RULES

Rules for eCanadian Premier League (eCPL) 2021 Own The North

Below are the governing rules and regulations for the eCPL 2021 Own The North.

All Players must be in the eCPL Discord Server.

All Players must be Canadian Residents to participate in any of the Online or Live events.

Two eCPL 2021 online qualification trials will be hosted. One event for Xbox One, and one for PlayStation 4. The top 8 players from each Online Trial will qualify for the eCPL 2021 Own The North Console Finals. There will be 2 online console final events, one for Xbox One, and one for PlayStation 4. The winner of each online console final event will receive an eCPL reserved seat in the North America Regional Playoffs for the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series FIFA eWorld Cup.

During all eCPL 2021 and EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series trials, events and competitions, including, but not limited to, the eCPL 21 Trial qualification, eCPL 21 Console Finals, the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series North America Regional Playoffs, the FIFA eWorld Cup, and in any promotional event designed to promote the eCPL 21 and the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series, all participants shall only be permitted to wear CPL and CPL club approved attire. In the event that a participant fails to wear eCPL club or CPL approved attire, it may result in termination and/or disqualification of the player’s participation in the trial, event or competition, in the sole discretion of the CPL.

Any player that wins an eCPL 2021 Trial qualification event must:

• Agree to be assigned to a CPL team. Team assignments will be made by the CPL in conjunction with its clubs.
• Agree to represent the CPL team that they are assigned to at any eCPL-related event for the 2021 EA SPORTS competitive gaming season, including: the eCPL 21 Console Finals, the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series North America Regional Playoffs, and the FIFA eWorld Cup.
• Agree to be visible on broadcast for the eCPL 21 Console Finals. This includes having their camera and audio on during matches, and any potential interviews that happen during the live broadcast of the console final.

Any player that wins an eCPL 21 Console Final event must:

• Agree to represent the CPL club they were assigned to at the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series Regional Playoffs and the FIFA eWorld Cup should they qualify through the eCPL 21 reserved seats.
• Agree to wear only attire approved by their CPL club when competing at any eCPL 21 event including: the eCPL 21 Console Finals; the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series North America Regional Playoffs; the FIFA eWorld Cup; and in any promotional event designed to promote the eCPL 21 and the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series. This includes hats and clothing. Failure to wear eCPL club approved attire may result in termination and/or disqualification of the player’s participation in any eCPL 21 event, in the sole discretion of the CPL.
• Agree to never use their eCPL Club persona in a manner that compromises the integrity of the Canadian Premier League, its clubs, or its partners and sponsors.
• Agree to make themselves available, within reason, for promotional events in the lead up to any eCPL 21 and EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series events including, but not limited to, interviews, photography and video capture.

In the event that a player is already signed to an existing Esports club when entering the eCPL 2021, said player must (1) disclose that they are already represented when registering for an ECPL 2021 online event, and (2) confirm that they have written permission to compete and comply with all the eCPL requirements listed above including:

• Never wearing conflicting branding during an eCPL 2021 event;
• Wearing only clothing approved by the eCPL 21 Club they have won the right to represent at eCPL online events, at regional playoffs for the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series, and the FIFA eWorld Cup; and
• Agree to represent the eCPL team whose event they won in any promotional material leading up to the – and including – the eCPL 21 Final, EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series Regional Qualifiers, and FIFA eWorld Cup.

Structure for Online Trials Events

1. The 2021 edition of eCPL is available on PlayStation and Xbox. The following format will apply: 

1.1 There will be predetermined Ladder Competitions, one for each player representing themself or a club in membership of the League. Each Player will compete in their respective Ladder Competition. 

1.2 Matches between Players in Ladder Competition will be determined at random via an “online challenge system”, whereby Players will select the time at which they want to play a Match (from the allotted kick-off times) and be paired with another Player wanting to play a Match at that same time. 

1.3 Players will only be able to arrange Matches to start during predetermined hours on weekends and there will be no limit on the number of Matches that a Player can participate in during Online Qualification. 

1.4 Each respective Ladder Competition will have a leaderboard which will show how Players are ranked (such ranking will not be subject to challenge). Unless otherwise stated within these Rules, , the top 8 (eight) Players   on the leaderboard of each respective Ladder Competition at the end of the Online Trials will qualify to compete in the eCPL Console Finals. 

1.5 Should a Player who has qualified to compete in the eCPL Console Finals be disqualified, they shall be replaced by the next highest ranked Player in the respective Ladder Competition. 

Rules for Online Trial Events

2. In advance of each Match, Players will receive instructions via email (using the email address provided during registration) about how to arrange the Match with their opponent. All Online Qualification Matches will use the retail version of FIFA 21 Ultimate Team Friendly Seasons game mode and the default settings of the mode will be enforced automatically by the game, including difficulty level and allowable assists.
3. Additional guidelines that apply to all Online Qualification Matches: 

3.1 Squad building restrictions are 87 overall rated squad, minimum 75 or higher on the bench. Bench players can be no higher than 88. 

3.2 Training Items are not allowed. 

3.3 Players must record all of their Matches using the built-in recording on their console or an external recording device. These recordings must be saved and available to be uploaded in the case of a dispute. In the event of a dispute, failure to provide the necessary recording to the CPL for review and assessment will render the dispute moot.

3.4 Players must not harass, message or in any way attempt to distract or direct others to distract their opponent. 

3.5 Players must not manipulate their internet connection to negatively affect their or their opponent’s connection or gameplay. 

3.6 Players must each have a light-coloured jersey and a dark-coloured jersey and must choose the opposite of one another to avoid confusion. If Players can’t agree, the home Player must wear a dark-coloured jersey and the away Player a light-coloured jersey.

3.7 In the event of an unintended disconnection, the Game should be resumed with an implied score and the remaining time in the Match played out. (For example: A player disconnects at the 50th minute. The score of the game was 2-1. The game shall to resume in 1st half with the implied score to be 2-1 and the implied half to be the 2nd. The competitors will play until the 40th minute to determine the winner).

3.8 Any Player that fails to make themselves available for a Match at the agreed kick-off time will forfeit that Match, with their opponent being granted a 3-0 victory. 

3.9 The Player who wins a Match must immediately report the score on the tournament website.

Match Rules 

4. Matches will be played using the FIFA 21 Ultimate Team Friendly Seasons game mode in a version of FIFA 21 provided by EA SPORTS.

   4.1 Players are not allowed to compete using teams from Major League Soccer.

Game Interruptions and Pauses 

5. Each Player can pause the Game up to three times, outside of pauses requested by a Tournament Official. If a Player pauses the Game, it must be to make a tactical change to their squad, which can include substitutions, formation changes, or tactic adjustments. 

5.1 If a Game is paused or interrupted intentionally while the ball is in play by any Player, a Tournament Official has the right to immediately disqualify that Player responsible for the pause. 

5.2 If a Game interruption is caused by outside circumstances such as a machine error or loss of power, the Game shall be continued from a point determined by a Tournament Official. 

5.3 Notwithstanding the above, a Player can pause the Game when the ball is out of play to change strategy and/or formation if i) a player of his team is sent off or ii) a player of his team is injured.

Account Use 

6. 6. Players will exclusively use their own gaming Players sharing or using accounts other than their own will be disqualified.

6.1 Players that experience trouble with account access during or before brackets are set for the tournament must inform an admin

Glitches / Game Bugs

7. Any attempt to glitch the game in order to gain an advantage is prohibited. 

7.1 Procedure after a glitch penalty: If a Tournament Official determines that an action, goal, move, penalty or any other in-game action was caused by a glitch or a game bug, the Tournament Official will decide in their sole discretion to return the Game to a fair state depending on the result of the play. 

7.2 If there is a major outage affecting any infrastructure required for gameplay in the designated mode, the League reserves the right to change the format in which the Live Event is played.

Pre-Match and Game Setup Instructions 

8.  The game mode to be used for each Match will be FIFA Ultimate Team Friendly Seasons with the default game settings, which for the avoidance of doubt means that each Game will also use this mode.

8.1 Online Trials: A maximum of 512 participants will compete in single-elimination matches. Once only 128 players remain, matches will shift to a best of three match format.

8.2 Console Finals: 8 players will compete in a single-elimination bracket aggregate* format. The winner of each bracket will represent their CPL team on the global stage.

* Aggregate Goals or on aggregate references the total goals in a home-and-away series to advancement in the tournament.

Example:

Team A defeats Team B by a score of 3-1 in the first leg of the series.

Team B defeats Team A by a score of 1-0 in the second leg of the series.

Team A wins the series and advances on aggregate goals by a score of 3 goals to 2.

Team B won the second leg, but only scored two goals in the series. Even though Team A did not score in the second game, they scored three goals in the first match and thus have three total goals in the series.

Gameplay Settings 

9. The gameplay settings are defined by the FIFA 21 Ultimate Team Friendly Seasons game mode, they are listed below: 

9.1 Difficulty Level: World Class 

9.2 Half Length: 6 minutes 

9.3 Stadium Settings 

9.4 Stadium: FEWC Stadium 

9.5 Season: Fall/Autumn 

9.6 Time of Day: 3:00PM 

9.7 Pitch Wear: None

Mandatory Settings 

10. The following settings will be enforced for all users and are unable to be modified: 

10.1 HUD: Player Name & Indicator 

10.2 Player Indicator: Player Name 

10.3 Time/Score Display: On 

10.4 Radar: 2D 

10.5 Gamertag Indicator: Off 

10.6 Scrolling Line Ups: Off 

10.7 Commentary Volume: 0 

10.8 Stadium Ambience: 8 

10.9 Music Volume: 0 

Camera Settings 

11. The following single player camera settings are not allowed: 

11.1 Pro 

11.2 End to End 

11.3 Dynamic 

Consumable Restrictions 

12. Players will be limited in which consumables they can use for their squad. Changes to consumables restrictions may be announced one week prior to the start of each Live Event. Players will be allowed to use the following consumable types: 

12.1 Contract Consumables 

12.2 Position Change Consumables 

12.3 Healing Consumables 

12.4 Chemistry Style Consumables 

12.5 Manager League Consumables 

12.6 Fitness Consumables 

12.7 Players will not be allowed to use the following consumable types: 

12.8 Training Consumables Account Setup 

The eCPL Code of Conduct Introduction 

13. The Code applies to all Players in the eCPL at all levels of the Competition, unless otherwise specified. 

The eCPL places significant importance on the integrity of the League, and the aim of this Code is to clearly outline for each Player the standards expected of them when competing, whether it be during the eCPL 21 Online Trials, Console Final events, EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series Regional Events or FIFA eWorld Cup. Players should be aware that if they are found to be in breach of the Code, there is a possibility that sanctions will apply to them, and it is therefore the responsibility of all Players to ensure they have read and fully understood the Rules and the Code before participating. Citing a failure to have read or understood the Rules and/or the Code will not be deemed a mitigating circumstance in any instances where a suspected breach has occurred. The eCPL reserves the right to amend the Code at any time. Any such amendment will be automatically effective upon publication on Northern Arena Website. 

Player Behaviour General 

14. At all times (which includes all stages of the Competition) each Player shall behave towards each other Player, Tournament Official and the League with the utmost good faith. 

15. No Player shall: 

15.1 conduct themselves in an abusive, insulting, intimidating or offensive manner towards any other Player, Tournament Official or the League; 

15.2 commit any act or make any statement that is discriminatory by means of race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, colour or national or ethnic origin, or any other recognized ground of discrimination; or 

15.3 commit any act or make any statement that brings the League, any of its Clubs, the Competition or EA into disrepute. 

15.4 For the avoidance of doubt, 

15.1, 15.2 and 15.3 include the publishing, posting, uploading or distribution of content online via social media or any other method of online publication. 

Game related Behavior

16. Players must comply with the Rules at all times and no Player shall: 

16.1 Use any software or program that damages, interferes with or disrupts the Competition or another’s computer or property; 

16.2 Interfere with or disrupt another Player’s participation in the Competition; 

16.3 Use exploits, cheats, undocumented features, design errors or bugs during the Competition; 

16.4 Engage in any other activity that significantly disturbs the peaceful, fair and respectful gaming environment of the Competition; and/or

16.5 Promote or encourage another Player to take part in any of the prohibited conduct described above. 

Match-Fixing and Collusion 

17. No Player shall fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly or be party to any agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Match, including (without limitation) by deliberately underperforming during a Match. 

17.1. No Player shall take part in any form of Collusion. “Collusion” means an agreement between Players and/or other individuals to alter the outcome or other components of a Match. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes but is not limited to: purporting to be someone else by way of using another Player’s or individual’s account to compete or the use of a secondary account; intentionally losing a Game or Match for any reason; or allowing an opponent to score more or less goals than they normally would in order to impact goal difference. 

Betting/Gambling 

18. No Player shall: 

18.1 directly or indirectly place a bet of any kind or instruct an individual to place a bet of any kind on any matter relating to any aspect of the Competition or any Game or Match in the Competition; 

18.2 disclose Inside Information to any other person (and it shall be a breach of this Code should any Inside Information be disclosed and used by another person for or in relation to a bet); or 

18.3 accept or seek to offer any form of bribe including but not limited to any payment, hospitality, gift or any other benefit (whether it has a monetary value attached or otherwise) in respect of any aspect of the Competition or any Game or Match in the Competition.