, the Esports Federation of Nigeria may prohibit their use for the event for a period determined by the severity of the issue.

SKINS AND EMBLEM

There are no restrictions on skins and emblems used by players. All cosmetic choices are allowed, as long as they do not interfere with gameplay.

IN-GAME COMMUNICATION

Players are prohibited from sending text messages to the opposing team during a match, except when requesting a pause or showing respect. Taunting and the use of the Recall feature are allowed, provided they adhere to the standards of sportsmanship and respect.

RESTRICTIONS

Restrictions may be implemented 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 deemed necessary by the Tournament Administration.

VOICE COMMUNICATIONS

All voice communication between players must take place via the tournament organizer-specified software. If the VoIP program is not functioning, an alternative VoIP program may be used at the tournament organizer's discretion.

Players are not permitted to communicate during a live match with anyone other than their team members or tournament referees while addressing an issue. No individual outside the playing team is allowed to provide any information about the ongoing match through any means.

FORBIDDEN BEHAVIOUR

If a player on a team engages in misconduct or inappropriate behavior during a team event, the referee may take disciplinary action against the team. This can include a caution, warning, forfeit, or expulsion. Examples of misconduct include:

• All participants must show respect towards referees and fellow competitors. Insults, dissent towards officials, and any unfair or disrespectful behavior towards others will not be tolerated and will result in penalties.
• Each team and participant must strive to win every game at all stages of the competition. Deliberately losing, betting on tournament results, or intentionally manipulating outcomes in any way that could be considered match-fixing for any reason is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification from the tournament.
• If a player on a team is found to be manipulating the game client beyond the available in-game settings or using third-party tools to do so, the team may be disqualified.
• Causing intentional delays to the match start time.
• Players must participate in the match using their own ID and accounts as specified in their registration details, as well as their own account on the tournament platform (if applicable). Using accounts other than those registered (smurfing), allowing ineligible players to participate, or impersonating a registered player is strictly prohibited.
• Using in-game IDs that contain offensive, political, or otherwise inappropriate content.
• Stream sniping is strictly prohibited and will lead to severe penalties. This includes watching a live stream of a game or using any other means (e.g., live score websites) to gather information about an ongoing match, or receiving such information from external sources.
• Cheating of any kind is strictly prohibited within the tournament. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of macros, alterations to game files, third-party software that provides an unfair advantage, hardware cheats, collusion, or any other methods aimed at gaining an unfair advantage. Any participant found cheating will be immediately disqualified and banned from participating in tournaments for at least two (2) years.

PENALTIES

This rulebook follows the IESF penalty structure, which consists of four (4) levels: caution, warning, forfeiture, and expulsion. A penalty automatically progresses to the next level after two prior infractions (e.g., 2 cautions result in a warning). Failure to comply with the rules may lead to a penalty at one of these levels, depending on the severity of the infraction and the referee's discretion.

1 Caution

A caution is given for the following infractions:

• Disregarding instructions from the officials (referees).
• Disrespect or disagreement with referees/officials.
• Unauthorized pauses (arbitrarily interrupting or resuming a game, or failing to continue play after a regular pause).
• Unacceptable use of all-chat.

2 Warning

A warning is given for the following infractions:

• Receiving two (2) cautions.
• Communicating with the team coach or any other unauthorized party during the game (after the draft has started).

3 Forfeiture

A forfeiture may be issued for the following infractions. It can apply to a single map or an entire series, depending on the circumstances or nature of the offense committed:

• Receiving two (2) warnings.
• Failure to show up (a delay of 15 minutes or more from the scheduled game start time).
• Inappropriate conduct, whether verbal or written, toward tournament officials or referees.
• Stream sniping.

4 Expulsion

An expulsion is given for the following infractions:

• Receiving two (2) forfeitures.
• Severe insults directed at a person (referee, official, or opposing team) via all-chat, using discriminatory or hateful language targeting a specific group (e.g., race, religion, gender, or disability).
• Manipulating the outcome of a match (Match-fixing).
• Offering or accepting bribes.
• Placing bets on the outcome of the tournament.
• Threatening officials, viewers, or other players.
• Cheating.
• Committing fraud (e.g., using a false identity, exploiting bugs to gain an advantage).

These examples serve as a guideline for referees and may vary depending on the situation. Ultimately, it is the referee's responsibility to make the fairest decision, ensuring the protection of all participants and the smooth conduct of the competition.

MATCH-FIXING

Teams are expected to perform at their best in every match. Any agreement between participants from different teams to not compete at a reasonable standard is prohibited. Deliberately losing a match or inciting others to do so is forbidden.

CHEATING

Any modification or manipulation of the game client, as well as the use of cheating software or devices, is prohibited.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Sharing any communication between a team member and the tournament organizer without prior approval is prohibited. Violation of this may result in an official ban from future competitions.

CHANGE OF RULES

This regulation applies to the IESF 2025 Nigeria National Qualifiers and may be amended under the following circumstances:

• Rules are subject to change after the release of new patches.
• Upon discovery of other reasonable factors.
• Official head referee decision.
• Additional rules were added by the official local organizer.

Referees have the authority to address any cases not explicitly covered in this rulebook, and their jurisdiction extends to the entire tournament. Any changes made will be effective immediately upon communication with the participants.