Teams and tournaments on ClutchLeague: how to prepare

On ClutchLeague a team has a captain, a name, a logo and a roster of players. Whoever creates it becomes the captain and can invite players or accept join requests (if the team accepts them). A team has up to 15 people, at most 2 of them coaches, who do not play; you can be part of several teams.

Creating a team is a premium feature; joining one, if you are invited or your request is accepted, is not.

To play tournaments you need one more thing: the logo. Without a logo the team cannot register, and the captain uploads it. It pays to do it straight away, together with the team description.

ClutchLeague tournaments are team based and use the same lobby and the same automatic verification as normal matches, with screenshots as a fallback. A few things to know:

• they do not change your ELO: they are a separate competition;
• they have no entry fee and no prizes: you play for the fun of it;
• the formats are single elimination, double elimination or round robin group;
• every match has a date and time, set by the organizer, and opens by itself at that time if both teams have checked in;
• the map is chosen through the veto between captains.

In a tournament a team fields five starters and up to two subs. There are also limits on the number of active tournaments per team and per player: the registration page tells you if you exceed them. If the tournaments page says they are coming soon, now is the right time to get the team ready.

Before every match the captain checks in, confirming the five players who will play. Check-in opens shortly before the match time (usually fifteen minutes before; the organizer can change it). Without a check-in the match does not open.

If at match time, after a short wait, only one team has checked in, that team wins by walkover. If neither has, the organizer decides. The organizer can also move a match: the teams are notified and the check-in resets.

What it means in practice:

• write down the times of every match as soon as they are published;
• the captain (or whoever stands in) has to be online in time;
• the team has to be ready before the time, not at the time.

The roster is the first thing to sort out, and the most underestimated:

• five starters with different roles: a controller, an initiator, a sentinel, a duelist and a flexible player. The chapter on compositions helps you choose;
• one or two subs: in tournaments with several matches, sooner or later someone cannot make it;
• a reliable captain, who is there on time, checks in and handles the map veto.

Remember that once registered, the team cannot change its roster until it withdraws from the tournament. Decide who plays before registering.

A team that prepares a little reaches tournaments with a huge edge over one that meets for the first time at the first match. The useful minimum:

• a few games together before the tournament, to get used to voices and roles;
• one default per side on the pool maps, and one or two executes per site (see the playbook);
• communication rules: who leads, who calls what;
• a veto plan: which maps to ban, which to keep.

The veto is the first decision of every match, and the captains handle it. Arriving prepared is worth more than it seems: a team playing its best map starts with an edge before the first round.

Prepare an ordered list: the maps you want to ban first (the ones you play worst) and the ones you want to keep (where your playbook is strongest). If you know the opponent, also think about which maps they play best. The captain should not improvise: they follow the list, and the team already knows which map it will probably play.

During the tournament:

• arrive early and check in calmly;
• use the downtime as the dedicated chapter explains: buy phase for the plan, side switch for two observations;
• after every match, five minutes for one thing that worked and one to change;
• respect opponents and rules: ClutchLeague tournaments use the same verification and the same fair play as normal matches.

Above all: tournaments are made for playing together. A team that enjoys itself plays better than one that lives every round like a final.