Effective for all TFCL Sixes competitions.

Participation in any TFCL Sixes event constitutes full acceptance of these rules and any future amendments.

0. Code of Conduct

Read this first. The conduct standards listed here apply across every TFCL-operated channel, not just inside matches. They cover forums, Discord servers, voice chat during matches, in-game text chat, broadcast chat, profile content, and any community event run under the TFCL banner. The admins, moderators, and staff who enforce these rules give their time for free on behalf of the community; treat them accordingly.

0.1 · Respect admins

Treat TFCL admins and staff with the same respect you would expect from them. This applies in any channel where a TFCL representative is present, including but not limited to: TFCL Discord servers, in-game voice and text, the community forum, broadcasts, and official TFCL events.

• Do not troll admins. Provocative jokes, bait messages, or sustained low-effort engagement aimed at admins is treated the same as trolling any other player.
• Do not be toxic toward admins. Personal attacks, sarcasm aimed at an admins decisions, or sustained hostile tone is treated the same as toxicity toward any other player.
• Do not threaten admins. Threats, doxxing attempts, or coordinated harassment targeted at admins result in an immediate full-season ban with no warning.
• Do not impersonate admins. Claiming to speak for the league, pretending to be staff, or misrepresenting admin authority is a full-season ban.
• If you disagree with a decision, use the formal appeals process (Rule 18). Disagreement is welcome; abuse is not.

0.2 · No toxicity toward admins

Toxicity toward admins is treated as a distinct, more severe category of misconduct than general toxicity because the admins role is structurally vulnerable: they rule on disputes, then keep playing. The following are explicitly prohibited in any channel where the relationship between a player and an admin is observable:

• Personal insults, slurs, or hate speech directed at an admin by name or by role.
• Passive-aggressive remarks, sarcasm, or coded language used to insult an admin while technically following the letter of the rules.
• Sustained negative sentiment toward a specific admin across multiple posts, threads, or matches.
• Public complaints about an admin that are framed as personal attacks rather than procedural concerns. Procedural complaints belong in the appeals process (Rule 18).
• Encouraging other players to dislike, distrust, or avoid a specific admin.

0.3 · Admin authority during play and disputes

During an active match, dispute, or administrative review, the assigned TFCL admin has final say on the call being made in that moment. The formal appeals process exists to overturn that callafter the fact; it does not exist to relitigate in real time. The following are required while an admin is actively governing:

• Follow the admins instructions as given. If you cannot comply for a technical reason, state the reason explicitly in match chat.
• Do not argue the call in voice chat. State your disagreement once, in chat, for the record; then continue playing.
• Do not crowd an admin with private messages, DMs, or @-mentions while a ruling is being made.
• Do not stream-snipe or quote the admin out of context to publicly embarrass them. If you believe a ruling was wrong, file an appeal.
• Once the ruling is finalised, the admins word on the matter is closed until and unless the appeals process reopens it.

1. League Authority

TFCL operates as an independent competitive league for Team Fortress 2 Sixes.

1.1 · League authority over competitions

TFCL retains full authority over all Sixes competitions hosted under its banner.

1.2 · Administrator rule interpretation

League administrators may interpret and enforce these rules to preserve competitive integrity.

1.3 · Finality of administrative decisions

Administrative decisions are final unless overturned through TFCL’s formal appeal process.

1.4 · Definitions

Terms used throughout this rulebook:

• 5CP — Five Control Point. Maps with five sequential capture points (e.g. cp_snakewater, cp_sunshine). Continuous play, no halftimes.
• KOTH — King of the Hill. Single-point maps; matches are run as a sequence of rounds until one team reaches the win limit.
• Stopwatch — Each team attacks and defends once; the team that completes its attack fastest, or captures more points, wins.
• FFW — Forfeit Win. A match awarded by an administrator to one team when the opposing team forfeits. Recorded as a 2-0 result.
• Sub — A player already rostered on a team. May play any match at any time, subject to roster-lock rules.
• Ringer — A player not on the team’s roster. Must be approved via official match comms, granted server access, and pays the ringer fee for the season.
• Demo — A Source-engine in-game recording (POV demo) used as evidence in disputes and investigations.
• Match comms — The private match communication channel (one per scheduled match) visible only to the two competing teams and TFCL admins. The canonical place to declare forfeits, request ringers, log match outcomes, and handle disputes.
• STV — Source TV. The broadcast/observer slot on a competitive server. Operating at a 90-second broadcast delay, STV is the only place coaches, casters, and spectators may join.
• DDOS-protected match — A match rescheduled to a DDOS-protected matchmaking server at admin request, used when an active or recent DDOS has affected competitive play.

2. Competitive Conduct

The following behaviours are prohibited in any TFCL-sanctioned match or event:

2.1 · Cheating and unauthorised software

Cheating, scripting, or use of unauthorized software.

2.2 · Exploiting bugs or unintended game mechanics

Exploiting bugs or unintended game mechanics.

2.3 · Match fixing and collusion

Match fixing, intentional throwing, or collusion.

2.4 · Harassment and threats

Harassment, hate speech, threats, or targeted abuse.

2.5 · Impersonation and account sharing

Impersonation, account sharing, or identity misrepresentation.

2.6 · Abuse of league systems

Abuse of league systems, scheduling, or administrative processes.

3. TFCL Ban Policy

3.1 · Independent ban authority

TFCL bans are issued and enforced independently of all other leagues.

3.2 · External bans not auto-recognised

External league bans are not automatically recognized.

3.3 · Cross-league ban sharing

In extreme circumstances, TFCL may share ban information or recognize external bans on a case-by-case basis.

4. Sixes Format

4.1 · Team size

Six (6) players per team.

4.2 · Class limits (automatically enforced)

5. Whitelist & Server Settings

5.1 · Item whitelist

• TFCL Sixes matches use the official TFCL whitelist, located at whitelist.tf/tfcl_6v6.
• Only items explicitly allowed on the published whitelist may be used in a TFCL Sixes match.
• The TFCL whitelist is frozen for the duration of an active season. Any new weapon, item, or attribute added to TF2 during the season is automatically banned in TFCL competition until reviewed for the following season.

5.2 · Server configuration

• Random critical hits - Disabled
• Random damage spread - Disabled
• Weapon drops - Enabled
• Cooperative taunts - Disabled
• Pure server enforcement - Enabled

6. Match Formats

All TFCL Sixes matches are played in continuous mode under the Progressive Config — there are no halftimes, and a winner is declared the moment the win limit is reached. The map pool is published for each season as a news article on the TFCL homepage and listed on the TFCL Prime website. The published map pool is authoritative for the duration of the season.

6.1 · 5CP (Progressive Config)

• Each 5CP map has a map timer of thirty (30) minutes and a round timer of four (4) minutes.
• Match is continuous: the first team to five (5) rounds won is the winner.
• If the 30-minute map timer expires before either team reaches five rounds won, the win limit is automatically reduced to (current highest rounds won on the scoreboard + 1), triggering continuous overtime. The first team to reach the new limit wins.
• Side color (RED/BLU) is assigned by TFCL at league level when the match is scheduled.

6.2 · KOTH (Progressive Config)

• Each KOTH map has no map timer.
• Match is continuous: the first team to four (4) rounds won is the winner.
• Side color (RED/BLU) is assigned by TFCL at league level when the match is scheduled.

6.3 · Stopwatch

• Each team attacks and defends once.
• Winner is determined by points captured first; on a points tie, by fastest completion time.
• Side color is assigned by TFCL at league level when the match is scheduled.

6.4 · Tiebreakers

• 6.4.1 - Ratio. Teams sorted by Rounds Won ÷ Rounds Played.
• 6.4.2 - Head-to-Head. Winner of the regular-season game between the tied teams.
• 6.4.3 - Tiebreaker Match. If (1) and (2) do not break the tie, the tied teams play one (1) tiebreaker match (BO1 of the season’s first 5CP map) at a time scheduled by TFCL. The winner takes the higher standings position.

7. Rosters & Eligibility

• 7.1 - Maximum roster size: 12 players
• 7.2 - Minimum players required to play a match: 5
• 7.3 - Minimum players required to ready up: 6
• 7.4 - Maximum ringers per match: 2
• 7.5 - A player may only compete on a single TFCL Sixes team at any given time. A player is not permitted to maintain active roles on two TFCL Sixes teams in the same season, even across divisions.
• 7.6 - Smurfing or account sharing may result in suspension or permanent TFCL bans

7.7 · Subs and ringers

A team that does not have six (6) of its own roster available for a scheduled match may use subs and ringers, in the following order:

• Sub. A sub is a player who is already on the team’s official TFCL roster. A rostered sub may play any match for the team at any time, with no further approval required.
• Ringer. A ringer is a player who is not on the team’s roster — either rostered on a different TFCL Sixes team, completed on a TFCL Sixes roster in a prior season, or not rostered at all. Ringers must be approved via the official match comms (the match’s TFCL channel) and granted server access by the team leader before the ringer slots into the match.
• Ringer fee. Each ringer used in a TFCL Sixes match must pay the season’s ringer fee before being eligible to compete further. The ringer fee is published at the start of each season in the season’s registration announcement.
• A team may field at most two (2) ringers in any single match (§7.4).

8. Playoffs

• 8.1 - Single Elimination format
• 8.2 - Seeding based on regular-season performance
• 8.3 - All playoff matches are elimination matches

9. Disputes & Match Issues

The official channel for competition-level disputes within a match is the match’s match comms (§1.4). Match comms are private to the two competing teams and the assigned TFCL admins assigned to that division; they are not visible to other players or to the wider public. Citing a specific rule in match comms is encouraged so admins can resolve disputes on the documented rulebook text.

9.1 · Pre-match & warmup disputes

• Declare “playing under protest” in match comms before ready-up.
• Declare the protest in match comms (not Steam chat, not Discord DMs).
• Reference the specific rule if possible.
• Play the match as normal unless unplayable due to severe violations.

9.2 · In-match disputes

• Continue play whenever possible.
• Mark the exact moment the issue occurs.
• Provide demos, screenshots, logs, or timestamps when available.
• Record the dispute and any admin ruling in match comms so the record is preserved past the end of the match.

10. Final Provisions

• 10.1 - TFCL is not affiliated with Valve or Steam.
• 10.2 - Participation implies acceptance of all current and future rules.
• 10.3 - Competitive integrity and player safety take precedence over match outcomes.

11. Player Identity & Eligibility

11.1 · Account ownership

• Players must compete on Steam accounts they personally own.
• Players may not compete on an alt account or on a borrowed or shared account. The use of an alt or borrowed account is grounds for an immediate competitive-integrity investigation.
• TFCL staff may perform ownership verification on any account suspected of being an alt or borrowed account. Verification confirms that the player competing in a TFCL match is the same person who owns the underlying Steam account.
• The form and depth of ownership verification is determined by TFCL admins on a case-by-case basis at their discretion.
• The appeals process (§18) reviews the process used in a verification decision; the substantive call remains at admin discretion.

11.2 · Alternate accounts

• Use of alternate accounts must be disclosed to TFCL staff upon request.
• Undisclosed alternate accounts may result in disciplinary action.

12. Roster Integrity

12.1 · Roster lock

• Each season defines a published roster lock date, after which no further roster trades, additions, or removals may occur. For a standard-length season the roster lock falls in week six (6); exact dates are announced in the season’s registration announcement.
• Roster changes after the published lock date require explicit administrative approval and are recorded in the affected team’s match comms for the remainder of the season.
• A roster that competes with a player not on its locked roster (or with an unapproved post-lock addition) forfeits any match in which that player participated.

12.2 · Player transfers

• Players may not transfer teams mid-season without TFCL approval.
• Transfers intended to manipulate standings or playoff outcomes are prohibited.

13. Match Conduct & Gameplay Flow

13.1 · Pauses

• Each team is permitted three (3) pauses per match. The fourth pause initiated by a team, regardless of the stated reason (technical, player disconnect, strategic, administrative), results in that team forfeiting the match.
• Pauses may be called for any reason a team considers valid. Teams are expected to use pauses in good faith; intentional abuse (e.g. pausing to deny the other team useful information) is treated as stalling (§13.2).
• An admin-directed pause does not count against either team's three-pause limit.

13.2 · Stalling

• Intentional stalling to run out time or avoid engagement is prohibited.
• TFCL administrators may intervene or issue penalties for excessive stalling.

13.3 · Server access

• Only players who are actively competing in a match may join the match server.
• Coaches, spectators, casters, broadcasters, analysts, and any other non-competing persons must join the STV (Source TV) slot of the match server. The STV slot runs at a ninety (90) second broadcast delay relative to live play.
• A player whose team has forfeited a match must leave the match server within ten (10) minutes of the forfeit decision; they may not remain in-game to delay the FFW record.

13.4 · DDOS-protected reschedule

• If a match is affected by a DDOS event, the affected players (or their team leader) open a support ticket with TFCL admins requesting a DDOS-protected matchmaking server.
• Upon ticket approval, TFCL reschedules the match to the DDOS-protected server at a fair time agreed by both teams and the admin.
• If a DDOS-protected reschedule is not possible within the regular-season deadline, the match is recorded under TFCL force-majeure provisions (§22).

14. Evidence & Match Documentation

14.1 · Demo recording

• Demo recording is not required for participation in TFCL matches.
• TFCL staff will only request demos when there is a legitimate reason to do so, such as during an investigation into a player or match.
• Each player is granted one (1) failed demo submission per season without penalty.
• Demo tolerance during playoff matches matches the regular-season tolerance (§14.1–§14.4). No heightened demo standard applies during playoffs.

14.2 · Demo requests

• When a demo is requested by TFCL staff, the player will have twelve (12) hours to provide the requested demo.
• It is the player’s responsibility to ensure demos are properly recorded, correctly labeled, and clearly identifiable as their own POV.

14.3 · Failure to provide a demo

• Failure to provide a requested demo without valid justification will result in a three (3) match suspension (after the one failed submission allowance is used).
• Repeated failure to comply with demo requests may result in further disciplinary action.

14.4 · Fake or fraudulent demos

Demo recording exists to protect players, not punish them. Players are strongly encouraged to record demos for all matches to ensure they can defend themselves in the event of a dispute or investigation.

15. Scheduling, No-Shows & Forfeits

15.1 · Grace period

• Teams are granted a fifteen (15) minute grace period from the scheduled match start time.
• Failure to field the minimum required players after the grace period allows the opposing team to invoke the forfeit procedure (§15.3).

15.2 · Match page and rescheduling

Every TFCL Sixes match has a dedicated match page on TFCL Prime. All scheduling, rescheduling, communicative forfeits, and final-score reporting are performed on the match page.

• Declared forfeits are filed by clicking the match forfeit button on the match page.
• Rescheduling is performed through the auto-scheduler on the match page. The auto-scheduler proposes match slots within the regular-season deadline; either team may accept.
• Forfeits or rescheduling requests communicated outside the match page (in Steam chat or unmoderated Discord DMs) are not valid; they must be filed on the match page to take effect.

15.3 · Forfeits

A forfeit (FFW) is a match awarded to one team when the opposing team cannot, or will not, play to completion. Forfeits are recorded as a 2-0 result for or against the forfeiting team.

• Declaration. A team forfeits by clicking the match forfeit button on its scheduled match page. The opposing team’s match page automatically records a 2-0 FFW in their favour.
• Reschedule option. Both teams retain the option to reschedule a FFW match through the auto-scheduler (§15.2), provided both teams agree and the rescheduled match completes before the regular-season deadline.
• Prize earnings. Whether a team earned its finish in the standings by direct play or by FFW accumulation is irrelevant to prize distribution at the end of the season. A team that finishes the season at a given placement receives that placement’s prize earnings, including when its path to that placement includes forfeits won or lost.

15.4 · Penalty ladder (paid divisions)

TFCL Sixes operates as a paid-division league. Forfeits trigger a three-strike ladder:

• First forfeit. A minor penalty is recorded against the forfeiting team. No additional consequence beyond the standing record.
• Second forfeit. A second minor penalty is recorded against the forfeiting team.
• Third forfeit. The team is expelled from the league for the remainder of the season.
• Major penalty. Each Major penalty assessed against a team (whether for forfeits or other rule violations) results in the subtraction of one (1) full win from the team’s regular-season standings.

15.5 · Rescheduling abuse

• Repeated reschedule requests without valid justification may be denied.
• TFCL administrators may enforce default match times.

16. Discipline & Enforcement

16.1 · Penalty escalation

Disciplinary actions may include warnings, round loss, match forfeiture, suspension, or permanent ban. Severity, intent, and repeat behavior determine escalation.

16.2 · Unsportsmanlike conduct

• Excessive taunting, griefing, stalling, or disruptive behavior is prohibited.
• Administrators may issue penalties even if behavior does not violate a specific rule.

17. Administrative Authority

17.1 · Rule interpretation

• TFCL administrators have final authority in interpreting and enforcing all rules.
• Decisions are made in the interest of competitive integrity and league stability.

17.2 · Emergency rulings

• TFCL may issue temporary rulings for situations not explicitly covered.
• Emergency rulings may be codified into future rule updates.

18. Appeals Process

Player-versus-player and team-versus-team disputes are handled in the match’s match comms (§9). When a dispute escalates beyond what a match’s admins can resolve in real time — for example a ban appeal, an ownership verification review (§11.1), or a dispute about the substance of an administrative ruling — the matter is escalated through the TFCL Ticketing system. Tickets are private, admin-routed, and distinct from match comms. Match-comms / Discord-discussion of an open ticket is discouraged and may itself be treated as conduct under §0.

• 18.1 - Tickets must be filed within the timeframe specified by TFCL staff for the type of dispute at issue (ban appeals within seven (7) days of the ban; ownership-verification appeals within fourteen (14) days; other disputes within seven (7) days absent a different published deadline).
• 18.2 - Tickets must include supporting evidence (demos, screenshots, logs, timestamps, or written statements as applicable).
• 18.3 - Ticket decisions are final.
• 18.4 - The appeals process reviews the process used in a verification or disciplinary decision; the substantive call remains at admin discretion.

19. Public Conduct & Confidentiality

19.1 · Public behavior

• Players represent TFCL during matches, streams, and official communications.
• Public behavior that damages league reputation may result in penalties.

19.2 · Confidentiality

• Ongoing investigations are confidential.
• Public discussion of active investigations may result in disciplinary action.

20. Prize Pools & Financial Payouts

20.1 · Age requirement

20.2 · Payout distribution

• TFCL issues prize pool payments only to the designated team leader.
• It is the responsibility of the team leader to distribute prize winnings fairly among team members.
• TFCL is not responsible for internal team payout disputes.

20.3 · Forfeited winnings — playoff matches

Forfeiting a playoff match reduces the forfeiting team’s prize earnings and reallocates a portion of the forfeited amount to the match’s winning team. Forfeited winnings that are not reallocated to the winning team return to TFCL itself; they are not redistributed to other playoff teams.

• Playoff (non-grand-finals) forfeit. The forfeiting team is docked fifty percent (50%) of its prize earnings for the season. Of the forfeited amount, seventy-five percent (75%) is awarded to the team that would have advanced; the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) returns to TFCL’s general league funds.
• Grand Finals forfeit. The forfeiting team is docked one hundred percent (100%) of its prize earnings for the season. Of the forfeited amount, seventy-five percent (75%) is awarded to the Grand Finals’ winning team; the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) returns to TFCL’s general league funds.
• Eligibility. The split in §20.3.1 and §20.3.2 only applies when forfeits result in a playoff-prize redistribution. Regular-season forfeits under §15 do not redistribute prize earnings between teams; a team’s placement is what determines their payout, regardless of how that placement was reached (§15.3.3).

21. Season Addenda

• 21.1 - TFCL may issue season-specific addenda covering map pools, whitelist changes, and format adjustments.
• 21.2 - Addenda supersede base rules for the duration of the season.

22. Force Majeure

• 22.1 - TFCL is not responsible for match disruption due to platform outages, server failures, or events beyond league control.
• 22.2 - Administrators will determine appropriate remedies.

23. Prohibited Content

Network-wide. The following prohibitions apply across the entire TFCL network including the League competitive platform (tfcleague.com), TFCL Prime (prime.tfcleague.com), TFCL Play pickup-game lobbies (play.tfcleague.com), the community forum, all TFCL-operated Discord servers, official TFCL broadcasts and stream chats, and any community event run under the TFCL banner. They sit apart from the seasonal rulebook because they are categorically about content, not competition; they apply year-round to every participant regardless of division.

23.1 · Pornography

Posting, displaying, sharing, or linking to pornographic content is prohibited across the entire TFCL network. This includes but is not limited to profile avatars, profile banners, forum signatures, forum posts, Discord messages, in-game sprays, broadcast overlays, team logos, and team media assets. A first offence results in immediate removal from the affected channel; a repeat offence results in a league-wide ban.

23.2 · NSFW content

Posting, displaying, sharing, or linking to sexually explicit, sexually suggestive, or fetish content is prohibited across the entire TFCL network. This includes but is not limited to text, images, GIFs, videos, animations, audio, and links to any of the above. The rule applies to the underlying content, not the channel: NSFW framed as a “joke” or as “ironic” is still NSFW. Removal and league-wide ban penalties are the same as for pornography.

23.3 · Adult-only and age-restricted content

Posting, displaying, sharing, or linking to content restricted to 18+ audiences - including adult-only gaming platforms, gambling sites, alcohol or tobacco promotion, and any platform that is legally restricted by viewer age - is prohibited anywhere on the TFCL network that is visible to minors. Where the channel is verifiably 18+, posting such content is still discouraged; where it is mixed-age, it is banned outright.