Crux Tournament Guidelines

Welcome to Crux Tournament. These Guidelines govern participation in all Crux Tournament events and competitions. By participating in any Crux Tournament event, you agree to comply with these Guidelines and any additional rules announced for a specific season or event.

1. Participation and Eligibility

1.1 Eligibility

Entries must be original works created after the tournament announcement. Participants are encouraged to contact the organizers with any eligibility-related questions before submitting their entries.

1.2 Teams

- Maximum of 2 participants per team.

- Teams may only be formed while the tournament status is **UPCOMING**.

- Once the tournament status changes to **IN PROGRESS**, new teams may not be formed.

- Team owners may not remove team members after the tournament begins unless organizer approval is granted and consent is received from the affected team member.

1.3 Organizer Participation

Organizers may participate in the tournament but relinquish organizer rights while competing.

1.4 Media License and Promotional Use

By submitting an entry to **Crux Tournament**, participants grant Eclipse Unit and Crux Tournament organizers a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, publish, edit, and incorporate the submitted content into tournament-related and promotional materials, including tournament videos, highlight reels, recap videos, social media content, website showcases, livestreams, and future Crux Tournament promotional materials.

Participants retain ownership of their original work. This license does not transfer ownership of the submitted content.

By submitting an entry, participants represent that they own the submitted content or otherwise have all necessary rights and permissions to grant the license described above. Participants are responsible for ensuring that any third-party material included in their submission is properly licensed or otherwise legally permitted for the uses described in these Guidelines.

Participants acknowledge that their submission may be used in future Crux Tournament content without additional permission or compensation.

By uploading or submitting content through the Crux Tournament website, participants acknowledge and agree to these terms.

2. Tournament Format

The format for each season will be announced before the tournament begins and may include:

- Group Stage

- Single Elimination

- Free-For-All (FFA)

Specific matchups, advancement rules, and elimination conditions will be determined based on the selected format.

3. Schedule

3.1 Round Duration

Each tournament round lasts one month.

3.2 Deadlines

All submissions must be submitted before the announced deadline. Late submissions may be penalized or disqualified at the organizers' discretion.

4. Judging Criteria and Scoring

4.1 Judging Criteria

Entries will be evaluated using the following criteria:

4.2 Evaluation Process

- Judges score each criterion on a scale of 0–10.

- Scores from all judges are averaged to determine the final score.

- The participant with the highest final score advances or wins, depending on the format.

4.3 Tiebreakers

In the event of a tie, the team with the higher average tournament score will advance. If both teams have the same average score, neither team will be eliminated.

5. Disqualifiable Offenses

The following actions may result in immediate disqualification, removal from the tournament, forfeiture of prizes, and/or a temporary or permanent ban from future tournaments.

5.1 Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Participants may not:

- Use AI-generated video, animation, artwork, models, textures, or other visual content as a significant component of an entry.

- Use AI to generate substantial portions of a submission.

- Attempt to conceal AI-generated content from organizers or judges.

5.2 Project File Sharing

Participants may not:

- Use another participant's project files, scenes, compositions, templates, or source files without explicit organizer approval.

- Submit work primarily created by someone outside the registered team.

- Share project files with competitors for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage.

5.3 Plagiarism and Asset Theft

Participants may not:

- Copy or heavily recreate another creator's work without permission or proper attribution.

- Present another person's work as their own.

- Use stolen, leaked, or unauthorized assets.

5.4 Harassment and Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Participants may not:

- Harass, threaten, insult, or target other participants, judges, organizers, or community members.

- Encourage others to harass tournament participants.

- Create a hostile environment through discrimination, hate speech, or repeated personal attacks.

5.5 Score Manipulation and Tournament Integrity

Participants may not:

- Attempt to influence judges through bribery, threats, harassment, or other inappropriate means.

- Coordinate with other participants to manipulate rankings, results, or tournament outcomes.

- Intentionally submit false evidence or misleading information during investigations.

5.6 Submission Fraud

Participants may not:

- Submit work created before the tournament announcement while claiming it was made during the tournament.

- Submit multiple entries through alternate accounts or identities.

- Falsify authorship, team membership, or eligibility information.

5.7 Verification Refusal

Participants may not:

- Refuse to provide requested project files, source materials, or proof of work when requested by organizers.

- Alter, delete, or fabricate evidence during a verification process.

5.8 Team Participation

- All team members must make a meaningful contribution to the final submission.

- A submission that does not contain a substantial amount of work from each listed team member may be disqualified at organizer discretion.

5.9 Exploitation of Loopholes

Participants may not:

- Intentionally exploit ambiguities, omissions, or loopholes in these Guidelines to gain an unfair advantage.

- Circumvent restrictions through alternate accounts, third parties, or technical workarounds.

5.10 Organizer Discretion

Organizers reserve the right to disqualify participants for conduct that undermines the fairness, integrity, or spirit of the tournament, even if the behavior is not explicitly listed within these Guidelines.

6. Prizes and Payouts

6.1 Payout Methods

PayPal is the preferred payout method. Alternative methods may be offered at the organizers' discretion.

6.2 Payout Timing

Prize payouts are typically processed within 7 days and no later than 90 days following the conclusion of the tournament.

6.3 Prize Distribution

Prizes won will be divided equally among team members unless all team members provide explicit consent to an alternative distribution.

7. Tournament Cancellation and Rescheduling

7.1 Entry Validity

Submitted entries remain valid if the tournament is postponed or rescheduled.

7.2 Team Changes

If team composition changes after submission, organizers may require a new submission.

8. Final Provisions

8.1 Rules Subject to Change

Tournament organizers reserve the right to modify these Guidelines when necessary. Participants will be informed of any changes through official tournament communication channels.

8.2 Dispute Resolution

Tournament organizers retain final authority over all disputes, scoring decisions, and rule interpretations.

8.3 Communication

All official announcements and communication will be conducted through the tournament's designated Discord server.

8.4 Acceptance of Rules

By participating in the Crux Tournament, participants acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agree to abide by these Guidelines.