Important: Middle School Leagues & Match Formats will mimic existing High School leagues. Further information and updates will come Summer 2024!
The Overall High School Competition Rulebook can be viewed here.
Introduction and Purpose
These Official Rules (“Rules”) of the PlayVS High School Esports League apply to each of the teams who have registered and met the requirements for the 2023-2024 school year, as well as their head coach, assistant coaches, vice principals, athletic directors, Starters, Substitutes (collectively “Team Members”), and other members.
1.1 Definition of Terms
1.1.1 Game. An instance of competition that is played until a winner is determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first: (a) completion of the countdown timer or objective achieved, (b) Team Forfeit.
1.1.2 Match. A group of series (or "sets"). The winning team will either receive a win tally in a league format or advance to the next round in a tournament format.
1.1.3 Phase. A section of scheduled league play that comprises a season. There are three distinct phases: preseason, regular season, and playoffs. Each phase has its own league format.
1.1.4 Season. Scheduled league play that will occur over an approximately three-month period of time.
1.2 Roster Requirements
1.2.1 Roster Submission
Team members must be eligible to compete on behalf of their school as listed in Section 2 of the High School Competition Rulebook.
In NBA 2K, each team may have a maximum of one (1) player on the Roster. All players and coaches are expected to be present physically or virtually for all official PlayVS matches. All players and Coaches must be physically or virtually present for all official PlayVS matches. The Roster must be finalized before the Roster Lock Date, as listed in Section 3.3 Roster Submission.
1.2.2 Substitutions
As NBA 2K24 is a solo esport title, a substitution would involve removing a player completely from the roster and replacing them with a new player to now solely play for the enrolled team.
However, teams needing to adjust their roster due to their unique competitive situation can utilize the two (2) bench spots should roster changes need to be made. Substitutions must be made before confirming competing players for a given match. Once a game of record is established for Game 1, the starting player may not be changed for the remainder of the match.
Roster updates may only occur during the first 4 weeks of the regular season. All solo esport team rosters will lock at the beginning of Week 5, and player additions/removals will no longer be permitted.
1.3 Game of Record
A Game of Record (“GOR”) in NBA 2K24 is established under the following conditions:
1.3.1 Initial jump ball happens.
1.3.2 The clock ticks for at least one (1) second.
Once GOR is established, game restarts will only be allowed under limited conditions, as listed in Section 7.4 of the High School Competition Rulebook.
1.4 Stoppage of Play
1.4.1 Directed Pause
At any time, League Officials may order the pause of a match at the sole discretion of League Officials. Teams may complete the current game and finalize the results.
1.4.2 Player Pauses
Pauses are bound to the features & limitations inside NBA 2K. Excessive pausing is subject to penalties at the sole discretion of League Officials.
1.4.3 Game Disconnection
The game will automatically close if a player disconnects from the online match. The connected player must take a screenshot to capture the score & time remaining in the match when the disconnection occurred.
Once the player can reconnect, the online match must be recreated. Players will subtract the time completed in the previous match and then complete the remaining time of the original game with the newly created online match. Once the remaining time has lapsed, players will add the total scores of the two games to determine the winner. For example:
Player A disconnects in the 2nd quarter of Game 1, with 1 minute remaining. Player B takes a screenshot to confirm the score of 24-21, with Player B in the lead. Player B will then select “OK” to go back to the Locker Room and resend an invite to Player A.
There are still 11 minutes of in-game time left in the match, so the game is recreated with the same teams as in Game 1, and the players complete the first and second quarter of the recreated Game 1 (10 minutes of in-game time). After a minute has passed in the third quarter, the game is stopped and the score of 28-26 with Player A in the lead is logged.
The players combine the scores of both games for an overall score of 50-49, with Player B having the overall higher score. Player B has won Game 1, and the match continues to Game 2.
1.5 Match Format
Format: Best-of-Three (“Bo3”) Games
Team Size: 1 Player
Settings:
Mode: Private Match
Game Style: Superstar
Quarter Length: 5 minutes
1.5.1 Preseason
This phase consists of each team enrolled in the league competing in official practice matches. The results of this match do not impact a team’s standings. However, this match is strongly recommended to properly test equipment and player game connections.
1.5.2 Regular Season
This phase consists of each team competing in a season format against opponents within their region. Ranking in the league will be determined by each team's win-loss ratio.
1.5.3 Playoffs
This phase consists of eligible teams competing in a single-elimination tournament until only two teams remain. Winning teams will advance to the next round of the Bracket while losing teams will be removed from the competition.
Playoff Eligibility, Bracket, and Tiebreaker information can be found in section 5.2.3 Playoffs of the High School Competition Rulebook. More information about Tiebreakers can also be found here.
1.5.4 Finals Format
This match consists of the top two teams from each league as decided by Playoffs. The Finals will be a single Best-of-Three (BO3) match. The team to achieve two game wins will be awarded the match win and will be declared the League Champion. In the event that a single team reaches two game wins before the start of a third game, the third game will not be played.
2.1 Equipment
Each player on the Starting Roster must have access to school-provided equipment or must be permitted by the school to provide their own equipment in the following categories:
2.1.1 Playstation 4/ Playstation 5
2.1.2 Monitor/Television
2.1.3 Headsets and/or Earbuds and/or Microphones
2.1.4 Table and Chair
2.1.5 Playstation Controller
2.1.6 Playstation Plus Subscription/Stable Internet Connection
2.1.7 Copy of NBA 2K24 for Playstation 4
2.2 Supported Equipment
Players must compete with the platform their league is in (PlayStation).
3.1 Pre-Match Setup
Teams must adhere to Section 6.2 Pre-Match Setup as they prepare to join their match.
3.2 Match Setup
For all matches, players must add their opponent as a Friend to send game invites.
3.2.1 Create Lobby
Start NBA 2K24
Navigate to PLAY NOW
Select “Quick Play”
Select "Play with Friends Online"
Invite your opponent and create the lobby with the settings in Section 1.5.
3.2.2 Team Selection
Players will select from any Current NBA team and play. Players may choose a different NBA team for each game they play. Classic, All Time, and other alternative teams are not allowed.
3.3 Match F.A.Q.
3.3.1 Spectating
In order to avoid giving any team an advantage, spectators should be removed from spectating unless both Coaches have agreed to allow for a spectator by following section 7.7 Match Spectating from the High School Competition Rulebook.
3.3.2 In-Game Content Updates
NBA 2K24 is a live-service multiplayer game that may release new content patches with updated team rosters during the season. Any players or teams currently disabled in-game by 2K will not be available for use during official PlayVS matches. All PlayVS matches will occur on the most up-to-date patch, and any team is eligible for use in PlayVS matches unless otherwise stated by League Officials.
4. Post-Match Process
4.1 Results
If the match is completed using the PlayVS Match Assistant tool, results will be recorded at the conclusion of each game.
If the PlayVS Match Assistant could not be used, the match results would need to be submitted manually within 1 hour of match completion. Players should take screenshots of the match results and share those with their coaches.
In the event of an error, coaches must contact PlayVS directly.
V 1.0 // 2023//2024
V 2.0 // 1/16/2024 - Reformatted per new Style Guidelines
