Counter-Strike 2 Rulebook – Ibex Gaming League

Revision 3.0
Last Modified: 08.04.2026
Effective Date: 10.04.2026

1. Introduction

This rulebook supplements the Ibex Gaming League General Rulebook and outlines all CS2-specific regulations.

Rule Hierarchy:

  1. Swiss Law
  2. Competition-Specific Rules (per event)
  3. CS2 Rulebook (this document)
  4. Ibex Gaming League General Rulebook

For general eligibility, conduct, media, data, prizes, and legal terms, refer to the General Rulebook.

2. CS2 Team & Player Regulations

2.1. Team Composition

  • Team size: 5 players + up to 2 substitutes
  • Nationality: Minimum of 3 active players must be Swiss or Liechtenstein nationals or hold at least a B permit
  • Captain: Each team must designate a Captain and optionally a Vice-Captain for communication

2.2. Account Registration

  • All players must register their primary Steam accounts before the tournament.
  • Account sharing, smurfing, or multi-teaming is strictly prohibited.

2.3. Substitutions and Roster Management

  • Teams must declare all substitutes before competition start.
  • Emergency substitutions require prior admin approval in accordance with the General Rulebook (Section 2.4.2).
  • Changes made to a team's roster do not automatically apply to the running competition; changes are only effective once announced to admins and listed on the official competition page.

Roster management differs between tournaments/qualifiers and league series:

  • Tournaments and Qualifiers: Rosters are locked at the start and no roster changes are permitted during competition, except emergency substitutions approved by admins.
  • League Series: Roster changes are governed by the Substitution Token system in the General Rulebook (Section 2.4.4), with the following CS2-specific provisions:
    • Teams receive 2 Substitution Tokens for the regular season.
    • At the start of playoffs/relegation-promotion, each team receives a full refill to 2 Substitution Tokens.
    • After the regular season ends, no foreign players may be newly added to a league roster.
    • Transfers between league teams at the same tier/division (horizontal) or to higher tiers/divisions (upward) are permitted only once per player per season, and only if the player has played in fewer than 3 official league matches for the source team in that season.

3. CS2 Competition Format

Competition formats, including group stages, playoffs, and qualifiers, are announced on ibexgaming.org per event.

Standard formats may include round-robin groups, elimination brackets, or mixed formats.

For regular season reschedules, teams must announce their intent to reschedule to league administration. After both teams mutually agree on a new date and time, the rescheduled match must be announced to league administration at least 48 hours before the new match time.

4. Game Setup & Match Rules

4.1. Server Settings

Setting Value
Rounds Best of 24
Round Time 1:55
Starting Money $800
Freeze Time 20 sec
Bomb Timer 40 sec
Overtime MR3
Overtime Money $10,000

4.2. Map Pool

The Active Duty Map Pool at the time of the event applies. For the 2025 season, the pool is:

  • Ancient
  • Dust II
  • Inferno
  • Mirage
  • Nuke
  • Overpass
  • Anubis

The current map pool is always confirmed on ibexgaming.org.

4.3. Veto Procedure

4.3.1. Pick-Ban-System

Team A is the team that is listed first on the match page (typically the higher seeded team at the start of the stage).

Best-of-1:
  1. A bans map
  2. B bans map
  3. A bans map
  4. B bans map
  5. A bans map
  6. B bans map
  7. Remaining map is played
Best-of-2:
  1. A bans map
  2. B bans map
  3. A bans map
  4. B bans map
  5. A picks map 1
  6. B picks map 2
  7. Decider map will not be played
Best-of-3:
  1. A bans map
  2. B bans map
  3. A picks map 1
  4. B picks map 2
  5. A bans map
  6. B bans map
  7. Remaining map is decider
Best-of-5:
  1. A bans map
  2. B bans map
  3. A picks map 1
  4. B picks map 2
  5. A picks map 3
  6. B picks map 4
  7. Remaining map is decider

4.3.2. Side Selection

For Remaining Maps:
  • A knife round will be conducted at the start of the match
  • The winner of the knife round selects which side their team will start on
For Picked Maps:
  • The team that did not pick the map selects the starting side

4.4. Match Start Protocol

  • Both teams must be ready 15 minutes before match time
  • Ibex Gaming League will provide server IPs to team captains at least 30 minutes before the scheduled match time
  • In exceptional circumstances, teams may request admin assistance for alternative server arrangements
  • Third-party provided servers might be used (e.g. Faceit) if necessary

4.5 Timeout

To call a timeout, participants have to use the in-game vote system (ESC → Call Vote → Call Tactical Timeout). A timeout lasts thirty (30) seconds. Participants are allowed to take all three timeouts at once by calling them all individually once the previous timeout expires.

If a map reaches overtime (OT), all remaining timeouts will be removed and each team will receive one (1) timeout to be used in that OT (OT1) period. If the map progresses to another OT (OT2), the same process will happen - any remaining timeouts will be removed, and each team will receive one (1) more timeout. Banked timeouts cannot be stacked higher than one (1) in overtime.

5. In-Game Conduct & Fair Play

5.1. Gameplay Conduct

  • In-Game Chat: Only for tactical communication and pause announcements
  • Pauses: For technical issues only
    • Improper use = warning, repeated = round loss
  • Scripts & Binds:
    • Buy binds allowed
    • Other custom scripts prohibited
  • Cheating: Use of third-party software, radar hacks, or other unfair tools leads to immediate disqualification

5.2. Streaming & Media

Refer to the Ibex Gaming League General Rulebook for streaming and media rules.

CS2 Clarifications:

  • Personal streams require a 2-minute delay
  • All personal streams must include "Ibex Gaming League" in the title and the "IGL" tag on Twitch

5.3. Coaching

Coaching includes any strategic advice, callouts, or tactical guidance provided to players. Coaching during active play and during technical pauses is prohibited. Coaches may talk to the team during tactical breaks (timeouts), in the warmup phase and between maps.

Coaching rules only apply during offline events.

Penalties may include, but are not limited to:

  • Warning (First offence in a competition)
  • Loss of affected rounds (Repeated offence in a competition)
  • Forfeit of the game with the worst result possible (Repeated offence in a match after a warning)

6. Enforcement & Sanctions

All sanctions follow the Ibex Gaming League General Rulebook Section 7.

Game-specific violations (e.g., exploits, use of unauthorised scripts) will be addressed by the CS2 Admin Team on a case-by-case basis.

7. Legal & Media Terms

All prizes, media rights, data privacy, and legal terms are governed by the Ibex Gaming League General Rulebook.