Valorant Game Manual
Fall 2025 / Spring 2026
Spring 2026 Status: Off-Season
Match Day: Thursday
Valorant is designated as an Off-Season game for Spring 2026, meaning it has lower priority for in-person event qualifications.
THIS TOURNAMENT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, SANCTIONED OR SPONSORED BY RIOT OR ANY OTHER GAME DEVELOPER OR PLATFORM.
Competition
Platforms: Windows PC Only
Team Size: 5-player teams (5v5)
Game Duration: Single competition with point accumulation
Match Structure: 2 games with potential best-of-3 postseason
Players
Team Size: 5-10 players (more strongly advised)
Eligibility: Players must be registered with school's official coach/advisor
Single Competition: One roster per player per MiHSEF competition
Players may be substituted between games (not during rounds) while maintaining roster requirements.
Teams must provide minimum 4 players of 5 at match start.
Game forfeiture if under minimum mid-game.
Match forfeiture if unable to field minimum for additional games.
Pre-Match
Teams: Home team creates lobby + handles map selection + invites Away team captain
Side Selection: Team that didn't choose side in previous game chooses side for next game
Error Handling: Reset match if wrong players/settings; completed games stand if errors discovered late
Lobby: Custom (closed), Mode: Standard
Tournament Options:
- Allow Cheats: Off
- Tournament Mode: On
- Overtime: Win by Two: On
- Play Out All Rounds: Off
- Hide Match History: Off
- Only coaching slot allowed for spectating
- Teams may stream using coaching slot or NDI plug-in for OBS
- Coach communication limited to same team only
- No other spectating methods permitted!
Gameplay
Ban Order:
- Home bans → Away bans → Home bans → Away bans → Home bans
Final Selection: Last 2 maps played | Away picks Map 1 → Home chooses Attack/Defense Away chooses Attack/Defense on Map 2
2-0 Sweep: Winner receives 5 points | Loser receives 1 point
1-1 Split: Majority Rounds Team with more rounds: 3 points | Team with fewer rounds: 2 points
1-1 Split: Tiebreaker Resolved by cumulative eliminations, then by cumulative plants
Automatic: Scores pulled if accounts linked Manual: Both teams report + confirm together Required: Screenshots of game results Penalty: Forfeitur efor late/missing scores
Standard: 10 minutes between games (negotiable by agreement) Forfeit: Automatic forfeiture if break extends without agreement No-shows: Teams must return or forfeit after 10 minutes
Stoppage of Play
Limit: 2 per team per game When: Buy phase rounds only (in-game player call) Duration: 60 seconds maximum
Valid Reasons:
- Player Disconnect/Drop
- Server Crash
- Technical issues (hardware/internet)
Rules: 10-minute limit per game | Confirmation required to resume | Forfeit if exceeded
Before Round Start: Restart by request After Round Start: Allow reconnection pause (counts toward pause limit) Count: Each disconnection counts as one of team's three pauses
Allowed for sportsmanship | Same players & agents required | Round/game restarts prohibited
Restrictions
All agents, weapons, sprays, weapon skins, items, and weapon buddies are allowed except those disabled in competitive mode or banned by official Valorant tournament rules.
New agents unavailable for 2 weeks after public release date and time.
Any intentional use of bugs, exploits, game file modification, or third-party applications for unfair advantage is strictly prohibited. MiHSEF determines prohibited exploits and enforces violations. See MiHSEF anti-cheating policy and submission process.
Playoffs
- Play in and each round at the in person state tournament will be a best of 3. The following process will determine the bans and picks from the listed map pool.
- Higher seeded team bans one map, Lower seeded team bans one map.
- Higher seeded team picks Map One, Lower seeded picks a side for Map One.
- Lower seeded team picks Map Two, Higher seeded team picks a side for Map Two
- Higher seeded team bans one map, Lower seeded team bans one map.
- One map remains, Higher seeded team picks side
Map List
| Pearl | Bind | Abyss | Haven |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset | Lotus | Split |
This list may update as we approach the season in conjunction with ranked play, and may update in season
Last Updated: January 15, 2026