What are the match rules for League of Legends?

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS RULES

LAST UPDATED: June 6th, 2024

1.1 Match Procedure

• Tournament Teams
  • A “team” will consist of 5 Players and up to 5 allowable substitutes for a total of 10 players per roster. Multiple teams from each eligible institution will be allowed to participate in the tournament.
• Set Length
  • All tournament sets will be played best-of-1 game.
  • Playoffs will be best-of-three.
  • A “Game” is defined as: An instance of competition on the Summoner’s Rift map that is played until a winner is determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first: (a) completion of the final objective (destruction of a nexus), (b) one Team surrendering the Game, or (c) a Team forfeiting.

2.1 Game Rules

• Patch: All Games will be played on the current patch available on the Live Service. 
• Game Lobby Setup: The designated “Home Team” will be expected to set up the Lobby. Lobby information should be communicated through the “Match Chat” channel on the Vanta Platform. 
  • Please make sure that all gamertags that are listed are the in-game names of the players and not the Riot account names. Riot Games differentiates account names and in-game names, but only the in-game names are searchable for scouting and for finding the player to create the lobby.
• Mode: Custom Match
• Game Type: Tournament Draft (Unless any players do not meet pre-requisites to played ranked, then play Blind Pick)
• Map: Summoner’s Rift
• Spectators: Lobby Only
• Team Size: 5
• Side Selection: The “Home Team” will select either “Red” or “Blue” side for Game 1. 
  • In the playoffs, the losing team will then get first choice of side selection for the remaining 1 or 2 games in the series.  
• Draft Errors: In the event of an erroneously-selected Champion pick or ban, the team in error must notify their opponents immediately. Restarts in this situation are recommended to maintain good sportsmanship but are not required due to potential time restrictions. Ensure your team is paying attention to who they are selecting in their draft phase.
• If a team is missing one or more players a grace period of 15 minutes will be given to find those players. After the 15 minutes, the team missing players will forfeit the match, unless they are going to continue to play 4 v 5.
• Skins: All champion skins are permitted for use in game unless they have been announced as banned from competition by Riot Games. Players using a banned skin will be considered to be using an “exploitable bug” and that game will be considered forfeit. 
• Stoppage of Play:
  • Each team is permitted one “Pause” per match in the event of a disconnection or hardware/software malfunction. 
  • Pauses may last no longer than 5 minutes regardless of the status of the originally impacted player. 
  • Teams are required to ensure both sides are “Ready” in the chat prior to lifting the pause. 
  • Teams that use an unauthorized pause will be considered to be using an exploitable bug and will forfeit that game. 
• Remake Procedure: In the event of a server crash that impacts all ten players, the game may be remade. Picks and bans must stay consistent with the previous iteration of the game, and the rest of the game will be played out in full. 

3.1 Character Selection

• New Champions/Champions that have undergone Major Reworks: Champions categorized as either “New” or “Major Reworks” will be restricted for two weeks from their release on live service. Restricted champions are not allowed to be played in league play. Once the two-week period has passed, restrictions will lift and those champions will be eligible for play. 

4.1 Reporting

• Score Reporting Format: Scores will be reported in “Win/Loss” format. Teams will indicate the number of games won by each team, final scores should be one of the following: 1-0 or 0-1
• Forfeits: Forfeits will be considered a 1-0 win for the team that showed up to play. 

For more information about our general competition rules, please click here.