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Warship Masters 2025

Version 1.4

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. General Information

2.1. Schedule

2.2. Format

2.3. Point System

2.4. Website and Public Information

2.5. Game Modifications

2.6. Map Pool

2.7. Prizes

3. Team Setup and Communications

3.1. Invitation

3.2. Team Logos

3.3. Communications

4. Structure

4.1. Groups - Day 1 & 2

4.2. Playoffs - Days 2, 3, & 4

5. Tournament

5.1. General

5.2. Room Settings

5.3. Map Picks and Bans

5.4. Ship Bans

6. General Rules

6.1. Score Reporting

6.2. Disputes and Restarts

6.3. Broadcasts

6.4. Rules for Official Streamers

6.5. Sportsmanship

6.6. Rules for Tournament Staff

6.7. Rule Changes

7. Glossary

8. Appendices

8.1. Appendix A: Useful Links

8.2. Appendix B: List of Banned Ships

8.3. Appendix C: List of Playable Ships

8.4. Appendix D: Map Spawn Locations

8.5. Appendix E: List of Players banned from KotS

8.6. Appendix F: Prizes

8.7. Appendix G: Rule Amendments

1. Introduction

Initially created in 2020, Warship Masters is a global tournament with a unique points system. Based on the preceding Clan Battles season, the 2025 Warship Masters sees the best teams of each region clash in a two weekend international event. Thirty-two teams, eight from each region (NA/EU/ASIA/CN), will be invited based on their Clan Battles season 30 performance to compete for the Warship Masters title.

2. General Information

1. Schedule

1. Following dates will be used for the event:

2. All time used in documents and Discord are always referenced in UTC.

2. Format

1. All games are played in a 7v7 format with Tier X only.
2. The use of carriers and submarines is prohibited.
3. Test ships and ships in Early Access are also banned from use. See Appendix B for a comprehensive list.
4. Any ships banned during the tournament (see Ship Bans) are not allowed to be used.
5. Teams are composed of at least 7 players and a maximum of 12 players.
6. One or two of these players are designated team representatives, and must join and be available on the KotS discord.

3. Point System

1. Ships are assigned a point value.
2. Teams receive 100 points to use when assembling a team composition.
3. A list of the point values can be found here. Point values are subject to change until the tournament starts.

4. Website and Public Information

1. Team registration and management will be handled by the WoWs Tournaments website.
2. The tournament will be using Toornament as a supportive tool for live bracket updates.
3. Through Toornament, the public will be able to see Team Name, Logo, Players, and Standings.

5. Game Modifications

1. All mods from Aslain’s Mod Pack, the official Wargaming ModStation, or the mod-download-corner on the official WoWs discord are allowed.
2. All players must have replays enabled. Replays are enabled by default and must be preserved by teams for all tournament battles for at least 48 hours.

6. Map Pool

1. Following maps will be played in the tournament:

2. Map images can be found under the following link: Map Pool

7. Prizes

1. Cash prizes are split across the team roster list.
2. In-game prizes are awarded per player, regardless of roster size.
3. For a team to be eligible for prizes, they must complete all matches in which they are scheduled. Failure to play all scheduled matches or other misconduct may result in a reduction or full withholding of prizes.
4. A team with players from only one clan may choose to have the doubloons and steel sent to the clan treasury. The amount will be in line with the amount of players on the roster.
5. Prizing is governed by the Contest Rules.
6. Tournament prizes are found here.

1. Compensation for already owning a St. Vincent camouflage is 5,000 Community Tokens.

3. Team Setup and Communications

1. Invitation

1. Invitation is based on performance during CB season 30.

1. 8 Teams of each region (ASIA, EU, NA, CN) receive an invite.
2. If an invitation is declined, the next clan in the regional ranking will receive an invite instead.

2. Each registered player has to have played at least 50 Clan Battles during the CB season 30 with the clan they are registered with.
3. Each registered player must have either 1,000 Account Battles in the “Random Battles” battle type, or have played with the team in King of the Sea 17 or Trident Trials.
4. Teams that accept the invitation will register via the WoWs Tournaments website.
5. All participating players will receive a press account prior to the tournament start for mandatory use. The use of this press account is exclusively granted to the player it was handed out to. Distribution of this press account to other players, or the facilitated use of this press account for any other individual is prohibited and may result in tournament or game sanctions.
6. For further information regarding the press account rules and how to set them up, please refer to the following guide: KotS Press Account Guide.
7. Teams may modify their roster after the registration phase with permission of a Coordinator and only if there are still outstanding games for that team to play.
8. Team Names and Team Tags should be substantially related to each other.
9. Teams are expected to play all matches. Failure to complete assigned games may result in the loss of prizes or other sanctions, including a ban from future tournaments. Should a team need to withdraw they should contact their assigned referee or adjudicator.

2. Team Logos

1. Team Logos are not required, but are highly recommended to aid a team’s visual brand.
2. Logos are to be uploaded to the website during registration.
3. Logos should be 200x200 pixels with a transparent background in PNG format.
4. For best results, logo elements should be recognizable even when scaled to 80x80. It is also preferable that the logo is easily visible against both light and dark backgrounds by design.
5. Team Logos should be considered age-appropriate. This is PG-13 or PEGI 12.
6. Logos should not contain inappropriate symbols, logos, or images.
7. Wargaming and the KotS team reserves the right to reject any and all logos as needed.
8. Team logos will be edited as necessary to fit above rules if a solution is not found.
9. Team logos should not contain content that is copyrighted or belongs to another game’s IP.

3. Communications

1. The team captain and team co-captain must join the KotS discord.
2. Team registration is not possible until a team representative is available in the KotS discord.
3. All teams must have one of their representatives available on the KotS discord on match days.
4. All team representatives must be able to communicate in English.
5. One team representative must attend the pre-tournament reps meeting.
6. Team members are encouraged to join the KotS discord.
7. Members of the KotS discord are not allowed to ping WG Staff and should only contact WG Staff if directed to by a tournament staff member.

4. Structure

1. Groups - Day 1 & 2

1. Teams will compete in 4 bracket groups of 8 teams.

1. Each group will consist of 2 teams from each region.
2. In total, the 4 best teams of each group will advance to the Playoff stage.
3. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Winner’s Bracket, the third and fourth team will advance to the Loser’s Bracket

2. Each match in the group stage will be in a best of 2 format
3. Group stage will be a round robin stage with fixed map rotation.

1. The map rotation for the Group Stage will be:

2. The first team mentioned in Toornament will always spawn Alpha

4. Should two or more teams be tied at the end of the Group Stage the total point-difference according to the wows-tournament.com in all for the tiebreaker relevant games is used to break the tie.

1. If a tie can’t be solved by the above method a coin is flipped in a discord stream by tournament staff. The alphabetical-order first mentioned team is “head”.

2. Playoffs - Days 2, 3, & 4

1. The Playoffs will be double elimination, best of 3.

1. Grand Final Round 1 will be played as best of 5. Grand Final Round 2 will be played as best of 3.

2. The first round of Playoffs will be played on Day 2 (WB R1, LB R1).

5. Tournament

1. General

1. The tournament is conducted using Training Rooms.
2. Unless specifically stated otherwise, each match is hosted by a “Home Team.”

1. The Home Team occupies the top slot in the respective match in Toornament.
2. The Host/Home Team is responsible for opening the room and inviting their opponent and any streamers.

3. If a training room name is used, it should be named using the format:

• Team 1 vs Team 2

1. Teams are allowed to change their lineup between games, but cannot change them during a restart.
2. Teams should not be readied up until both teams are fully sorted onto their sides.
3. Teams cannot play with less than 7 players and will be considered as no-show if they cannot field a team within the allowed time.
4. Teams have to field a lineup of 7 ships in every game.

1. No Bots are allowed

5. Spectator mode should be enabled, but only official streamers, tournament staff, or designated WG staff may occupy spectator places.
6. Teams exceeding the limit of 100 points will receive a game loss.
7. Should a game end in a draw the same map is played again at the end of the series. Teams may change their lineup and players.

2. Room Settings

1. The battle must be set for twenty (20) minutes.
2. The battle mode must be set according to the map pool.
3. Each team must be placed in their correct side and lineups must be hidden from the opponent.
4. It is up to both teams to ensure the settings are chosen correctly.
5. If a mistake is found, notify your opponent as soon as possible, as well as the assigned referee via the discord thread. After two minutes have elapsed on the game clock, the game must be played to completion and the result will be valid.
6. Repeated errors by a team in this regard may result in disqualification.

3. Map Picks and Bans

1. Teams will be able to pick and ban maps during Playoffs only
2. Map Pick and Ban is handled by the wows-tournaments website.
3. Pick/ban process is as follows for a best-of-three:

• Team 1 bans a map.
• Team 2 bans a map. It can be the same map as Team 1.
• Team 1 chooses an unbanned map to play for game 1.
• Team 2 chooses their spawn for game 1.
• Team 2 chooses the map to play for game 2.
• Team 1 chooses their spawn for game 2.
• The website will assign an unplayed and unbanned map for game 3.
• The website will assign random spawns.

1. Pick/ban process is as follows for a best-of-five:

• Team 1 chooses the map to play for game 1
• Team 2 chooses their spawn for game 1
• Team 2 chooses an unpicked map to play for game 2
• Team 1 chooses their spawn for game 2
• Team 1 chooses an unpicked map to play for game 3.
• Team 2 chooses their spawn for game 3.
• Team 2 chooses an unpicked map to play for game 4.
• Team 1 chooses their spawn for game 4.
• The website will assign the unplayed map for game 5.
• The website will assign random spawns.

1. Ship Bans

1. Teams will be able to ban one ship per match in Playoffs. The ship bans will be handled by  the wows-tournaments website.
2. The additional ban per team will be blind ban from each team, and apply for the entire match. These bans will be conducted after the map and spawn pick process. They will be revealed at the end of the ban process.
3. There are no class bans, so each ship is an individual ban.
4. Bringing a banned ship automatically results in a game forfeit.

1. If one team brings a banned ship, that team will forfeit the game.
2. If both teams bring a banned ship, both teams forfeit the game.

5. Website related issues with ship bans must be communicated with the Referee immediately.

6. General Rules

1. Score Reporting

1. Both teams will upload a replay of their game to the tournament website for score reporting.
2. Teams are given a grace period of up to 3 minutes after the game to have their replay uploaded.
3. Issues with score reporting must be communicated with the Referee as soon as possible using the dedicated game threads.

2. Disputes and Restarts

1. Teams should not be readied up until they are fully sorted onto their sides. This is to prevent lineup leaks in case somebody is moved to the wrong side.
2. If teams are not fully readied up in the training room lobby in time, both of them forfeit the game. If one team is available but the other is not, the present team will receive a game win. Reporting teams are required to provide a screenshot with visible client time.
3. Following timers apply:

1. For the first map of each match the timer is 5 minutes, starting from the scheduled start time.
2. For consecutive maps in a best-of series the timer is 10 minutes, starting with the next minute swing after the previous game finished. Example: The game finished at 00:59:50 UTC → the timer starts at 01:00:00 UTC.

1. Tournament staff will communicate the start time of the timer in the training room chat (or in the designated discord thread of the match). In case of discrepancies whatever starting time tournament staff announced is to be taken.
2. To avoid confusion with different time zones only the minute-stamp is communicated. Example: 00:21:50 UTC is communicated as :21

3. For restarts, the timer is 5 minutes, starting at the time of the restart call in the designated discord thread.
4. The timer can be extended in three scenarios on case-by-case basis:

1. The training room is awaiting additional streamers.
2. The Wargaming Staff or Tournament Staff is delaying the start of the game.
3. The training room gets re-hosted.

4. A restart may be requested if:

1. A player fails to load/disconnects.
2. The spawns/room settings are incorrect.
3. There are bugged spawns.

5. Restarts cannot be requested after two minutes have passed of game-time. After this time, both teams are considered to have agreed to the game rules and the game should be played to completion.
6. Only 1 restart is allowed per team for best of 1, best of 2, and best of 3 series. Teams are allowed 2 restarts during a best of 5 series. Further restarts can occur at organizer discretion in the event of training room issues.
7. In the event of a restart, please notify your assigned referee as soon as possible by pinging in the discord thread.
8. An additional restart can be granted on a case-by-case basis.
9. Restarts requested by regional organizers and Battle Faults do not count against a team’s limit.
10. During a restart, teams may not change their ship lineup or a ship’s settings. These include signals, consumables, captains and all other modifications to the ship. They can change players if someone cannot reconnect, or move players between ships.

3. Broadcasts

1. All official streams will be coordinated by the Warships Masters Organizers.
2. All streamers will load into the battle in spectator mode.
3. The start of some battles may be held to allow streamers to finish a prior battle. Teams will be informed by a Referee if this is the case. In this case the start time will be delayed by a Referee.
4. Teams that start their games without waiting for a previously announced streamer will receive a warning after the first violation. Further violations may lead to prize reductions.
5. We trust streamers not to pass along information that may skew results. If irrefutable evidence of this is found, said streamer will be banned permanently from all tournament-related events and a temporary ban will be issued for any player who acted on any such information.
6. Teams may not refuse or attempt to refuse having their matches broadcast, violations may lead to disqualification.

4. Rules for Official Streamers

1. Streamers wanting to broadcast any regional tournament are required to register on the WoWs tournaments website and for each gameday they are planning to broadcast.
2. All official streams will have a minimum five-minute delay.
3. Streamers are required to use the press account provided by tournament staff for casting games. No streamer will be permitted to cast games using a non-press account.
4. Streamers are required to report on their streaming stats and to link the respective VOD and/or other video upload (ex. YouTube).
5. Streamers are required to make their VODs of each streamed tournament day publicly available.
6. Streamers are required to use the official tournament stream overlays. Overlays should be installed as soon as possible once they are made available and all technical issues should be addressed before the start of the event.
7. Streamers are required to use the official tournament mod settings.
8. Streamers are required to use a non-rotating minimap with ship names enabled.
9. Streamers are not to have facecams during games themselves. Facecams in intermissions are preferred.
10. Streamers should maintain appropriate respect for all participants, tournament staff, and viewers while streaming the event. Part of this is being on time, others are waiting for you, respect their time.
11. Streamers should maintain neutrality in their coverage of the game and not overtly support one team or another and should broadcast both teams’ perspective in the battle.
12. While on stream, Streamers must maintain a professional image and should not directly criticize participants, tournament staff, or tournament sponsors. Gameplay commentary is fine, but should maintain a professional tone.
13. Streamers shall avoid any conduct that would violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) or any similar laws in other jurisdictions.
14. Streamers may not stream battles involving a team containing members of a clan or community they are a member of or were a member of in the 3 months preceding the tournament, unless they received approval from the enemy team or direct approval from Coordinators.
15. Individuals or accounts that are barred from playing in King of the Sea are similarly barred from being official streamers.
16. Streamers may not at any time during a King of the Sea broadcast promote or advertise any third-party games or products without prior approval from the tournament owner.
17. Channels with KotS drops enabled are required to be live casting matches and are not permitted to re-run previously aired content during the tournament. Failure to follow this rule will result in removal of drops from the streamers channel, as well as denial of future giveaway codes for streams.

5. Sportsmanship

1. Treat your opponents with respect. We expect all teams to play seriously, no matter the opponent. Obvious trolling or throwing will be treated as unsportsmanlike play and sanctioned if necessary.
2. We have no desire to punish or disqualify teams unless absolutely necessary. If it is possible to settle disputes without resorting to a formal complaint, we encourage all teams to do so. Those that insist on applying the strict letter of the rules to their opponent will be held to the same standard.
3. Delaying games unnecessarily is a rules violation and can be punished with a default loss. If you are having technical issues, let your referee and opponent know in good time.
4. All World of Warships Game Rules apply to any battles played in the tournament.
5. All participants of the tournament are subject to the Global Tournament Participant guidelines.
6. Players or clans sanctioned under rules in this document or that have been sanctioned by the tournament owner for rule violations in game may be excluded from future KotS iterations at the discretion of the tournament owner.

6. Rules for Tournament Staff

1. Definitions

1. For purposes of this section, “tournament staff” or “staff” includes all Coordinators, Adjudicators, and Referees.
2. For purposes of this section, “adjudication” means the act of ruling on a dispute between parties and/or the enforcement of a tournament rule. It does not include purely administrative tasks such as score entry or streamer management.

2. Staff may not engage in adjudication of any matches involving a team representing their own clan or community OR a team made up of more than 3 members from their clan or community. Similarly, staff may not be assigned to referee a match or group in which such a team is participating.
3. Staff who are rostered on a team shall not engage in adjudication of any match while their team is actively playing.
4. In the event a procedural rule needs to be changed, staff who are rostered on teams that are still participating in the event shall defer to non competing staff when making such decisions.

7. Rule Changes

1. The tournament organizer reserves the right to change and update the tournament rules at any time.
2. Participants will be notified of any rule changes after the start of the tournament on the tournament discord server. They will also be listed in Appendix F.
3. By continuing to participate in the tournament after the changes have been announced, participants agree to follow any changed rules.

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7. Glossary

8. Appendices

1. Appendix A: Useful Links

1. KotS Discord
2. WoWs Tournaments website
3. Warships Masters 2025 - Link Collection

2. Appendix B: List of Banned Ships

3. Appendix C: List of Playable Ships

4. Appendix D: Map Spawn Locations

5. Appendix E: List of Players banned from KotS

1. A list of banned players can be found under the following link: KotS - Ban List.
2. If a banned player owns multiple accounts, all other accounts are considered banned as well.
3. Ban appeals can be submitted to the tournament owner.

6. Appendix F: Prizes

1. Eligible winners will receive the following cash prize payout based on their team’s final standing, divided by the amount of team members on their roster:

2. Teams will receive in-game prizes, distributed per-player, based on their team’s final standing.

7. Appendix G: Rule Amendments

8. 16.08.2025: Removed contradicting rule about bots as player-replacement.