DCS Season 3 Rulebook

General Information

This rulebook governs DCS Season 3, an Event as defined in the College Deadlock On-Season Rulebook.
The On-Season Rulebook applies to Season 3 in full, except where this rulebook overrules it (On-Season section 1.4).
Where this rulebook is silent, the On-Season Rulebook applies.
All dates and times in this rulebook are Eastern Time (ET), per On-Season section 1.1.1.

Registration opens August 1, 2026 and closes September 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
Participation will be structured in multiples of six teams to ensure balanced group sizes and proper tournament seeding.
1. Waitlisted teams will be admitted in groups of six as additional tournament slots become available.
2. Teams and institutions will fill available spots on a first come, first served basis once they have submitted a full eligible roster.
An Institution may field a maximum of 2 Teams in Season 3, each uniquely identified under the naming requirements in On-Season section 2.2.

Roster Lock for Season 3 is September 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM, concurrent with the close of registration.
No roster changes are permitted after Roster Lock.
After Roster Lock, the only permitted roster change is an Emergency Substitute approved under On-Season section 2.6.

The standard match day is currently undecided, and will be voted on by all registered teams prior to the Season's start.
The standard match day is the default for every Series. Two Teams may agree to schedule a Series outside it under section 3.

Before the Group Stage begins, Teams are placed into groups by rank and assigned a preseason Seed.

Points are awarded per Group-Stage Series as follows:
- Series won 2-0: 7 points
- Series drawn 1-1: 3 points
- Series lost 0-2: 0 points
A Team that fails to field players, or that cannot complete a Series, receives a 0-2 loss. Its opponent receives 7 points.
A Team that withdraws from Season 3 is retroactively removed from the group. All matches they competed in or will compete in are considered 0-2 losses.

Teams will be divided into groups of 6.
Each group plays a single round robin: every Team plays each of the other 5 Teams in its group once.
Each Series in the Group Stage will be a 2-game Series.
Each Team plays one Series per week during weeks 1 through 5.
Week 6 (November 2 – 6, 2026) is a makeup and buffer week. No new Series are scheduled in week 6; it exists to absorb outstanding and rescheduled Series from weeks 1 through 5.
The format may be adjusted by staff based on participation numbers.

Where Teams finish the Group Stage on equal points, standings are resolved in the following order:
1. Head-to-head Series record between the tied Teams.
2. Higher pre-season Seed.

Teams will qualify for playoffs by top cut via points.
- The playoff bracket size is dependent on the amount of participating teams.
- The total number of teams to qualify for playoffs will be announced at the start of the group stage.
Playoffs are a single elimination Best of 3 bracket.
Qualifying Teams are seeded by group-stage points.
The Playoff Stage will take place through these dates:
- Quarterfinals: November 9 – 13, 2026
- Semifinals: November 16 – 20, 2026
- Finals: November 30 – December 4, 2026

By default, all teams participating in a match agree to play their match on the standard match day.
Reschedule requests must be made at least 7 days (168 hours) in advance of the original scheduled time.
It is the responsibility of the Point of Contact for both teams in a match to determine the start time for said match on standard game day (or a different agreed upon day, if rescheduled).
A Series that is not scheduled by the above deadline results in a 0-2 loss for both Teams, with no points awarded to either.
1. Repeatedly failing to schedule matches may result in disciplinary action at staff discretion.
The opposing Team may decline a reschedule request. If declined, the Series is played at its originally scheduled time.
1. Excessively or unnecessarily declining rescheduling requests is unsportsmanlike behavior, and subject to penalty at staff discretion.
No Series may be played during the break week, November 23 – 27, 2026. A Series may not be rescheduled into the break week for any reason.
If the requesting Team cannot play at the original time after a declined reschedule, it receives a 0-2 Series loss.
Group-stage Series may be rescheduled into week 6 under section 2.3.5.

The recording and verification responsibilities set out in On-Season Rulebook Section 3.7 must both be completed within 24 hours of the completion of the Series.
A team that fails to submit within 24 hours receives no points, regardless of result.

Terms defined in the On-Season Rulebook carry their meaning into this rulebook. The following are specific to Season 3.

Break Week: November 23 – 27, 2026, during which no Series may be played (see section 3.1.6).
DCS: The Deadlock Collegiate Series, the league organized by College Deadlock.
Group: One of the sets of 6 Teams that compete in the Group Stage.
Group Stage: The single round robin phase of Season 3, running September 28 through November 6, 2026 (see section 2.3).
Season: A single competitive cycle of DCS, from the opening of registration through the conclusion of playoffs.
Standard Match Day: The default day for Series to be played in Season 3, determined by the poll in section 1.5.