Dota 2 Australia Leagues – Official Ruleset

Divisions: Minor, Intermediate, Major

Last Updated: 10 February 2025

League Operator: Dota 2 – Australia


1. General Rules

1.1 Eligibility & Registration

1.1.1 3 Core players must be residents or citizens of Australia or New Zealand.

1.1.2 Steam accounts must be public with a minimum of 50 ranked matches played in the past 3 months.

1.1.3 MMR is recorded at both signup and the tournament start for Minor & Intermediate leagues.

1.1.4 Late registrations are only accepted at the discretion of the admins.

1.2 Team Roster

1.2.1 Teams must have at least 3 core players for the full season (this refers to the players, not positions).
1.2.2 3 Core players must reside from Australia or Zealand.

1.2.3 Roster changes are allowed until the roster lock date.

1.2.4 Teams may use substitutes from the official sub pool (subs can’t play against their own registered team).

1.3 League Structure

1.3.1 Divisions: Minor, Intermediate, Major

1.3.2 Each division must have between 6 and 12 teams.

1.3.3 The leagues run 3 times per year in a round-robin format.


2. Match Rules

2.1 Match Scheduling

2.1.1 Teams must play 1 match per week.
2.1.2 You may choose to play additional matches ahead of schedule from any of the matchups available, as long as all matches are completed by the end of the season.
2.1.3 All matches must be completed before the season’s deadline.
2.1.4 All matches must be played on Australian servers.

2.2 Game Version

2.2.1 Matches must be played on the latest stable version of Dota 2.

2.2.2 Players should update their clients at least 1 hour before matches.

2.3 Match Format

2.3.1 Bo2 (Best-of-Two) for round-robin

2.3.2 Bo3 (Best-of-Three) for finals

2.4 Drafting

2.4.1 All matches use Captains Mode (CM).

2.5 Lobby Setup

2.5.1 The home team (Top team on bracket) creates the lobby and invites the other team.

Lobby settings must include:

Game Mode: Captains Mode

Server: Australia (Sydney)

Spectators: Enabled

Dota TV Delay: 5 minutes

Lobby Visibility: Public

Cheats: Disabled

Selection Priority: Coin Toss (done in-game)

Unlimited pausing (per rule 2.6)

No bots or penalties applied

Any lobby disputes must be raised before the game starts.

2.6 Pauses

2.6.1 Each team is allowed up to 10 minutes of pause time per game.

2.6.2 Excessive pausing may lead to penalties.

2.7 League Ticket

2.7.1 All matches use an official league ticket.

2.7.2 Admins, casters, and captains will have access to apply it. It is required for match tracking and integrity.

2.8 Match Reporting

2.8.1 Winning team must report the match result within 2 hours on the Discord match thread.

2.8.2 A screenshot of the end game scoreboard must be provided.

2.8.3 Any issues must be raised via support ticket (on Discord or website).


3. Scoring & Standings

3.1 Point System

Win: 3 points

Draw: 1 point

Loss: 0 points

3.2 Tiebreakers

3.2.1 Ties are broken using head-to-head results first.

3.2.2 Additional criteria may be determined by admins if needed.


4. Prizes & Payments

4.1 Prize Distribution

4.1.1 Teams earn $10 AUD per Bo2 series win (calculated at the end of the season).

4.1.2 Prize money is paid to the team captain, who must distribute it fairly.

4.1.3 If captains don’t pay players appropriately, they will be banned until resolved.

4.1.4 Larger prize amounts may be split automatically among players.

4.2 Payment Structure

4.2.1 Payment schedules will be communicated before the season begins.

4.2.2 Payments are made via Bank Transfer or PayID.


5. Code of Conduct & Fair Play

5.1 Sportsmanship

5.1.1 Players must act respectfully at all times.

5.1.2 Flaming, harassment, or discrimination will lead to penalties or disqualification.

5.2 Account Sharing

5.2.1 Strictly prohibited. Each player must only use their own individual account.

5.2.2 No sharing of credentials with friends, teammates, family members, or anyone else, even temporarily or informally.

5.2.3 Valve actively detects account sharing, especially in organized play, and may impose severe penalties, including permanent bans, shadow bans to smurf pools, and exclusion from tournaments.

5.2.4 Account sharing not only violates Valve’s Terms of Service, but also undermines fair play, damages matchmaking systems, and can allow others to cheat or gain unfair advantages

5.3 Penalties & Disqualification

5.3.1 Admins may issue penalties for violations. Penalties may include:

Match losses

Removal from the league

Bans from future leagues

Forfeiture of prize money or points

Draft penalties in future events

Appeals:

Must be submitted within 14 days via Discord ticket or email on the website.


6. Broadcasting Rules

6.1 Community Broadcasting

6.1.1 Most matches are casted by community casters.

6.1.2 Casters are considered representatives of the league and must act professionally.

6.2 Player Streaming

6.2.1 Players can stream their own matches with a minimum 2-minute delay.


7. Miscellaneous

7.1 Rule Changes

7.1.1 League admins may update rules with advance notice to teams.

7.2 Communication

7.2.1 All updates will be shared via the Dota 2 - Australia Discord and match threads.

7.2.2 Team captains are responsible for staying informed and communicating with admins.

7.2.3 All match-related discussions must be conducted through the official Dota 2 - Australia Discord channels.

7.2.4 Teams are required to use the Dota 2 - Australia Discord voice channels during official matches for coordination and verification.


By participating in the Dota 2 Australia Leagues, all players and teams agree to abide by these rules and administrative decisions. Failure to comply may result in penalties or disqualification.