A tournament rules template you can copy-paste

Not to look professional. A rules document is a decision you make in advance, while you are calm and impartial, about a situation that will otherwise be decided at midnight by a tired person under pressure from someone who has just lost money.

That is the whole value. Every clause below corresponds to an argument that happens repeatedly at amateur events, and writing it down converts the argument from "what should we do" into "here is what we said we would do".

Copy the whole thing, delete what does not apply, and fill in the bracketed parts. It is deliberately longer than you need — cutting is easier than remembering.

ELIGIBILITY
- Open to [region / rank range / age]
- One account per player. Smurfs, shared accounts and account
  boosting are not permitted
- Your in-game name and ID must match what you registered with
- Players banned by the publisher are not eligible

REGISTRATION AND CHECK-IN
- Registration closes [time], or when slots fill
- Check-in opens [30] minutes before start and closes at start time
- Players who have not checked in at start time forfeit their slot
  to the waitlist
- The room ID and password unlock [15] minutes before start for
  confirmed players only

FORMAT AND SCHEDULE
- [Single elimination / points series / groups into playoffs]
- [Best-of-one until the final, best-of-three in the final]
- [N] matches, starting at [time] [timezone]
- [5-10] minutes between rounds. Rounds start on time whether or
  not both sides are present

MATCH RULES
- [Map pool and veto procedure]
- [Mode, round count, overtime rules]
- [Banned agents / heroes / operators / weapons / vehicles]
- Screenshots of the final score are required from both sides

SUBSTITUTES
- Up to [1] substitute per team, named at registration
- Substitutes may be brought in between matches, not mid-match
- Unregistered players may not play. A match played with an
  unregistered player is forfeit

NO-SHOWS AND FORFEITS
- A side with fewer than [required] players [10] minutes after the
  scheduled start forfeits that match
- Two forfeits removes a side from the event
- Deliberate disconnection to avoid a loss is a forfeit

CONDUCT
- No harassment, slurs, threats or targeted abuse, in game or in
  our Discord
- Do not stream-snipe. Do not spectate a match you are not in
- Disagree with a call by messaging an admin, not in match chat
- Breaches result in a warning, a forfeit or removal, at admin
  discretion

CHEATING AND EVIDENCE
- Any third-party software that alters gameplay is prohibited
- Emulators are [permitted / not permitted] in this event
- Accusations must come with evidence: clip, replay code or
  screenshot. "It felt like" is not evidence
- Accused players may be asked for a recording or a screen share.
  Refusal is treated as a forfeit

DISPUTES AND ADMIN DECISIONS
- Raise a dispute within [15] minutes of the match ending. After
  that the result stands
- Send your evidence to [contact]
- [Name] is the admin for this event
- Admin decisions are final

ENTRY FEE
- Entry is [amount] [currency], paid to [method] before [deadline]
- Your slot is confirmed once payment is received
- If we cancel the event, entry fees are refunded in full within
  [48] hours
- If you withdraw before [deadline], your fee is refunded. After
  that it is not
- No-shows are not refunded
- Fragnet does not collect or hold entry fees. You pay us directly

PRIZES AND PAYOUT
- [1st: amount · 2nd: amount · 3rd: amount]
- Paid by [method] within [48] hours of the final match
- Winners must provide [what you need] to receive payment
- Ties are broken by the tiebreakers above. Prizes are not split
- The pool is funded by [entry fees / sponsor]
- Fragnet does not hold or distribute prize money

STREAMING AND MEDIA
- Matches may be streamed by the organizer
- Players may stream their own point of view with a [2] minute delay
- By entering you agree to your in-game name appearing on stream

CHANGES TO THESE RULES
- Rules may be corrected before registration closes. Changes will
  be announced
- After registration closes, only clarifications will be made

The in-game name requirement

It exists so that when you admit players to a custom room, you can check who is in the lobby against who registered. Without it, "who is FN_xX_Sniper" at 20:58 is unanswerable and someone unregistered plays.

The check-in window

Prevents the most expensive failure in amateur events: discovering at start time that four slots are empty. A check-in window means you find out fifteen minutes earlier, while the waitlist can still fill them.

“Rounds start on time whether or not both sides are present”

One sentence that saves an hour. Without it, every round waits for the slowest team, delays compound, and an event scheduled to finish at 23:00 finishes at 01:30.

The substitute clause

The scenario is always the same: a team turns up with four players and a friend. Deciding in advance whether that friend can play is much easier than deciding while they are standing there.

“Deliberate disconnection is a forfeit”

Otherwise a losing side rage-quits and then claims a connection issue and a replay. You cannot distinguish the two, so the rule has to treat them the same and say so up front.

The evidence standard

The single most useful line in the whole document. Cheating accusations are constant and almost always vibes. Requiring a clip, a replay code or a screenshot converts an argument into a submission you can actually assess.

The dispute window

Without a deadline, a result can be contested three days later after someone has thought about it. Fifteen minutes is enough to raise a genuine problem and short enough to let the event finish.

“Admin decisions are final”

It does not make you right. It makes the event finishable. Name the admin — a person, not "the admins" — because a named person is accountable and an anonymous body is not.

"Be respectful" is not a rule. It is a sentiment, and it is unenforceable because two people will disagree about whether something was respectful.

Name behaviours instead: slurs, threats, targeted abuse, stream-sniping, spectating a match you are not in. Then name the consequence — warning, forfeit, removal — so applying it is not a fresh decision every time.

And route complaints to a private channel. "Message an admin, not match chat" prevents the argument becoming the event.

Five details. Almost every fee dispute is one of them going unstated.

1. 1.The method. Exactly how the money reaches you.
2. 2.The deadline. When it must arrive for the slot to be held.
3. 3.Cancellation. What happens if you cancel the event — and "refunded in full within 48 hours" is the answer that keeps people entering your next one.
4. 4.Withdrawal. Whether a player who pulls out gets their money back, and by when.
5. 5.No-shows. State it explicitly, because someone will ask.

1. 1.The exact split, per placement. Not a total.
2. 2.The method, and whether it differs by region.
3. 3.A timeframe with a number in it.
4. 4.What you need from the winner to pay them.
5. 5.What happens on a tie — and "prizes are not split" is a decision, not an oversight.
6. 6.How the pool is funded. Entry fees or a named sponsor. This is also the line that pre-empts the arithmetic check a cautious player will run.

• Non-cash prizes: skins, UC, diamonds

5v5 tactical

Map pool and veto order, overtime format, pause allowance and duration, tech-pause policy, and whether coaches may communicate during a round.

Battle royale

The points table in full, match count, tiebreakers, teaming rules, and a device or emulator policy. Teaming is the BR-specific one people forget, and it is the accusation you will actually receive.

1v1 fighting and sports titles

Set length per round, character or squad restrictions, connection standard, and who hosts. Host advantage is real and worth deciding by a rule rather than by whoever clicks first.

It is not a contract with a platform behind it. Fragnet does not hold your entry fee, does not arbitrate your disputes and will not enforce your rules — the agreement is between you and your players, and this document is how you make it explicit.

What it does do is remove the ambiguity that turns a bad round into a bad reputation. The organizers who last are not the ones who never have disputes; they are the ones who already wrote down what happens.

• Organizer guide
• Terms of service