Countdown to Nationals

2024 Winter Cup / Winter Fest

UPDATES WILL BE HERE

OVERVIEW

Winter Cup and Winter Fest are the two culmination tournaments at the end of the Fall and Winter Splits, beginning on January 29th, and ending on February 17th.

The top XP Point earning teams from each game will be invited to participate in Winter Cup, whereas all other teams will be invited to

participate in Winter Fest.

REGISTRATION

Winter Cup: All player(s) must be registered in XP League, either competing in the current split (Winter Split) or on a monthly subscription
with an XP League location.
Winter Fest: A majority (over half) of the players must be registered players in XP League, either competing in the current split (Winter Split) or on a monthly subscription with an XP League location (in competitive
split play, club play, etc.).
Age Requirements: Player(s) must meet the XP League age requirements as defined in the General Rules. Specifically, it is recommended for league play that players be at least 8 years old. The upper age limit is 17 years of age.
LeagueSpot: Winter Cup and Winter Fest brackets will be created in LeagueSpot. Locations will automatically be entered into their brackets based on the XP Points Standings.

WHO

This is an XPL internal event for XPL players only.

*The age limit of XP League players is 7 -17 .

WINTER CUP QUALIFICATIONS

Following the culmination of Winter Split, the top XP Point earners from each respective game title for both Fall and Winter Splits will receive an invitation for their respective game to participate in the Winter Cup.
If a team that qualifies for Winter Cup declines the invite to participate, the invite will be given to the next highest XP Point earner from the splits.
If a team does not qualify to compete in the Winter Cup, they will instead be invited to compete in Winter Fest.

SCHEDULING

Winter Cup and Winter Fest will occur over two weeks, between January 29th and February 17th.
Match blocks will take place during their normal regular split days and
times. Teams can play their matches at any of the open blocks for their
given game.
Matches 1 and 2 will take place in week 1. Matches 3 and 4 will take place in week 2.
Battle Royale drops will occur once per week.
If a team is unable to make the normal regular split time, a rescheduling
should be conducted to play the match at a time that works for both
teams.
If a team does not respond or show up for their match, it will be counted as a forfeit.

Number of Teams to Qualify

Number of Teams to Qualify for Winter Cup, per title:

Apex Legends: Top 20
Fortnite: Top 30
Minecraft Bed Wars: Top 8
Overwatch: Top 8
Rocket League: Top 12
Valorant: Top 16

Streaming

HQ will cover streaming for the following matches:

All Apex Drops
Fortnite Winter Cup Week 1 and both Winter Fest and Winter Cup Week 2
Grand Finals for Minecraft, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and Valorant

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1

Times are estimated and can vary based on actual match-ups and location considerations. ALL TIMES BELOW ARE IN EST

29 January:
- NO MATCHES
30 January:
- 7-9:00 PM - Rocket League Block #1
31 January:
- 7-9:00 PM - Overwatch 2 Block #1
1 February:
- 7-9:00 PM - Minecraft Block #1, Valorant Block #1
2 February:
- 7-9:00 PM - Valorant Block #2
3 February:
- 1:00 PM - Rocket League Block #2
- 1:30 PM - Apex Round #1
- 6:00 PM - Minecraft Block #2
- 6:30 PM - Overwatch 2 Block #2
- 7:30 PM - Valorant Block #3
4 February:
- NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)

WEEK 2

Times are estimated and can vary based on actual match-ups and location considerations. ALL TIMES BELOW ARE IN EST

5 February:
- NO MATCHES
6 February:
- 7-9:00 PM Rocket League Block #3
7 February:
- 7-9:00 PM Overwatch 2 Block #3
8 February:
- 7-9:00 PM - Minecraft Block #3, Valorant Block #4
9 February:
- 7-9:00 PM - Valorant Block #5
10 February:
- 1:00 PM - Rocket League Block #4
- 1:30 PM - Apex Round #2
- 2:00 PM - Fortnite Winter Fest Round #1
- 4:00 PM - Fortnite Winter Cup Round #1
- 6:00 PM - Minecraft Block #4
- 6:30 PM - Overwatch 2 Block #4
- 7:30 PM - Valorant Block #6
11 February:
- NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)

WEEK 3

12 February: NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)
13 February: NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)
14 February: NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)
15 February: NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)
16 February: NO MATCHES (Make-up Day)
17 February:
- 2 PM Fortnite Winter Fest Round #2
- 4 PM Fortnite Winter Cup Round #2

THE BRACKET

NOW LIVE

JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER

Copy this invite link to join our Discord Server, or Scan the QR Code Below. https://discord.gg/4BPZJUMWF5

Victory is the Sweetest Treat of All!

THE FINE DETAILS

Registration. Signups will open on October 12th, and will close on October 25th at 11:59pm EST. You must register using the form below or contact your XP League location League Commissioner to register.
Prizing. Prizing will be awarded to the top 3 teams and will be released closer to the event (see below).
Streaming and Casting. Matches will be streamed on XPL HQ Twitch channel. HQ can only stream one match at a time, not ALL matches will be streamed, and HQ will randomly select Group and Elimination round matches to stream. A schedule will be published. Casting: We will have Quinn (Qolorblind) and Matt (Xplosiv) casting matches. XPL Macomb may arrange our own caster to stream our games.
Ruleset. The Ruleset will be the XP League Valorant Ruleset.
Maps. Each match will be 1 map, decided upon by Map Pick/Ban. Teams will flip a coin before the match to decide Team A and Team B. Starting with Team A, teams will ban back and forth until only 1 map remains, and that will be the map for the match.
Ping. If there are any discrepancies with ping (i.e. one team averages 25 ping while the other averages 125), first try to find a server with as similar ping as possible. If both teams cannot agree on a server, there will be an identical Pick/Ban phase for the game server, with Team B beginning the Banning Phase.
Scoring. Matches will be played first to 13.
Overtime. Overtime rules for this event will be 2 Overtimes followed by a Sudden Death Round. If both teams are tied at 15 at the end of the 2 Overtimes, there will be a 1 round decider to dictate the winner.
Format of Play. The format of play will be a Randomly Drawn Group Stage, followed by a Knockout / Elimination Stage.
Group Stage. Each team will be randomly selected into groups of 4 teams. Each team will play against each other team in their group once. Once all 3 rounds have been completed, there will be a cut where the best team from each group will move on to the Knockout Stage (see update above).
Knockout / Elimination Stage. The Knockout Stage will be a Single Elimination Bracket, matching up Group A - 1st Seed against Group B - 2nd Seed and Group B - 1st Seed against Group A - 2nd Seed, with a consolation 3rd Place Match for the teams that were defeated in Round 1 (see updates above).
Approximate Time. It is estimated to take approximately 5-6 hours (5 rounds) to complete the tournament. 3 rounds in the Group Stage (3 hours), and 2 rounds in the Knockout Stage (2 hours).
Tie-Breaker. Tie-breaker for group stage seeding will be determined by head-to-head results of tied teams. If more than 2 teams are tied, then point differential in matches may be used to break continued ties.

PRIZES & AWARDS

Prizing will be awarded as follows.

WINTER CUP

1st Place - Teams for each game will receive a trophy.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place - Teams for each game will receive medals for each player (base roster +1 alternate).
All Players - Printable certificates for each player.

WINTER FEST

All Players - Printable certificates for each player.

*Prizing will be shipped to locations upon completion. XP League Home office is responsible for the distribution of all prizes.

FEES

Event Fee - This event is FREE for all of our XP League players.
Food Items - Players, coaches and guests that are wanting to order food (pizza) and a drink, there is a nominal $10 food & drink charge per player.