The tournament consists of two stages: group stage and playoffs.
Teams are randomly assigned to groups.
In the group stage, each team plays one match against every other team in its group.

1. Scoring system:2:0 – 3 points
2. 2:1 – 2 points
3. 1:2 – 1 point
4. 0:2 – 0 points

In case of a tie in points, the following criteria apply (in order of importance):

1. Points in head-to-head matches
2. Round difference in head-to-head matches
3. Overall round difference

A team must consist of 5-9 players.
The total skill rating of players on the server at any time during a match must not exceed 22 points.
A team may replace OR add one player after registration after registration is completed.
A player who has played for one team cannot switch to another.
To register, the team must submit an application in #registration on the tournament's Discord server, specifying:

• List of players (nicknames, profile links);
• Team captain;
• mandatory home location

Captains must agree on a match date and time at least 48 hours in advance.
If a team does not confirm the agreement in the captains' chat, the match is not considered scheduled.
If teams do not have their server, tournament supervisors will provide one.
The server and password will be sent no later than 10 minutes before the match.
At least 5 players from each team must be present on the server at the match start.
Additionally, during the match both teams are required to be present on the official Crossfire Discord in their team's allocated voice channels. In case of any problems with joining the voice channels please message organizers as soon as possible.

• Waiting time for late players – 10 minutes. 10 minutes late, and after that losing 1 round every extra minute. After 15 more minutes (25 minutes total from the match start) the team automatically loses 16-0
• If both teams have fewer than 5 players, the match is canceled, and both receive 0 points.
• Match rescheduling: Unilateral rescheduling – no later than 24 hours before the match.
• By mutual agreement of captains – no later than 3 hours before the match (with supervisor notification).

During the live game, each team is allowed one pause per map. The pause can last up to 3 minutes and will be timed by the admin or streamer. The match will only be paused after the communication of the respective team player and will be applied at the start of next round. Since captain can also get disconnected the organizers allow any player in the team to call for the 3 min pause. Players are responsible to make sure that admin sees the timeout/pause being communicated clearly.

Tournament maps: de_dust2, de_inferno, de_nuke, de_train, de_tuscan, de_mirage, de_cache_v2.
In tournament, teams ban and pick maps in the following order:

1. Ban by Team 2
2. Ban by Team 1
3. Pick by Team 2
4. Pick by Team 1
5. Ban by Team 1
6. Ban by Team 2
7. The remaining map is the decider

Match format:

• To win a map, a team must secure 16 rounds.
• If the score is 15:15, overtime is played.

Which team is “team 1 or team 2” is determined by random coinflip system. Who flips the coin doesn't matter and can be agreed upon by teams captains.
The side selection happens during the map pick and ban phase. The team that picked the map is defected from picking the side. Example: team 1 picked a map, then Team 2 picks the starting side on that map. The starting side on the decider map is being determined by a knife round battle.
The organizers can distribute the weakest teams according to the player rating evenly into the groups of the preliminary stage. The organizers may disqualify a team if it has not played a single game during the week
Every matchup is played in Best-of-three format (BO3)

The tournament is being held on American and European servers. Each team must choose one of the following countries to be their home location: USA or Germany. After the region is being chosen, the team must stick to it until the end of the tournament.

Starting money in overtime: $10,000.
Overtime consists of 2 halves of 3 rounds each.
The first team to win 4 rounds wins the overtime.
If the score remains 3:3, a new overtime begins and continues until a winner is determined.
No side-switching at the start of overtime.

In cases where the first two maps were 1-1 in the score, but opposing teams were from different regions (see Region chapter) the third map is decided by an instance-based lottery wheel. Each round won on the away region (opponent region) gives a point to be added to the lottery wheel. The lottery wheel procedure will be done live by the person who is streaming the match. To increase the team’s chances of getting 3rd map in their region try to get as many rounds as possible during the game on the opponent map pick.

Planting the bomb in a way that makes it impossible for a single player to defuse.
Using illegal boosts.
Masking the bomb defuse sound from the enemy players in any way is a prohibited action
Exploiting map texture glitches.
Account sharing with another player.
Using unregistered players in a match.
Penalty for violation – 0:16 loss on the map or 0:2 loss in the match.

A referee ensures rule compliance. This may be a supervisor or a streamer.
Disputes are resolved by supervisors who are not involved in the teams playing the disputed match.
Tournament officials may modify the rules, notifying team captains.