GENERAL RULES
1.1 League Structure
The Minnesota Varsity League (MNVL) will have a regular season consisting of 8 weeks of pool play and then a tournament for playoffs/finals. Regular season games will determine both qualifying and seeding for playoffs.
The regular season will consist of one game per week as outlined below.
Default game time for all games will be Sunday at noon (12pm)
Games may be rescheduled for any time during the week, but must be played by midnight on Sunday of the week they are scheduled to play (see rescheduling rules below in section 1.5)
All scores must be reported by Sunday at midnight for the preceding week or both teams will receive a loss.
The spirit of MNVL is to always play if you can, and never take a forfeit win unless you absolutely must. Although not a rule, this is a standard we hope all our teams and players try to live up to!
1.2 Dates of Play
The MN Varsity League will run for 8 weeks of regular season, and one week of playoffs/finals. There will also be an all-star event at the conclusion of each season.
1.3 Playoffs and Finals
Playoffs will be executed as a single tournament with seeding based on regular season results, with a match to determine the third-place finisher. Playoff rules will be outlined in specific game rules posted on the MNVL website. Teams making playoffs will be as such for the following games, unless there are less than the specified amount of teams participating in the league for that game. If there are less than the following number of teams, the tournament will be played with all participating teams with first round byes for the top seeds.
Teams/Players making the playoffs will be based on seeding, which considers wins first, then game differential. If there is a tie in both wins and game differential, and one of the teams/players will not make the tournament and the other will (the tie is at the cutoff point), a single tiebreaker match will be played to see who makes it to the playoffs.
Rocket League: Top 8 Teams
Overwatch: Top 8 Teams
Valorant: Top 8 Teams
Super Smash Brothers: Top 16 Players
Chess: Top 16 Players
Minecraft: Top 8 Teams
(*The number of teams/players entered are subject to change based on needs or considerations by the league admin.)
1.4 Reporting Scores
Scores will be reported using the Leaguespot score reporting tool.
• Both teams are responsible for reporting scores and saving replays/screenshots that prove their claim.
• All reported matches must have a screenshot attached for the LeagueSpot platform
1.5 Rescheduling Games
Games will be scheduled on a weekly basis, meaning each team will have one opponent per week. The default game time for all official matches will be at noon (12pm) on Sundays. If teams would like to reschedule their game to another time, then they must agree upon a time that they can play during the same week they are scheduled to play one another. Games MAY NOT be rescheduled to another week.
Both teams must agree to a reschedule and must do so by using the Leaguespot platform or by using the Leaguespot Discord bot within the MNVL Discord Server, which is connected to the Leaguespot platform.
If teams cannot agree upon a time to play, they must play on the default time. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit. If both teams fail to attend the match default time, both will receive a forfeit loss for the match.
1.6 Player Eligibility
A player is any participant who plays in an official match. All players must be currently enrolled in the school they are representing, must be 13 years of age or older, and must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average to be eligible to play. Players who are homeschooled may participate for a school if they live within the defined district lines for the school district in question. Players over the age of 19 are ineligible to play in the MNVL.
There is not a restriction on the number of teams or players that can compete from each school.
Any changes to rosters must be done one week (7 days) before the next scheduled match for the game in question. Roster changes must be submitted to a league admin in writing (via Discord message or Email), and they must have written approval before that player can participate in an official match. Substitutions are allowed at any time as long as all players involved have been on the roster for 7 days before the match.
*Eligibility is subject to change at the League Director’s discretion but must be communicated to all schools before any changes take effect.
1.7 Names
A player’s name in-game must match the name that they have registered for that game with the MN Varsity League rosters sheet. All participants names or profiles are prohibited from including:
● Gang Affiliation
● Drugs (including alcohol and tobacco)
● Sexual Material
● Offensive Material
● Politically Charged Symbols/Images
● Homophobic or Racially Insensitive Material
This includes our Discord community.
1.8 Cheating
Any manipulation of gameplay including, but not limited to, scripts, wallhacks, aimbot, 3rd party applications, sound changes, or having another person play on an official players account during match time will be considered cheating. Any team or player caught cheating will be subject to forfeiture of the match, suspension from the league, or a school-wide ban from the league depending on the severity of offense. All suspensions and bans will be decided upon by a consortium of coaches and coordinators from all schools participating in the league.
SSBU RULES
Note: Players are strongly encouraged to play all MNVL matches with an ethernet adapter or from the same room their internet router is in to ensure the best quality of matches.
1.1 Series Lengths
Matches are played as a best of 5 in the regular season, best of 3 in playoffs, best of 5 in the Semi-Finals, and above in the playoffs.
1.2 Game Lobby
The higher seed will create the lobby (“Online” > “Smash” > “Battle Arenas” > “Create Arena”) and provide lobby ID and Password. Official matches must use the following settings:
Type: Host preference
Visibility: Friends
Format: 1-on-1
Rules:
Style: Stock
Stock: 3
Time Limit: 8 minutes
FS Meter: Off
Damage Handicap: Off
Items: Off and None
Stage Hazards: Off
Launch Rate: 1.0x
Score Display: Off
Show Damage: Yes
Rotation: Host preference
Max Players: 2
Stage: Choice
Spirits: Off
Voice Chat: Off
If the incorrect ruleset is used, the match must be restarted. If previous games were under the wrong ruleset, they are void and must be replayed.
1.3 Stage Selection
The stage selection process is as follows and is done throughout the match:
1. Players will select the first stage by striking from the set of starter stages in 1.4 in the following order: home player strikes a stage, away player strikes two stages, home player strikes a stage. The remaining stage is used for the first match. Stage strikes only affect the first match and are removed in consecutive matches (i.e. stages striked for game 1 can be played in the other matches in the series).
2. Home player selects their character.
3. Away player selects their character.
4. Play game 1
5. The winner of the game bans two stages from the list of starter or counterpick stages. These bans will not continue to following matches (i.e. stages banned will not be permanently banned throughout the series).
6. The loser of the game chooses the next stage, as long as it is not already banned or they have not played and won on that stage during the series.
7. The winner selects their character.
8. The loser selects their character.
9. The next match is played.
10. Repeat steps 5-9 until a series winner is determined
1.4 Starter Stages
The following starter stages are permitted for use in official matches:
Battlefield
Final Destination
Lylat Cruise
Pokémon Stadium 2
Smashville
If Battlefield or Final Destination are chosen, players may use Battlefield or Omega variations (respectively) of permitted stages listed below. If Battlefield or Final Destination are chosen as a result of stage striking before the first game, the higher seeded player may choose a Battlefield or Omega variant (respectively) from the list below. If Battlefield or Final Destination are chosen by the loser of the previous game to be played next, that player may choose a Battlefield or Omega variant (respectively) from the list below. Only the following stages are permitted to be used as variants:
Arena Ferox
Battlefield
Castle Siege
Corneria
Delfino Plaza
Dream Land
Final Destination
Frigate Orpheum
Great Plateau Tower
Halberd
Kalos Pokémon League
Kongo Falls
Kongo Jungle
Lylat Cruise
Moray Towers
New Donk City Hall
Peach’s Castle
Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium 2
Reset Bomb Forest
Skyworld
Smashville
Super Happy Tree
Suzaku Castle
Town & City
Umbra Clock Tower
Venom
Yoshi’s Island (Brawl)
Yoshi’s Story
1.5 Counterpick Stages
The following counterpick stages are permitted for use in official matches:
Kalos Pokémon League
Town & City
Yoshi’s Story
1.6 Self-Destruct Finishes
In the event where the game ends due to a self-destruct move, the results screen will determine the winner of the game.
1.7 Sudden Death
If time expires and a sudden death is started, the player with the highest number of stocks is the winner of the match. If both players had the same amount of stocks, the player with the lower percentage wins. If both players had the same amount of stocks and the same percentage, players should execute the below scenario:
In the event where both players knock-out at the same time and initiate a sudden death, players will play a tiebreaker game on the same stage with the same characters using the official match format with the following modifications:
Stock: 1
Stock & Time: 3 minutes
1.8 Restrictions
1.8.1 DLC Fighters
DLC Fighters are prohibited from being used in MNVL events for the first two weeks of their release. After the two week restriction has passed a DLC Fighter will be allowed to be used in MNVL matches.
1.8.2 MII Fighters
Players must use a Guest Mii. If a player chooses to use a Mii Fighter, they must declare to their opponent the type and moveset listed in the format “Type XXXX” (e.g. “Gunner 1321”). Any combination of moves may be used, but any Mii Fighters that a player may want to use during a match must be created before the match begins (up to a limit of three Mii Fighters) or else they will be prohibited from doing so. Using Mii Fighters that do not follow these rules may result in a player forfeiting the game in which the illegal Mii Fighter was used.
1.8.3 Amiibo
All amiibo figures are prohibited from use in official matches.
1.8.4 Stages
Alternate forms to the stages listed in 1.4 or 1.5 are prohibited from play in official matches.
1.9 Stoppage of Play
Players unplugging their controller at any time, accidentally or intentionally, will result in a forfeiture of the series. Any controller malfunctions are the player’s responsibility, and as such the MN Varsity League will not force a game/match restart should a player’s controller malfunction during a game.
In the event that a player should have internet connectivity issues that causes them to drop out of the game the game will be reset only if both players have all their starting stocks, combined have not accumulated more than 60% damage, and a minute in-game has not passed. If these conditions are not met, then the player will forfeit that game, unless their opponent agrees to a redo.
In the event where the game server is lagging (e.g. it takes much more than a second for an in-game second to pass or the smash ball loading icon is constantly appearing), the game may be reset if and only if both players consent to the reset.
1.10 Player Count
Matches are played as 1 versus 1, meaning that only one player may participate in the match for either side. Substitutions are not allowed.
ROCKET LEAGUE RULES
1. Match Procedure
1. Supported Platforms
PC
XB1
PS4
Nintendo Switch
This game supports crossplay. All teams compete in the same league, regardless of platform.
1.1. Series Lengths
All matches will be played as a best of 5 series, including playoffs and finals.
1.2. Game Lobby
The home team will create the lobby. The away team will have choice of which team is which color, which will remain the same for the match. The default arena played is DFH Stadium. Teams are free to change the arena at any time as long as teams agree and the arena is playable according to rules.
The game settings should be set to the following:
Game Mode: Soccar
Arena: DFH Stadium OR another arena agreed upon by both teams from the list in 1.3.
Team Size: 3v3
Bot Difficulty: No Bots
Team Settings