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RGL Finances, Global Rule Edits, and 2021 June/July Bans

   exa   - 8/11/2021
Past articles:
January
February
March & April
May


RGL Finances


In RGL, certain divisions for each format contain league fees for entry. For 6v6, the paid divisions are for Invite, Advanced, Main, and Intermediate. For Highlander, only Invite has a paid entry fee. League entry fees are important for the prize pools that each format can maintain. This is pronounced in our 6v6 format where our estimated prize pools for each season have all been over $9,500 (the previous three seasons had prize pools of over $12,000). In Highlander, Invite has been able to maintain over a $1,000 prize pool for each season.

6v6

What does my league fee go to?

Let’s take the example of someone playing in IM. The cost to play in that division is 15 dollars. From that 15 dollars, about .74 cents goes to PayPal as part of their fees, about 33 cents goes to the league to help cover business-related costs (we’ll expand on those below.) Meaning that about 14 of the 15 dollars goes directly into the prize pool.

For Season 5 of Sixes where $13,241.11 is raised ($300 is used to cover site expenses), resulting in a starting amount of $12,941.11. Additionally, $595.89 is used to cover PayPal fees. This amounts to $12,345.21 generated and $12,150 is used for the prize pool. As a result, the remaining $195.21 (12,345.21 - 12,150) goes towards the operational and league costs of the league.

For 6s, each season we calculate the prize pool as we gear up for playoffs. Roughly, the prize pool consists of the sum of league fees received when it’s calculated minus PayPal fees, ~$300 for the site and operational costs, and $150-$300 for waiving league fees for Newbie Team Drive coaches. As an in-depth look, the values for Season 5 were calculated as such:


We then take the net amount and find the largest prize pool we can while keeping two goals in mind:

  • Making playoffs in a given division will earn a player the same or more as winning the division below (net, so (earnings/6) - div fee)
  • A team’s earnings will be reasonably divisible by six players

For Season 5, that was as follows:


The remaining difference between the prize pool sum and net amount for the prize pool (only $.61 for Season 5 is put back towards league expenses.


Highlander

In Highlander, Invite teams pay a team fee of $153. With normally 7-Invite teams paying up each season (1 team from Advanced or Challenger getting a free move up), this sums up to the over $1,000 prize pool that Highlander bolsters each season.

  • 1st Place - $516
  • 2nd Place - $350
  • 3rd Place - $158

For the season of Highlander where $1,071 was raised, $33.18 was used to cover PayPal fees. This amounts to $1,037.82 generated of which $1,024 was used for the prize pool. The remaining $13.82 (1,037.82 - 1,024) goes towards the operational and league costs of the league.

In a season of Invite where all 8-teams pay the team fee, $1,169.63 is raised, $37.92 is used to cover PayPal fees. This amounts to $1,131.71 generated of which $1,024 is used for the prize pool. The remaining $107.71 (1,131.71 - 1,024) goes towards the operational and league costs of the league.


What costs does RGL incur each year?

Operational costs/expenses are operating costs of running the league, such as the costs related to the site, forums, .gg domain, upgrades to the server to handle traffic, DDoS protection, and general upkeep.

League costs are costs associated with league fees (such as PayPal fees), Newbie Drive coach fees costs, and the prize pool.

The yearly expenses hover around $1000-$1200. Each year, RGL has taken around $300 per season (~$900 per year) out of the prize pool to cover these costs. Specifically, with our forums, we are looking for ways to minimize these costs, which have been around $250 per year.


What do my league fees go towards?

League fees currently go to two things in RGL:

1) League Prize Pools (This is where the vast majority of the fees go towards, allowing us to have bigger prize pools for players)
2) Operational costs/expenses (Cost of running the site, RGL services, etc.)

NOTE: Currently, league fees do not go towards the compensation of any RGL staff.


Will RGL be using league fees to provide servers or other RGL-related projects in the future?

This is an area that RGL is looking into. More specifically, we are looking into providing servers for RGL 6s teams by decreasing the prize pool or increasing the costs of league fees. We hope to provide more updates on this during the offseason.

A small portion of our income comes in each season after the prize pool is decided and announced each season. In the past, this has helped cover operations costs. This year, as we are breaking even (400+), this is extra income. We are looking into options for this, and would like to open discussion with the community. We would like to discuss how this money can be used, such as the following:

  • Free cups with a prize pool
  • Providing to help fund LAN
  • Adding money for the current prize pool
  • Providing servers for teams for matches



Global Rule Edits



[1008.5] - POV and STV Demos has been updated to clarify that demo file submission to Discord is an acceptable method.


Regular season rosters deviate depending on the format being played (HL is nine members, Prolander is seven members, etc.). This rule is updated to clarify that players with an active suspension do not count towards a team's total membership count.


[1008.8] - Score Submission has been updated to clarify that teams that submit an incorrect match score should create a support ticket to fix this error.


[1003.1] - Cheating has been updated to clarify how placements in playoffs are affected in which matches played by a cheater have been overturned.


[1009.4.2] - Default Ringers has been updated to be clearer on what a default ringer is, its guidelines, and what falls under a default ringer.


[1008.14] - Medic Melee Fight has been updated to clarify more cases in which a team automatically forfeits their pick in side color.


[1008.1] - Match Communications has been updated to include that players/teams should not post connect information inside of match comms.


[1008.5] - POV and STV Demos have been updated to include an expiry for demo infractions that are four years or older. This is to address the potential situation with long or old-time players receiving suspensions for old demo offenses that may have been received a long time ago.

Please note that intentionally providing the incorrect demos to an official demo request is considered [1007.2.4] - Fraud.


[1008.7.1] - Match Forfeits has been updated to clarify situations in which match points are redistributed for forfeited matches.


[1005.3] - Multiple Accounts has been updated to align with how matches defaulted in which a cheater has participated.


Bans


These bans were enacted before the release of this article. If you would like to file a report, you can do so on our site here. Appeals can also be found on the same page.

NOTE: We only look at user-submitted reports. If you do not file a report, then there is a good chance we have not seen it and cannot deal with the situation.


Cheating


The following player(s) have been caught cheating by the RGL Anti-cheat team and will be banned:

  • Fresh Kiwi - 2-Years / First cheating offense
  • goose - 2-Years / First cheating offense
  • Deathreus - 2-Years / First cheating offense
  • recess - 2-Years / First cheating offense



Ban Evasion / Alting


The following player(s) evaded their ban by playing league matches on an alternate account in RGL, while their main account is actively serving a league ban. Their ban will be extended by another year starting when the evasion ban was applied:


The following player(s) evaded their ban by using an alternate account on the RGL site and the RGL Discord, while their main account is actively serving a league ban. Their ban will be extended by another 7-months (6-months for alting on the league site + 1-month for forum ban evasion) starting when the evasion ban was applied:



The following player evaded their ban by playing league matches on an alternate account in RGL, while their main account is actively serving a league ban.


The following players supported the above alt account in evading their ban and will be banned for 6-months:




Alting


The following alternate account(s) have been caught connected to existing accounts in RGL by the RGL Anti-cheat team and will be banned:




Probation


The following players have been banned and placed on probation:

  • shaayy - 6-months - Threats of harm against an RGL staff member.
  • troubadour - 9-months - Doxxing and sexual harassment of player(s) in the community.
  • Catman - 2-Years - Harassment; involvement in doxxing and death threats of community member(s).

Update on the player(s) that have been banned while on probation:

  • dove - Permanent -Continued harassment and doxxing of player(s) in the community. (4th ban inside of RGL, 2nd while on probation)
  • Nino - Permanent - Continued use of racist comments during a scrim. (4th ban inside of RGL, 2nd while on probation)

After the minimum period has been served, the player(s) can appeal to have the ban lifted if they can show that they've improved themselves and how they interact within the community.


League


  • Sashi - Posting NSFW Content to the RGL Discord. - 3-months
  • Alan Dershowitz - Doxxing individual(s) in the community - 6-months
  • Crystal - Community league cheating ban (issued in 2020) - 1-Year
  • Unknown - Breaking RGL's player code of conduct. - Permanent



Sportsmanship and Spirit


The following player(s) have/had been suspended for 1-6 weeks for their usage of racist slurs, homophobic or transphobic language, excessive toxicity and flaming, or derogatory language on our platforms. Repeat offenders will get longer ban lengths.

  • Bazinga! - Use of a racial slur during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • Kansiwiz - Use of a racial slur during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • abscond - Use of homophobic slurs during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • ElRood-E - Transphobic comments during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • -Syntax - Use of a homophobic slur during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • dippidy - Use of a homophobic slur during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • dababy smith - Use of racial slurs during a scrim. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • catberg - Use of a racial slur during a match. - 2-weeks / First Offense
  • Big Lug - Transphobia during a scrim on an alternate account. - 4-weeks / First Offense
  • Rixardo - Transphobia during a scrim on an alternate account. - 4-weeks / First Offense
  • Jas - Use of a homophobic slur during a scrim on an alternate account. - 4-weeks / First Offense
  • maba - Use of hate symbols on an RGL Platform (Discord) - 4-weeks / Second Offense
  • 4K - Use of racial slurs during a scrim - 4-weeks / Second Offense



Demos


The following player(s) have failed to provide a requested demo. The first offense during the regular season will be a warning. A second offense during the regular season or the first offense during playoffs will lead to suspensions.

  • J Hondo - Failure to Submit Demos: 2nd Offense // 2-weeks
  • yeye - Failure to Submit Demos: 2nd Offense // 2-weeks
  • antlers - Failure to Submit Demos: 2nd Offense // 2-weeks
  • Cataylst - Failure to Submit Demos: 2nd Offense + Passing off a wrong demo as their own POV in a fraud attempt // 1-month



VAC Ban


The following account(s) has been banned for having VAC bans that may be affecting TF2. If you have a VAC ban for a game that is not TF2, please contact an admin to get the ban removed.



You can read further details and context about each of the player's bans by viewing their discipline history on their RGL profile.


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