Format

• Heat format, groups of 4, top 2 advance to next stage
  
• Judges will determine winner based on criteria
  

Rules

• You are given 20 minutes to catch and submit a fish
• You must submit a timestamped steam screenshot to prove that you have caught the fish
• All players in the heat must be in the same lobby
• Multiple heats can be hosted in the same lobby
• The screenshot of the fish being caught must be submitted with a minute of the round ending.
• Judges will determine the winner of each round
• All bait and rod options are allowed
• Use of boxing gloves are NOT allowed
• Fish caught by Fishing Buddies are NOT accepted
• Example given below, notice how the fish species, length, shiny status, and timestamp are all contained. Submissions that do not provide all 4 will NOT BE ACCEPTED
• Screenshot submission example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hY7M0BVRujFcTWb1v4U7RYOQ0XgBS-Ie/view?usp=sharing

Judging

• Judging will be done using a point based system
• Calculation will be done in the order that it is listed
• Junk objects will not be considered for scoring
• Initial score will be equivalent to the fish's length, 1cm of length will grant 1 point
• The initial score of Whales and Leedsichthys will only be half of their recorded length
• Fish in the "Freshwater" category will get a 3x multiplier to their score
• Fish in the "Misc" category will get a 3x multiplier to their score (Leedsichthys excluded)
• Hammerhead Sharks, Bull Sharks, and Gars will get a 1.5x multiplier to their score
• Octopi, Alligators, Muskellunges, Golden Manta Rays, and CREATURE will have a 2x multiplier to their score
• Sea Turtles, Squids, Sawfish, Bull Sharks, Great White Sharks, and King Salmon will have a 3x multiplier to their score
• Anomalocaris, Horseshoe Crabs, Coelacanths, and Alien Fish will have a 4x multiplier to their score
• Man O' Wars will have a 5x multiplier to their score
• Turtles, Toads, and Koi will have a 8x multiplier to their score
• Pupfishes, Mooneye, and Axolotls will have a 12x multiplier to their score
• Golden Bass will have a 15x multiplier to their score
• The "star level" of each fish will also add a multiplier. Each star will add an additional 1 + (0.5 x star) multiplier. For example, a 1 star fish will be 1.5x, 2 stars will be 2.0x , 3 stars will be 2.5, etc.