Section 2. Eligibility

You must meet the following requirements in order to participate and receive prizes from a SFLT event.

2.1. Account Verification

• You must use a verified Critical Ops account linked to a social media account to participate.

2.2. Game Statistics

• Your account must have:
  • Minimum 500 recorded kills in Quick & Custom Games
  • Minimum 500 recorded kills in Ranked Games
  • Total minimum of 1000 combined kills

2.3. Discord Integration

• Each account must be bound to a Discord account.
• Your Discord name and discriminator number must be included with your Critical Ops account details during registration.

2.4. Restricted Players

• Players listed in the SFLT Restricted List with Banned status are prohibited from participating.

2.5. Eligibility Exceptions

• Accounts not meeting requirements (2.1, 2.2, 2.3) cannot participate unless approved by a tournament administrator.

2.6. Registration Details

• You must provide accurate account information (In-Game Name and Identifier) during registration.
• Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility.

2.7. In-Game Bans

• Any player with a banned account is permanently ineligible to participate.

Section 3. Roster

Each team must register a roster before participating in an event.

3.1. Registration Deadline

• Unless specified otherwise, a roster must be registered 1 hour before the commencement of an event.

3.2. Roster Composition

• Each roster must contain a minimum of five (5) players.
  • 3.2.1. Each roster can include an additional two (2) substitutes. During registration these must be separated from the main lineup; if not separated, the top 5 players on the list will be treated as mains by default.

3.3. Roster Modifications

• Each roster can be modified (player additions, removal or replacement) by the respective team's representative(s) for up to two (2) times throughout the event.
  • 3.3.1. Roster changes are only valid before the credentials of a match are provided. Changes beyond this point can be allowed only with mutual agreement.

3.4. Player Exclusivity

• A player must only be in one roster at any given time.

3.5. Team Branding

• During registration you can provide a team logo. The use of inappropriate team names and logos will result in tournament bans, unless specified otherwise.

Section 4. Devices and Software

Players must use the following devices and software during an event.

4.1. Allowed Devices

• You are allowed to use mobile devices (iOS and Android smartphones and tablets) to participate.
  • 4.1.1. Participating using devices on unsupported platforms (e.g. PC, Mac with or without emulator) is prohibited.

4.2. Operating System

• You must update your device to the latest OS version your device supports (at least Android 13 or iOS 18.1). When in doubt, contact Staff.

4.3. Game Client

• Unless specified, you must update your Critical Ops game client to the latest live version available.

4.4. Network Restrictions

• You are not allowed to use any Virtual Private Networks (VPN) or proxy servers to play.

4.5. Game Boosters

• In case your device supports game booster software, you must only use the software that comes with your device (e.g. Samsung Game Launcher, ASUS Armoury Crate, Xiaomi Game Turbo, HONOR Game Booster, etc.). When in doubt, contact Staff.

4.6. Device Modifications

• The use of jailbroken devices is prohibited.

Section 5. Scheduling and Match Organization

Players must follow the following rules during scheduling and match organization.

5.1. Event Presence

• You must be present at the start of the event.

5.2. Communication

• Unless specified, your team captain or you (if you are your team captain) must use Discord DMs or private captain channels in the SFLT Discord server to proceed with scheduling. You can request a group chat with staff presence if necessary.

5.3. Response Time

• You must respond to your opponent within 15 minutes from the time the first message was sent. Responding beyond this point will result in a no-show match loss.

5.4. Tournament Timing

• A tournament round must be finished after 70 minutes + 45 minutes x number of extra maps since the start of the current round, including scheduling. Any matches played beyond this point will be invalidated and any unplayed teams will be disqualified from the tournament.
  • 5.4.1. A round is considered complete when all matches of that round are finished. Between rounds there is a 5-minute break before the next round commences.

5.5. Forfeiting Policy

• 5.5.1. Forfeiting during any round of an active cup will result in sanctions. The severity of these sanctions will depend on the reason for forfeiting. If no valid reason is provided, the forfeiting team will be blacklisted for one week starting from the day of the forfeiture. Repeated violations may result in longer blacklist durations.
• 5.5.2. Attempting to evade the blacklist will result in additional sanctions, which may include extended blacklist duration or other penalties.

5.6. Match Format

• 5.6.1. Steel Flower Cup Series: All matches except for finals are played BO1. Finals will be played BO3.
• 5.6.2. Steel Flower Seasonals: All matches up to Semi-finals are played BO1. Final match will be played BO3.

5.7. Map Selection

• 5.7.1. Available maps: Bureau, Canals, Soar, Grounded, Raid, Plaza, Port
• 5.7.2. Veto processes:
  • Best of 1: A Ban → B Ban → A Ban → B Ban → A Ban → B Ban → A Ban → B Ban → Decider [1]
  • Best of 3: A Ban → B Ban → A Pick [1] → B Pick [2] → A Ban → B Ban → A Ban → B Ban → Decider [3]
  • Best of 5: A Ban → B Ban → A Pick [1] → B Pick [2] → A Ban → B Ban → A Pick [3] → B Pick [4] → Decider [5]
• 5.7.3. Teams can mutually agree to play on any map without vetoing.

5.8. Server Selection

• 5.8.1. Teams can mutually agree to host several or all maps in a server of choice.
• 5.8.2. If no agreement is reached, a coin flip must be performed in the main Discord server's private captain channel.

Room Settings

Section 6. Game

Players must follow the following rules during a match:

6.1. Pre-match

• 6.1.1. You must join the room within 15 minutes from the point the room code is provided to players. Teams can request overtime to allow the last player of their team to join, however this depends on the decision of the staff. If the team does not have at least 4 players beyond this point, it is treated as a no-show and a match loss.
  • 6.1.1a. If neither team shows up on time, both teams will be given a no-show match loss.
  • 6.1.1b. A player can join at any time during the match as long as there is available space in the team (maximum of 5).
• 6.1.2. You must save a screenshot of the scoreboard before the match starts. This is used for reference purposes during match protests.

6.2. Knife round

• 6.2.1. A knife round happens before the main game. This helps determine the starting sides of each team. It is recommended to pick an accessible location (e.g. middle, long B) for the knife round in order to speed up the process.
• 6.2.2. A knife round must be announced in all chat, followed by a match restart. All players must drop any droppable equipment during freeze time.
• 6.2.3. During this time you must only use your melee weapon to attack. Inflicting damage using any other weapon to result in a knife round win to the opposing team, followed by a tournament warning.
• 6.2.4. The winner of the knife round must declare their side before switching to their selected side. Continue to 6.3.

6.3. Match Start

• A team representative must announce when the match is live before restarting the game, followed by a final announcement in all chat.

6.4. Chat Rules

• During the match, you are not allowed to use all chat, unless deemed necessary. Violation of this rule will warrant a tournament warning to the team.

6.5. Administrative Commands

• You are not allowed to use administrative commands during the match, unless deemed necessary. Violation of this rule will result in a match loss.

6.6. Staff Access

• You are required to provide owner commands to any tournament staff in the match (admin, streamer).

6.7. Third Party Assistance

• You must not use any support from third parties during the match. This includes but is not limited to: usage of third party software to gain advantage (cheating); gaining intel from an outside source during a match (ghosting); etc.

6.8. Collusion

• Collusion and match-fixing (the deliberate act of dishonestly determining the results of a match before and when it is played) is not tolerated and is a non-negotiable bannable offense.

6.9. Forfeits

• Unless specified otherwise, forfeiting or being given a match loss at any point during a match will result in the entire match being forfeited.

Refer to Section 8 for anti-cheat rules.

Section 7. Post-Match

Players must follow the following rules after a match:

• 7.1. You must send the screenshot of the scoreboard immediately after a match concludes to the SFLT Discord server results submission channel.
• 7.2. Protests
  • 7.2.1. Teams can request a protest up to 10 minutes after the match has concluded.
  • 7.2.2. You must provide details about your protest (reasons, time of occurrence, suspected player). Omitting details will result in request denial.

8. Anti-Cheat

8.1. Recording rules

• 8.1.1. You must perform an anti-cheat recording at the beginning of every map and as soon as you join an ongoing game.
• 8.1.2. During cups both teams can agree to omit this up until Quarterfinals, after which all players must submit their recordings without exceptions, unless specified otherwise.
  • 8.1.2.1 Omitting (or skipping) indicates a mutual agreement between both team captains to refrain from submitting any recordings for a particular match.
• 8.1.3. If you are listed as Restricted in the Restricted List, you must record the entirety of the game in addition to your base recording.
  • 8.1.3.1. You may be requested a full game recording or a handcam recording regardless of your status in the Restricted List.
• 8.1.4. You must allow up to 5GB of device storage to accommodate your recording.
• 8.1.5. You must not delete your recording until you are permitted to by a tournament staff.

8.2. Recording guidelines (Preferred ruleset applied by default unless specified)

Preferred ruleset: 2023-24 Worlds

The 2023-24 Critical Ops Worlds Championships are applied for all SFLT tournaments. The video examples are provided below:

• iPad OS: Watch Example
• iPhone OS: Watch Example
• Android: Watch Example

8.3. Recording resolution

Your recording must be in 720p30 or higher.

8.4. Recording speedups

You are allowed to speed up your gameplay recording by up to 2x, or up to 4x if your recording is 12 rounds or higher. You are not allowed to speed up your first recording (settings recording).

8.5. Live monitoring

You are allowed to request to have your gameplay monitored in real-time by a staff member instead of performing your recording. This depends on the availability of the staff team. Please notify a staff member beforehand if you wish to be monitored.

8.6. Streaming

On some occasions you can request to stream your existing recording over Discord in case you are unable to upload your recording. Please notify a staff member if you would like to do this.

Section 9. Prizing

9.1. In-game Prizing

• In-game items (yellow credits, cases) prizes are provided by Critical Force
• Rewards will be added to your registered Critical Ops account at the end of each month
• Contact staff team for any prize-related inquiries

9.2. Monetary Prizing

• For questions regarding monetary prizes or physical items, contact the staff team

9.3. Disqualification Consequences

• Teams/players disqualified for cheating or rule violations must:
  • Forfeit all prizes
  • Return equivalent value of any already-received rewards

Section 10. Sanctions

Failure to abide by any regulation(s) mentioned in this document will result in appropriate sanctions depending on severity.

• Event Warning
• Organizer Warning
• Rematch
• Match Loss (forced forfeit for one match)
• Disqualification (removal from the tournament)
• Temporary/Permanent Ban from Events