Premier Rules | Blue Otter League

Season 8 IBS Rules

Premier Eligibility Rules

Eligibility

Premier League

1. Players must have ended Emerald 1 99 LP or below AND did not peak Diamond 4 at any point during Season 14-1, Season 14-2, or Season 14-3. Blue Otter will only take flex rank into account if there’s a big discrepancy between a player’s solo queue rank and flex rank.

1.a If a player has played the minimum, or close to the minimum, number of games required in the previous season, they can be denied entry into the league. This also includes other factors such as previous ranked history, competitive play performance, and the peak rank of the player in the previous season.

2. Players will be considered on a case by case basis if they have peaked Diamond or above in Season 13 or before.

3. A player may freely climb throughout the season and year without being kicked out of the league. Any player removals will be done after a full year of the Premier League.

3.a Players may start climbing once they are verified on a roster.

4. Teams are required to research their players, admins are not responsible if a player is found out to be ineligible later in the season.

5. All players must have 10 Solo/Duo Queue ranked games, in Season 15-1, on their main account in order to be eligible to play in Blue Otter League at the start of the season. This includes starters, subs, AND e-subs.

5.a All ranked game requirements must be met on one account.

5.b Players must have 40 ranked solo/duo games to be eligible for playoffs this season.

5.c Ranked games should be completed with the upmost integrity. If BOL staff can verify a player has intentionally fed multiple games without a reasonable doubt, this can impact their eligibility for the league.

5.d Players will not be considered for eligibility unless they have played 50+ solo/duo ranked games in Season 14-1, 50+ solo/duo ranked games in Season 14-2, and 50+ solo/duo ranked games in Season 14-3.

5.e Players can use excess Season 15-1 ranked games to make up for missed Season 14-3, Season 14-2. and/or Season 14-1 ranked games.

6.f Players can use excess Season 14-3 ranked games to make up for missed Season 14-2 and/or Season 14-1 ranked games.

5.g Players can use excess Season 14-2 ranked games to make up for missed Season 14-1 ranked games.

5.h Missing a split of ranked can impact the eligibility of a player if they are only trying to meet the minimum requirements.

6. Banned accounts and any accounts you no longer have access to do not count towards the minimum game requirement.

7. Before players are eligible to play on a roster they must be cleared by Blue Otter Admins.

8. If your main account is permanently banned during any BOL league season, you will be considered ineligible to participate in Blue Otter League for the remainder of that season. If your main account is suspended at any point in the season, you will be ineligible to play in BOL until your suspension has been lifted. The BOL league season starts when a team is accepted into the league.

9. Accounts in other regions must be disclosed to BOL staff. These accounts will be considered when determining player eligibility but will not solely be the reason of acceptance or denial.

10. All alternate accounts level 30+ must be disclosed. Failure to disclose an account can result in a suspension or possibly being denied from participating in BOL. If a player’s undisclosed account is found in between seasons, the suspension can carry over to the next season.

11. Ultimately all eligibility comes down to admin discretion, the admins can collectively agree to deny or remove any player.

12. Player eligibility cannot be bypassed by an agreement with another team. (Minimum game requirements or rank requirements)

13. BOL uses OP.gg to determine eligibility and game count.

14. BOL uses League of Graphs to determine peak rank of a player.

Rosters

League Rosters

1. All BOL rosters are all limited to a ten man roster & 2 coaches/managers.

1.a Each team will consist of 5 starters, 2 substitutes, and 3 reserve players.

1.a.1 Using a listed reserve player during an official match will result in 1 ban loss in the first phase for each game the player plays.

1.b Each team is limited to two roster additions per week up to the Playoff Roster Lock.

1.c Each team is allowed 5 total roster additions throughout each season of Premier.

1.d BOL staff will either approve, deny, or ask for more information about a player within 48 hours after submitting a roster change.

1.e Roster changes may be suspended as staff looks into the player in question. It is important that the captain always has a back up plan in the event that a player is denied or their roster change is suspended. The vetting team will take all necessary steps to ensure that roster changes are not suspended and players are cleared or denied as fast as possible.

1.f Any roster change denial is considered final for the split.

2. All roster changes must be submitted by a team captain which includes emergency subs. If a captain is unavailable, another player may request permission to make their team’s roster changes with admin approval.

2.a A team captain should ping the player they are adding to their roster when making the roster change.

2.b Players are required to link all of their accounts to their discord using the /link-account command in the BOL discord in order for their roster change to be considered. The roster change will be automatically denied if the player has not linked any accounts.

3. Teams are only allowed the 5 starting players in their voice communications while in game. Teams are required to be in their respective Discord voice channels during official BOL matches. There will be no exceptions to this rule.

4. Weekly roster lock is Thursday at 11:59 PM EST.

5. Any player submitted after roster lock is considered an emergency sub.

6.a Emergency subs will not be added to the team's roster. If the team wishes to add the player for the future, they will need to wait until the roster change channel is unlocked after the conclusion of the current week of matches.

6. Players and/or Captains must submit player name changes in the name change channel prior to roster lock in any given week. Failure to do so will result in 1 ban loss per player. (This rule will be amended when we have name changes automatically update)

6.a As a captain, it is your responsibility to make sure your team is ready for the week.

6.b The ban loss can be waived by the opposing team.

6.c Each team will get one freebie where the ban loss will be waived by BOL staff.

7. Playoff rosters will be locked 1 week prior to the conclusion of the regular season.

8. Players who play in an official BOL game with one team will have a one week lock out period before they are eligible to play on another team.

8.a Players can only change teams once during a season of Blue Otter Premier League.

9. Players may drop themselves from a roster at any point by opening a ticket in #ticket-help-desk. If a player is dropped or drops themselves from a team without playing in the previous week, they would be eligible to join a team immediately.

9.a Players on cooldown will not be eligible to be added to a roster until their cooldown is over. Cooldowns are for each league. Cooldowns are only for the week of matches. For example, if a player played in week 3 and was dropped on that Monday, they would be eligible to be added after the week 4 games are completed.

Captains

1. Each team is allowed two captains on their roster at a time. One captain needs to be a starting player. The other captain can be a coach, manager, or another player.

2. Captains are responsible for team management, roster changes as well as communication with other team captains and tournament organizers.

3. Captains are required to uphold tournament rules to the best of their ability.

Coaches

1. Each team is allowed two coaches/managers on their roster at a time and the team captain must add them via roster change before the weekly roster lock.

2. Coaches may be in team communication for pick/ban phase but must leave after.

3. Coaches may rejoin voice communications in between games but must leave when the game starts.

4. If a coach has gone AFK in team communications, open a ticket to have them removed from the voice channel.

4.a If a team fails to remove their coach in any circumstance during the game, the first offense will result in a warning. If a second infraction occurs the coach will no longer be eligible to join the team call as well as a ban loss in their next game.

5. Any coach not listed on a roster that grabs their team role and or joins the team call will result in a 2 ban loss for the next available game. Any additional infractions will result in the individual being barred from team calls.

E-subs

1. Each team is allowed a maximum of two esubs per game. After that their team will forfeit their games.

1.a Teams are limited to one esub during playoffs.

1.b Teams are allotted a maximum of 5 esubs per season. Once the maximum number of esubs has been reached any further attempt for esubs will be denied.

2. One esub used will be a 2 ban loss penalty in the first ban rotation. Two esubs used will be a 4 ban loss penalty (3 in the first phase and 1 in the second phase) each game that they are used. Three or more e-subs is considered a forfeit.

2.a Teams that use an esub during playoffs will lose three bans in the first ban rotation each game that they are used.

3. Team Captains must clear their esubs through the esub clearance channel in the BOL discord in order for a player to be an esub. Players should ping roster staff for approval within 30 minutes of game time so staff can look at the potential player immediately.

4. For sportsmanship reasons, if your team is using an esub, let the opposing team know as soon as you can.

5. Players may only esub for one team per week for each league. Failure to follow this will result in a forfeit. Multiple offenses will result in a 3 week suspension for the e-sub and the inability to e-sub for teams indefinitely.

6. Esubs are subject to all BOL player eligibility rules and regulations.

7. Esubs will be heavily scrutinized to ensure competitive integrity. There will be no leniency towards teams who have waited until the last second to submit an esub.

Lobby & In Game

Lobby

1. Both teams must use the tournament code provided to them for each match by Blue Otter League.

2. Banter and trash talk should not be present in a game lobby or in game.

3. Each team is expected to follow BOL Discord Rules while in the lobby and in game.

4. Lobbies are not required to be checked by a mod or admin. However, if a team has a problem with a lobby, they may open a ticket and join help desk immediately for more assistance.

5. Any form of ban loss will occur in the first round of the ban phase. If a team loses more than 3 bans, any extra ban losses will carry over to the 2nd ban phase. A team may only receive a maximum of 5 ban losses per game.

6. Both teams must be in game lobby on the hour. Bans will occur 5 minutes after the game should start and in increments of 5 up until 3 bans are lost where a team will FF after that. You are required to screenshot the lobby and open a ticket to contact admins/mods before a team loses bans so that it may be verified by staff.

6.a There are no excuses for running late. Patch ahead of time or get a sub to take your spot.

7. Prodraft/Draftlol is required. You are required to send the spectator link to the opposing team. Streamed matches on the BOL twitch channel require the use of Draftlol.

8. Client bugs, or mispicks must be disclosed immediately and before the other team selects their pick. Otherwise the Prodraft/Draftlol will have to be remade up until the mispick occurred.

8.a Every team has the right to have one player with smite.

8.b This must be done before the game is loaded in.

8.c BOL Staff is not responsible for any misclicked summoner spells or masteries.

9. If any client/server issues regarding to game playability occurs, teams should pause the game and open a ticket ASAP so that BOL staff can intervene, if necessary. If a significant number of games are affected because of the same issue, any rulings made will only be directed to the games affected and reported. Please do not pause the game or notify staff if the issues are caused by personal internet problems.

10. If Blue Otter Tournament Organizers disables a champion and a team plays it, it is an automatic forfeit for that game.

11. Teams must line up in LCS order. The only allowed role swaps that are allowed after lining up in LCS order is top and mid.

12. Bot lanes that are currently allowed in BOL. As this season progresses, this rule will be amended to reflect current meta strategies.

12.a Current strategies: Sona Taric, Fasting Senna (full or 1/3rd), Double enchanter

Either Bot laner may play either of these champions

12.b AP Carry (lined up in the ADC spot) and Support

12.c Kill lanes are allowed. However, if we see a team abusing this rule by creating loopholes, they will be punished.

13. Teams are required to make their final champion changes before the timer countdown hits 20 seconds heading into the loading screen

13.a If a team believes that their opponent traded champions after there was less than 20 seconds left. The team can join help desk and request the lobby be remade.

14. Players are required to play on their main account listed with Blue Otter League via the /link-account display and eligible in terms of game requirements. This means that if you receive a 14 day suspension or a permanent ban you will be ineligible to play.

14.a If a player has maintained eligibility with their main account listed with Blue Otter League and Blue Otter League Staff can verify the eligibility, a player may request to play on an alternative account.

Fearless Draft Rules

1. In a Bo3 (regular season), game 1 will be a normal standard draft. In game 2, both teams cannot pick any champions that were played in game 1. In game 3, Both teams cannot pick any champions that were played in game 1 or game 2.

2. In a Bo5 (playoffs), games 1 through 3 are the same as the regular season. In game 4, each team only gets their first 3 bans. In game 5, neither team will have bans. Any champion that is picked during the series cannot be played by either team for the rest of the series.

2.a In game 4 and 5, if a team loses more bans than they are allotted, the opposing team will gain the difference as additional bans up to 5 total.

In Game

1. No excessive BMing. If a player feels that another team is BMing excessively they need to record or screenshot the examples and send them to the admin team. Punishment will result on the next played series for the team if the admin team feels that the team is being excessive.

2. We highly advise that you avoid any form of communication other than GG or explaining a pause while in game

3. Players that wish to stream BOL official matches must have a three minute delay on their stream.

4. Players must be in their team voice call during an official BOL game.

4.a If a player intentionally leaves their voice call and/or the game in the middle of a game, they will be suspended for a minimum of 2 weeks. The only exception is if their internet/client/discord crashes, or if they are moving to help desk for assistance.

5. Breaks should be limited to 10 minutes in-between games. After 10 minutes has expired, the regular ban loss process starts. Open a ticket or contact a tournament organizer in #help-desk for assistance if needed.

Pauses

1. Pauses are limited to 10 minutes per game and can only pause up to 3 times per game. After that, teams must play out the game regardless of issues unless the opposing team agrees to wait longer.

1a If a team is still paused after 10 minutes in a game or if they paused more than 3 times in a game, please open a ticket for staff assistance.

1.b Pauses should only be used for technical difficulties and emergencies. Abuse of the pause rule will be punished via ban loss in the next series. In severe cases the team can be removed from the league.

1.c Both teams are required to ready up in chat before a team unpauses. If this rule is broken, a team should immediately pause, open a ticket or find a tournament organizer in #help-desk and ask for assistance.

2. Pause Sharking - If a player or team notices a disconnect on the enemy team and they immediately engage in an attempt to gain an advantage before the impacted team can pause, please contact help desk immediately. Staff will make a ruling on if they believe the actions were malicious.

Remakes

1. Remakes are only allowed under severe server / client issues.

2. Teams must seek admin approval for a remake. It is important to pause as soon as possible and make a ticket for staff approval.

Post Game

1. After each game is completed teams are allowed a maximum break time of 10 minutes.

2. After the break has completed teams should be in the next game lobby preparing for pick and ban.

3. If an opposing team takes longer than 10 minutes, open a ticket. If this happens multiple times in a season, the team will be penalized depending on how late they are.

Match Reporting

1. After a match has completed the winning team's captain is required to post their match results in the designated channel. This needs to be completed the same day the match is played. Failure to follow this rule will result in ban losses for repeated offenses.

1.a Below is how a captain should report the matches. Examples will be further provided in the designated channel.

Pick Ban: <prodraft/draftlol link>

Match Result: <screenshot of post game lobby>

League Information

Schedule

1. BOL Premier will have 4 different starting times each week, 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. The second set of matches each day will start on a rolling basis.

1.a Saturday - Match 1 will start at 4:00 PM EST. Match 2 will start after Match 1 is completed, but will start at 6:00 PM EST at the earliest.

2.a Sunday - Match 1 will start at 4:00 PM EST. Match 2 will start after Match 1 is completed, but will start at 6:00 PM EST at the earliest.

2. Teams are allowed to reschedule a game if they have admin approval. The reschedule must be posted in the captain's chat and be acknowledged by staff and the opposing team's captain.

2.a Teams have a two week period to complete their rescheduled games ore they result in forfeits. The two week period may be waived by admins if deemed necessary.

Standings

1. Season standings will be based off of series score.

2. Standings will be decided by Series Score > Points > Head-to-head > Tied teams head-to-head score.

2.a Should any tiebreaker games be required it will be played the week after the conclusion of the regular season.

2.b Below is an example of how a three way tie would be decided.

Team A vs Team B : 2-0

Team B vs Team C: 2-1

Team C vs Team A: 2-0

Team C would be 1 seed

3. Point Breakdown:

2-0 Win - 6 points

2-1 Win - 5 points

1-2 Loss - 3 points

0-2 Loss - 2 points

0-2 Loss with 1 FF - 1 point

Forfeit - 0 points

Side Selection

1. For Bo3s, the team on the left side of the schedule will have blue side for games 1 and 3 while the team on the right will have blue side for game 2.

2. For Bo5s (aka playoffs), The higher seed in the matchup will be given side selection for Game 1. Side selection for Games 2, 3 ,4 and 5 will be given to the team that lost the previous game. For example, if Team B loses game 1, they get side selection in game 2. If Team B loses game 2, they will get side selection game 3. If two teams have the same seed, there will be a coinflip for game 1 side selection and then will proceed with the above procedure. (TL;DR: Loser gets side selection after game 1)

Captain Chat

1. Blue Otter League has implemented a Captain Chat. This is to help better reach our players and get feedback from them about rulings / rules and overall help to improve the player experience in the league.

Buy ins

1. There is a $150 entry fee for the Premier League

Team Branding

1. Team names and player names must be within Twitch and Riot TOS and within Blue Otter League Rules. BOL can require a player to change their name if necessary.

2. Teams are limited to one Name/Brand/Logo change per season due to the amount of resources that it takes to edit. These changes must be approved by BOL Tournament Organizers.

Champion Bans

1. Upon the release of a new champion, that champion will be banned from BOL matches for two weeks. If the ban rolls into playoffs the champion in question will be banned for the entirety of playoffs. If the champion's first week of eligibility would be in playoffs, the champion will be banned for the entirety of playoffs.

1.a Should there be a game breaking bug on any champion BOL reserves the right to remove that champion from BOL Matches indefinitely

2. Reworked champions will be disabled for 2 week.

3. Mid-scope updates will be on a case-by-case basis. BOL reserves the right to remove any champion from BOL matches pending information.

Stream Information

1. BOL intends on streaming every match in the Blue Otter Premier League.

2. Players are allowed to stream their own POV but they must stream with a 3 minute delay.

2.a BOL is not responsible for any stream sniping that occurs or any information that is found in this manner.

Discord Etiquette

1. In discord there is no tolerance for racism, hate speech or NSFW content.

2. Any death threats or telling someone “Kill yourself”, “kys”, or any variation will result in a suspension/mute depending on the severity

3. Instigation will result in a server mute and repeated offenses will result in suspensions and/or removal from the league.

4. Trash talk is an opt-in channel for those wishing to participate in the shenanigans.

4.a Even though trash talk is an opt-in channel there are boundaries. Rule 1, 2, 7, and 8 in Discord Etiquette is still applicable in the trash talk channel.

5. In extreme cases of harassment / extreme toxicity outside of the Blue Otter League Discord, admins may remove you from the League.

6. Failure to follow the discord rules will result in mutes, suspensions or bans.

7. Do not bring up political views into any discussion. This is a place to play league of legends and not a political debate. We understand that some of you have a very solid understanding of politics and can debate without getting personal but every debate would get out of hand.

7.a 1st offense - Formal warning

2nd offense - Muted for 1 week

3rd offense - Muted indefinitely

8. Do not post screenshots of players saying racist, sexist, or any other statements that would be against BOL discord rules in any channel. Make sure you contact admins directly regarding players breaking BOL Discord rules via DMs.

Disciplinary Actions

1. Intentionally Account Sharing - If a player is intentionally account sharing on their main account, they will be suspended for at least 1 season of BOL. Second offense is a permanent ban from the league.

1.a Knowledge of Account Sharing - First offense will result in a league suspension for the season. Second offense will result in a permanent league ban.

1.b Players should not be account sharing any of their alternate accounts during the BOL season. This will result in a 1 week suspension for first time offenses. Players should be upfront with Blue Otter League Staff if they have ever account shared in the past.

2. Hate Speech / Racism - First offense is a ban.

3. NSFW Content - Punishment will vary depending on severity.

4. Smurfing - Banned from the league.

4.a There will be no remakes for teams that are found to have a smurf on them or account sharing. All wins will result as a loss and standings will be adjusted accordingly.

5. Knowledge of Smurfing - First offense is an indefinite ban.

6. Excessive Lobby & In game BM - Depending on the severity of the case. First offense is a ban loss for your team upon the next series. If these actions continue it will be up to admin discretion for future punishments and possible removal from the league depending on severity.

6.a Lobby and in game penalties are enforced on the next series after a proper investigation can be completed.

7. Win Trading - Any form of win trading that has proof without a reasonable doubt will result in the removal of either one or both teams depending on the situation.

8. Streaming without 3 min delay- Players that wish to stream BOL official matches must have a three minute delay on their stream. The first offense will result in a warning. Any future offenses will result in ban losses for the next series. If it is determined that you have received outside assistance while streaming, the game will count as a forfeit.

9. Severe Cases - Any severe cases not listed under Disciplinary Actions, punishment will be up to Admin discretion based on the severity of the case.

10. Pause Abuse - Ban losses upon next series.

Rules are subject to amendment(s) based off of Admin / Player Feedback