Tournament Rules

Set Length

All tournament sets will be best-of-3 games and best-of-5 games for top 8 games.

Set Procedure

Players select their characters. Use Starter Stage Striking (5 and 17), or the Gentlemen’s Clause (3), to determine the first stage (15). The players play the first game of the set. The winning player of the preceding game strikes three stages (18). The losing player of the preceding game picks a stage for the next game from the remaining maps. The winning player of the preceding game may choose to change characters and ARMS. These changes must be announced to their opponent. The losing player of the preceding game may choose to change characters and ARMS. The next game is played. Repeat steps ‘IV’ through ‘VII’ for all subsequent games until the set is complete.

Stage Agreement (or Gentlemen’s) Clause

Players may select any stage if they both agree to it.

Stage Striking (see Additional Rules for more details)

Online The player with the higher seed strikes first, or both players can choose to flip a virtual coin. This can be done through a bot within the server, if applicable, or through a coin flip site.

Alting

Alting may result in an immediate disqualification from the tournament with no refunds (if applicable) and possible further penalties depending on case severity. This will be interpreted as hiding your identity to manipulate the bracket/seeding unless the TO is notified otherwise and explicitly consents to the change before the start date of the tournament.

Counterpicking

Each Player is designated time after each game to notify their opponent of their counterpick. This must be selected in a reasonable timeframe and using this time to get advice or otherwise stall is prohibited. Players are subject to similar penalties found in the Tardiness section (10) if this time extends too far.

Coaching

No mid-set coaching is permitted offline and is unpermissible online despite difficult surveillance.

Tardiness

Anyone who is not present for their set by 15 minutes past the scheduled start time is subject to a total disqualification from the given set.

Collusion

Players suspected of colluding may be immediately disqualified from the tournament. This includes intentionally throwing a game, bribing other players, splitting a payout, or committing any other form of bracket manipulation. The TO reserves the right to deny payout of event winnings to any player suspected of colluding and further penalties may arise depending on case severity.

Misinterpretation/Misconfiguration (In regards to in-game Settings)

Game settings should be configured according to section 14. If there is a discrepancy on any given setup, the players can stop the set in order to remedy it at the TOs discretion. It is the players’ responsibility to ask the TO for any clarification of the rule set in the event of a disagreement, and the outcome of a game or set will not be changed after the fact unless under extreme circumstances. Final judgment is reserved for the tournament staff.

Final Rulings

If any unforeseen situations occur, judgment of Tournament Staff is final. Rules may be altered between phases of a tournament in the best interests of the event. (Ex. A game breaking glitch is discovered on a stage mid-tournament that could be further exploited. Thus, the stage may need to be removed from legal play for the remainder of the event.)

Game Rules

Game Settings (required for offline | an Arena takes care of this online)

2-Player fights only (1 on 1) Versus mode: Fight Time: 99 Winner: First to 2 Items: Off HP: Normal Rush gauge: Normal COM players: No COM Signature ARMS only (Default)/Custom ARMS. TO must specify which format will be used.

Starter Stages

• Ribbon Ring
• Mausoleum
• Buster Beach
• DNA Lab
• Sparring Ring

Counterpick Stages

• Spring Stadium
• Ramen Bowl
• Scrapyard
• Sky Arena
• Via Dolce
• Temple Grounds

Additional Rules

Starter Stage Striking

See section 5 for details on choosing who strikes first. Players may strike from the legal starter stages (each player strikes stages in a 1-2-1 format) to determine the starting stage for the first game.

Counterpick Stage Striking

After each game of the set, before counterpicking, the player who won the previous game may strike three stages from either the starter or counter pick list. This strike does not persist throughout the set. The winning player may not pick any stage they have previously won on in the current match (DSR). This clause can be adjusted to only qualify as the most recently won on stage (MDSR).

Modified Controllers/Games

Any modified or otherwise non-Nintendo controllers are not allowed for tournament use, unless the TO is notified of a probable reason for the choice. This applies to the game itself too: unless stated otherwise in the event’s rules, ARMS events should be played on non-modified copies of the game.

Controller Interference

If your controller is found to be the cause of disruption to the tournament (mid-game or otherwise), players may opt to contact a TO for a further ruling.