Dota 2 Australia Leagues – Official Ruleset

1.1 Eligibility & Registration

• 1.1.1 Residency Requirement: At least 3 core players on the team must be residents or citizens of Australia or New Zealand.
• 1.1.2 Public Steam Account: Steam accounts must be set to public with a verified minimum of 30 ranked matches played in the past 3 months.
• 1.1.3 Discord Verification: Every player must be a verified member of the official Dota 2 - Australia Discord server.
• 1.1.4 MMR Tracking: MMR is recorded at both signup and at the official tournament start date for each league.
• 1.1.5 Late Registrations: Late registrations are accepted solely at the discretion of the league administration.

1.2 Team Roster

• 1.2.1 Core Players: Teams must have at least 3 core players for the full season. This means that at least 3 of the first 5–7 listed players registered for your team must be in each official match. Verified team lists are tracked in the database.
• 1.2.2 Residency: At least 3 core players participating in each match must reside in Australia or New Zealand.
• 1.2.3 Roster Size: Teams can have up to 7 registered members in total (5 starters + 2 substitutes), and must attempt to use all registered roster members before calling outside substitutes.
• 1.2.4 Roster Lock: Roster changes are freely permitted until the designated roster lock date for the season.
• 1.2.5 Substitutes: Teams may use substitutes from the official sub pool. A substitute player cannot play against their own registered team in any official series.

1.3 League Structure & Skill Divisions

D2AU leagues are organized into four distinct skill divisions based on player and team MMR rating caps:

• 1.3.2 Team Counts: Each division must have between 4 and 6 teams. The minimum is reduced to 3 teams for specific group stage formats.
• 1.3.3 Frequency & Format: The leagues run 2 times per year in a round-robin format, with varied tournaments and LAN cups hosted throughout the year.

2.1 Match Scheduling

• 2.1.1 Teams must play 1 match per week during the active league season.
• 2.1.2 Teams may choose to play additional matches ahead of schedule from any of the available matchups, 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 official deadline.
• 2.1.4 All matches must be played on local Australian servers (Sydney).

2.2 & 2.3 & 2.4 Game Version, Format & Drafting

• 2.2.1 Matches must be played on the latest official stable version of Dota 2.
• 2.2.2 Players must update their Dota 2 clients at least 1 hour before scheduled match start times.
• 2.3.1 Bo2 (Best-of-Two): Standard format for all round-robin league play.
• 2.3.2 Bo3 (Best-of-Three): Format used for group stage playoffs.
• 2.3.3 Finals: Bo3 for finals, or Bo5 (Best-of-Five) if both competing teams mutually agree.
• 2.4.1 Drafting Mode: All matches use Captains Mode (CM) exclusively.

2.5 Lobby Setup & Mandatory Settings

2.5.1 Lobby Hosting: The home team (the first team listed on the bracket/schedule) creates the custom lobby and invites the opposing team captain.

Any lobby configuration disputes must be raised to an admin before the game officially starts.

2.6, 2.7 & 2.8 Pauses, League Ticket & Match Reporting

• 2.6.1 Pause Allowances: Each team is allowed up to 10 minutes of total pause time per game. Excessive pausing without valid justification may lead to penalties.
• 2.7.1 Official League Ticket: All official matches use an official in-game D2AU league ticket. Admins, casters, and captains have access to apply it. The ticket is mandatory for match tracking and competitive integrity.
• 2.8.1 Match Reporting: The winning team must report the match result, Match ID, and victory screenshot within 2 hours of completion on the dedicated Discord match reporting thread. Any issues must be raised via a support ticket on Discord or website.

2.9 Late Arrival Rules & Penalty Thresholds

Teams have 10 minutes of leeway past the scheduled match time, plus any extra time as mutually agreed between both captains. If a team is tardy, the following penalty schedule applies:

3.1 Point System

League points are awarded at the conclusion of each Best-of-2 series:

3.2 Tiebreaker Procedures

• 3.2.1 Ties in division leaderboards are broken using head-to-head match outcomes first.
• 3.2.2 Additional criteria (such as map win differential or administrative tiebreak matches) may be determined by admins if needed.

4.1 Prize Distribution

• 4.1.1 Series Win Payout: Teams earn $10 AUD per Bo2 series win, plus the seasonal grand prize for 1st place (prize varies from season to season, commonly $100 AUD+).
• 4.1.2 Captain Responsibilities: Prize money is paid to the registered team captain, who is obligated to distribute it fairly among the roster.
• 4.1.3 Captain Integrity Enforcement: If captains do not distribute payments to their players appropriately, they will be permanently banned from all D2AU events until resolved.
• 4.1.4 Direct Distribution: Larger tournament prize amounts may be split automatically among individual player accounts.
• 4.1.5 Round Robin Completion Requirement: Teams must complete the entire round robin stage to be eligible for reward payout from series wins. Resigning in finals does not remove reward eligibility.

4.2 Payment Methods & Timelines

• 4.2.1 Payment schedules will be communicated by league administration before each season begins.
• 4.2.2 Official payments are processed via Australian Bank Transfer or PayID.

5.1 Sportsmanship & Respect

• 5.1.1 Players must act respectfully towards opponents, casters, and tournament staff at all times.
• 5.1.2 Flaming, harassment, toxic abuse, hate speech, or discrimination in in-game chat or Discord will lead to immediate penalties or disqualification.

5.2 Account Sharing (Strictly Prohibited)

• 5.2.1 Account sharing is strictly prohibited. Each player must only use their own individual, verified personal Steam account.
• 5.2.2 Sharing credentials with friends, teammates, family members, or anyone else—even temporarily or informally—is forbidden.
• 5.2.3 Valve actively detects account sharing, especially in organized competitive play, and may impose severe penalties, including permanent bans, shadow bans to smurf pools, and exclusion from tournaments.
• 5.2.4 Account sharing violates Valve's Terms of Service, undermines competitive integrity, harms matchmaking systems, and creates unfair advantages.

5.3 Penalties, Disqualification & Appeals

Admins may issue penalties for rule violations, including but not limited to:

• Forfeiture of individual matches or series
• Removal of a team or player from the active league
• Bans from future D2AU leagues and events
• Forfeiture of prize money or accrued points
• Draft reserve time penalties in future events

6.1 & 6.2 Casters & Player POV Streams

• 6.1.1 Most official D2AU matches are broadcast live by authorized community casters.
• 6.1.2 Casters are considered representatives of the league and must conduct themselves professionally and respectfully.
• 6.2.1 Mandatory Player Stream Delay: Players are permitted to stream their own perspectives on Twitch, YouTube, or Kick, provided they configure a minimum 5-minute broadcast delay on their stream software to protect tactical integrity.

7.1 & 7.2 Rule Updates & Communication

• 7.1.1 League administration may update rules with advance notice provided to teams.
• 7.2.1 All match notices and schedule updates are published via the Dota 2 - Australia Discord and dedicated match threads.
• 7.2.2 Team captains are responsible for staying informed and communicating proactively with admins.
• 7.2.3 All match-related disputes and coordination must be conducted through official Discord channels.
• 7.2.4 Mandatory Discord Voice Channels: Teams are required to use the official Dota 2 - Australia Discord voice channels during official matches for coordination and identity verification.
• 7.2.5 Call Guests: Exactly 1 extra member (e.g. coach) may be in the team voice channel until the conclusion of the draft. They must leave the call immediately once drafting finishes.

7.3 Team Artworks & Free Design Services

• 7.3.1 No AI Generated Artwork: Team artworks, such as team logos and banners, must not be AI generated. Authentic, creative designs represent our community best.
• 7.3.2 Free Artwork Support: Teams are encouraged to design their own artworks, or contact D2AU admins to have custom art made for them. This is provided free of charge with full creative direction provided by the team.