Who is eligible for this tournament?

All players that meet the game's Teen rating (13+) are eligible for consideration.

Who will participate in the StarCraft Sandlot?

All players will be invited by Blizzard.

How will Blizzard be contacting players?

We will use most IM systems, email, and IRC. If you are chosen to participate, we will find you.

How will teams be decided?

Blizzard will organize a "Draft" system in which team captains have a salary cap. They can use these minerals to draft players based on a player value.

How will the players value be determined?

We will release a voting mechanism on the StarCraft Sandlot page. This will allow all members of the community to vote on the players and assign mineral values to them. We will use these results to form a final player value.

Who are the Team Captains?

The team captains are non-players from community sites around the world. Blizzard will also be inviting these sites and requesting captains for each site.

How were the community sites chosen?

The teams were selected to canvas a wide spectrum of StarCraft players across the globe. The primary language of the site, and the national demographic of visitors were considered for variety. Coverage quality, traffic, and activity of the community were considered. As with players, we recognize there are many other communities and websites that are entirely worthy of participation, and we regret only being able to invite 8. Likewise, the selected communities do not represent Blizzard's opinion of what constitute the best StarCraft websites or communities.

What is the function of the team captains?

The team captains will be drafting players, deciding who will be playing the weekly lineups, and scheduling with their players.

What is the tournament format?

Each week, there will be five 1v1 sets. Each set will be Best-of-Three.

How are the lineups determined?

Each captain will submit their lineup of 5 players. The list will be seeded. This means that Team A's #1 will play Team B's #1, etc. The lineup will be posted on the Sandlot webpage before the next week's matches.

How will the league work?

All teams will be randomly assigned to one of two divisions. Each of the four teams in a division will play each other once during qualification. Each match consists of five 1v1 sets. Each 1v1 set is played as a best-of-three. For each 1v1 set a team wins, they gain a point. After all five qualifying sets are completed, the team with the highest point total will advance to the championship. At the end of the league, if two or more teams have an equal number of points, a tiebreaker match will be played in the same format as described above. The 3rd map in a 1v1 does not need to be played if a player is ahead 2-0, but all five games in a team match need to be completed. There's a big difference between winning 5-0 and 3-2.

What maps will be played?

Rush Hour III will be the first map played, for all sets. The loser of the first game will choose from these maps for the next game:

• Gaia
• Ride of the Valkyries
• Acadia
• New Forte

If the set continues to a third game, the loser of the second game will choose a map from the same list above, but may not replay the map used in the second game.

What is the prize distribution?

The following prizes will be awarded during the Sandlot:

• 1st Prize
  • $1500 will be awarded to each player on the winning team
  • $1000 will be awarded to the community site
• 2nd
  • $1000 will be awarded to each player on the team that comes in second place
  • $500 will be awarded to the community site
• Other
  • $500 will be awarded to each team MVP (the player who wins the most individual games for his or her team)
  • $200 will be awarded to each player of the Best Overall Game

• Game Version: StarCraft: Brood War v1.14
• Game Type: 1 vs. 1
• Match Length: Until the winner is determined
• Match Winner: The player who defeats the opponent or is left standing after the other player surrenders is considered the winner. If the match ends in a draw, the winner will be decided on overall score from the scorecard.
• Each player must submit all replays to Blizzard immediately following each match.

• Race Selection: Free Choice
• Game Speed: Fastest
• Maps : Rush Hour III, Gaia, Ride of the Valkyries, Neo Forte, Acadia
• Observers: Both team captains and Blizzard must agree
  • One neutral observer per match
• Hamatchi or other Virtual LAN software is allowed.

• Intentional use of any program bugs or exploits will result in a disqualification from the Sandlot tournament for the offending player.
• Unfair play is defined as:
  • Use of any map-hack program
  • Intentional disconnection
  • Use of any settings exceeding standard and permitted settings
• During the course of any match, the operations staff and/or referee may determine other actions to be unfair play at any time.
• If any player is discovered committing any violations regarded as unfair play, that player will be disqualified from the tournament.

Please read these rules before entering the StarCraft: Broodwar StarCraft Sandlot (referred to herein as the "Contest"). By entering and participating in the Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements in paragraph 1 below.

1. Eligibility. BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC., (REFERED TO HEREIN AS "SPONSOR"); AND POWERCOMM, INC. (REFERED TO HEREIN AS "CO-SPONSORS") ARE THE SPONSOS OF THIS CONTEST. THIS CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE OF THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN THEIR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE WHO HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF PLAYING SPONSOR’S COMPUTER SOFTWARE PRODUCT, "StarCraft: Broodwar" AND ARE NOT RESIDENTS OF THE STATES OF NORTH DAKOTA, VERMONT, CONNECTICUT AND MARYLAND ("ENTRANTS"). If you are under the legal age of majority in your country of residence (a "Minor"), one of your parents or legal guardians must read and agree to these Contest rules on behalf of you and themselves in order to win a prize. If you United States citizen residing in the State of North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut or Maryland, you are not eligible to participate in this Contest. To be eligible to win a prize, entries must be completed and received by Sponsor in the format designated below. Directors, officers and employees of Sponsor, its parent, and any of their respective affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and immediate families of each are not eligible to win any prizes. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Offer void where prohibited. Participants must have a Battle.net account which includes an associated valid email address. Sponsor reserves the right to verify the email address provided to Sponsor by Entrant. In the event of any dispute, entries containing an invalid email address will be deemed ineligible.

2. Disclaimer. Sponsor, Prize Suppliers, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, professional advisors, employees and agencies will not be responsible for (a) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled or distorted or damaged transmissions or entries; (b) telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer- or communications-related malfunctions or failures; (c) any Contest disruptions, injuries, losses or damages caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.

3. Contest Period. The Contest shall commence on August 30, 2006. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and shall continue in duration through October 20, 2006 (the "Deadline").

4. How to Enter and Determination of Winners. The Contest is a contest of skill to determine the best "Team" to play StarCraft: Broodwar. To enter, you must have a Battle.net account which includes a valid email address, and play StarCraft: Broodwar against your arranged opponent during the time frame during the Contest Period. Any cheating, perceived cheating, or griefing, as determined by Blizzard in its sole discretion, will disqualify Entrants. All competition for this Contest shall be in accordance with these rules, the StarCraft: Broodwar End User License Agreement, and the Battle.net Terms of Use agreement set forth on the www.battle.net website, which are incorporated herein by this reference. Blizzard will select the most qualified solo entrants based on the Battle.net player history and seedings from 'third party' tournaments that has been sanctioned by Sponsor to provide eligibility for this Contest, and will post brackets of all eligible players on the Contest website located at http://www.battle.net/tournaments/sandlot/schedule.shtml.

The winners of the Contest will be determined as follows: the two (2) teams at the end of the regular season with the best records will move on to the finals. The winning team from the Finals match will be considered the Winner of the Contest. The losing team of the Final match will be considered the Runner-Up.

5. Prizes. The player(s) who participate the Contest will receive the prize package listed below for their final position in the Tournament, with the prizes to be as follows:

• StarCraft: Broodwar StarCraft Sandlot
  1. The Champion. The players who participate in the Contest and eliminate all of his/her opponents in all rounds of the tournament to win the tournament will receive a Grand Prize package consisting of the following:
     • Player prize - $1,500 USD
     • Community Site Prize - $1,000 USD
  2. The Runners-Up. The players who participate in the Contest and eliminate all of his/her opponents in all rounds of the tournament to win the tournament will receive a Grand Prize package consisting of the following:
     • Player prize - $1,000 USD
     • Community Site Prize - $500 USD
  3. Team Most Valuable Player. From each team, one (1) player with the most games won will be awarded $500 USD.
  4. Best Overall Game. The two players in the game deemed “Best Overall Game” by Blizzard will each be awarded $200 USD.

Prizes returned as undeliverable or otherwise not claimed within fifteen (15) days after delivery of notification will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Prizes are not transferable. No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash) of any prizes will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize. All prizes are awarded "AS IS" and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). STATE, LOCAL TAXES, INCLUDING VAT TAXES WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.

*All cash prizes will be paid in U.S. currency. Winners will be required to complete and submit to Sponsor an IRS form w-8 or W-9 to receive a cash prize.

6. Release/Blizzard Ownership of Entries. In consideration for the right to enter the Contest, you hereby give Blizzard permission to utilize your name, biographical or occupational description, 'game handle,' picture, portrait, likeness, or any or all of them, in any advertising or promotional campaigns related to Blizzard’s business as Blizzard chooses without additional compensation from Blizzard. Additionally, All entries and materials submitted to Blizzard in connection with the Contest (collectively, "Entry Materials"), along with all copyright, trademark and other proprietary rights associated therewith, become the property of Blizzard upon submission, and Entry Materials will not be returned to any entrant. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Blizzard will own all rights to use, modify, reproduce, publish, perform, display, distribute, make derivative works of and otherwise commercially and noncommercially exploit the Entry Materials in perpetuity and throughout the universe, in any manner or medium now existing or hereafter developed, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Blizzard's expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Blizzard to effect, perfect or confirm Blizzard's ownership rights as set forth above in this paragraph 7.

7. Original Work of Authorship. You hereby warrant and represent that (a) you own all rights to all Entry Materials submitted by you and (b) all such Entry Materials are original works of authorship on your part and have not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work and do not violate, misappropriate or infringe any copyright, trademark or other proprietary right of any other person or entity.

8. Collection of Information. The Entry Materials include a survey that requires you to enter your name, email address, and state of residence. This information will only be used to contact you in the event that you are chosen to receive a prize. Sponsor will not sell, rent or otherwise transfer this information to any third party, nor will Sponsor use this information for marketing purposes without your consent. As stated above, the Contest is not open to Minors without the express consent of a parent or legal guardian. In the event that you are under the age of thirteen (13) years and submit Entry Materials to Sponsor, Sponsor will delete, erase or destroy any and all personally identifiable information that is obtained from the Entry Materials following the conclusion of the Contest.

9. General Release. By entering the Contest, you release Sponsor, Prize Suppliers, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agencies (collectively, the "Released Parties") from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.

10. Affidavit & Release. As a condition of being awarded any prize, winners may be required to execute and deliver to Sponsor a signed affidavit of eligibility and acceptance of these Official Rules and release of liability.

11. Winners List; Rules Request. A list of winners will be posted at http://www.battle.net/tournaments/sandlot/index.shtml no later than November 1, 2006. For a copy of the winners list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after October 20, 2006 and before December 31, 2006 to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: StarCraft: Broodwar StarCraft Sandlot Competition - Winners List. To obtain a copy of these rules, send a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: StarCraft: Broodwar StarCraft Sandlot Competition - Rules Request. Residents of WA and VT may omit return postage.

12. Copyright Notice. The Contest and all accompanying materials are copyright © 2006 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., and its respective licensors. All rights are reserved.

13. Miscellaneous. Sponsor reserves the right to patch or update StarCraft: Broodwar at any time to fix bugs, change balance, or add features as deemed appropriate by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, without suspending or canceling the Contest. The Contest and these Official Rules will be governed, construed and interpreted under the laws of the United States. Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to change these Official Rules at any time, in its sole discretion, and to suspend or cancel the Contest or any Entrant's participation in the Contest should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor's control affect the administration, security or proper play of the Contest, or Sponsor otherwise becomes (as determined in its sole discretion) incapable of running the Contest as planned. Entrants who violate these Official Rules, tamper with the operation of the Contest or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, the Contest or any other Entrant (in each case as determined in Sponsor's sole discretion) are subject to disqualification from entry into the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to lock out persons whose eligibility is in question or who have been disqualified or are otherwise ineligible to enter the Contest. If you have any questions about these Official Rules or the Contest, please email them to webmaster@blizzard.com or send written questions to:

StarCraft: Broodwar StarCraft Sandlot Competition c/o Blizzard Entertainment Research Department, 6060 Center Drive, 6th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90045

14. Contest Sponsor. The sponsor of the Contest is Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., c/o Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., P.O. Box 18979, Irvine , CA 92623.