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Game-Specific Rules
Player Qualifications
5v5 PRO Regular Season - Match Format
5v5 PRO Regular Season - Match Procedure
PRO ID Changing Regulations
Captains Responsibilities
Late/Absent Leagues
PRO Players Tour Rules
Playoff Tiebreakers

Playoff eligibility still requires that players must play 3 5v5 matches during the regular season to qualify for playoffs.

Game-Specific Rules

The Headquarters table will always be hosted by the designated referee or tournament director. If a referee or TD is booted, becomes frozen or is not able to continue for any reason, a PRO Admin should be notified immediately and a new table will be made or effort made for another designated referee or TD to gain control of the table.
If a player is booted, frozen, or becomes absent from the table at any time during their game, or if a team is unable to call another player their opponent may ask for a seven (7) minute timer. Once time expires, that player loses that particular game.
The cue ball (White Ball) must be moved from its original position before breaking. The move must be noticeable to the referee in a match or your opponent in a tournament.
If the eight ball (Black Ball) is made on the Break Shot, then that game will be reracked. In the case of a loss because of accidentally pocketing the eight ball early in the game, reracks cannot be requested by the loser of the match. A rerack can only occur if offered by the winner. If someone is harassed for deciding to take the win, it is considered poor sportsmanship and may result in a penalty.
Yahoo Glitches can happen to anyone, and could go either way. If a glitch happens, players will continue the game as if the glitch never happened. Glitches do not warrant reracks except for extreme cases in which the opponent who stands to have an advantage due to a glitch may offer if he/she wishes. The player that has been glitched cannot ask for a rerack.
If on the break shot, you make a solid and a stripe, you may NOT take the ball in hand.
If on the break shot you make a solid, stripe, and scratch, you must take the cue ball out of the "gutter" and tap to your opponent.
Safety or Defensive shots are legal and all players must learn to accept it. They are part of the game. Do not whine after a safety! Do not attack a person if they safety you! Please just continue playing the game.
Accusations of cheating will not be tolerated in PRO. If, in a PRO tournament, or 5v5 match, a player is caught accusing another player of cheating (using an aimer, using another players ID or stat fixing) via screen shot, cam tape of yim archive you will be DQ'd from that tournament and suspended for your league's next 5v5 match. If you feel you have enough proof that a player has cheated, send it to an admin and the matter will be dealt with,
Booting players from your table will also not be tolerated in PRO. If, in a PRO tournament, a player is caught booting another, from a table, via screen shot or cam tape you will be DQ'd from that tournament and boxed for 2 days. If you are having issues with another player, invite the TD or and admin to the table and the matter will be dealt with.
All players and viewers are required to participate with good sportsmanship. Please see the rules in the sportsmanship section.
Coaching on any messenger service or on the table is absolutely forbidden and may result in a disqualification of the player being coached or booting of the person that is coaching, depending on the situation.
Use of Camtasia during a match is optional and not mandatory. All players have the right to confirm or deny a Camtasia request. If an agreement is established, PRO will honor it by holding players accountable to the agreement. All tapes must be sent to the referee or TD within thirty (30) minutes of the conclusion of that game. The referee or TD will send the tape to their opponent if they wish to see it AFTER the ruling has been made. If this limit is not met, the player is then disqualified. All PRO Camtasia rules/guidelines must be followed. Players may NOT resort to harassment regarding decisions to record matches. This rule applies to tournament games as well.
The use of aimers are forbidden in PRO. In extreme cases, PRO reserves the right to require individuals we believe to be utilizing aimers to document matches with Camtasia until further notice.
A player playing a PRO game, in a tournament or a match, may not be seated at any other table, whether it be a rated game, unrated game or a training table. If this is seen, a disqualification may be made.
Should you feel that an umpire made an error in judgment on a decision that might affect the outcome of the match, you may appeal that decision to an Admin. An appeal will only be heard if it is presented in an orderly, well-mannered fashion. If an admin is not immediately available to hear your appeal, an over-rule cannot be made.

Player Qualifications

In order to participate in any PRO game (tournaments AND matches), all players must meet the following requirements:*
- All players must have at least thirty (30) legitimate games in the league that they wish to represent. Fifteen (15) of these games must be tournament games. These requirements are still in place for players that have reset their stats or resigned up for their league.
- All players must have played at least one (1) tournament game per week (7 days) in the league they wish to represent.
- Provisional IDs are not allowed in PRO however Ghost IDs are allowed.
- Yahoo! Pool IDs that have rating that is less than 1200 are not allowed in PRO.
When signing up for the PRO ladder, you must register with your league initials and an underscore before your name. For example, if kingvaughan from Tourney Pool (TP) wanted to register for PRO, they would register as tp_kingvaughan. If you have you league's initials in your Yahoo! ID, then you must add another set of league initials prior to your ID. For example, ls_coolguy from Lucky Shots (LS) would register as ls_ls_coolguy. Your Yahoo! ID, Home League ID, and PRO name (after the initials) must all match. If a player's Yahoo! ID is longer than 20 characters with their league initials, Cases will not allow them to register their full name as their PRO name. These people are still allowed to join and play so long as they use the maximum as their PRO ID.
If these requirements are not met, PRO reserves the right to disqualify and/or remove the player from the tourney or the ladder at any point in the season.

*Note: These requirements will be checked during matches, but will not be checked in tournaments. In tournaments, it is the player's responsibility to check their opponent's activity/stats in their home league and report to the TD or Admin if there is any problem. In tournaments, after a win has been reported, the winner may not get disqualified in that game for being idle or for lack of matches in their home league. Therefore, this must be checked and brought to the attention of an admin prior to or during the tournament game.

5v5 PRO Regular Season - Match Format

Matches in PRO season will be 5v5 Best of 9. They will be played in the following manner:
- Players for each of the first five games in the match will be called, with visiting team calling players first. The first five games are played.
- After the first five games, if the same team has won all five games, then that team wins the match 5-0.
- If the same team has not won all five games, then a second round of games will be played. Winners from both leagues will play in the order that they are called. (For example, if ls_coolguy from Lucky Shots is the only person who won in the first five games of the match, he will play the opposing league's second player, and if he wins, he plays the opposing league's third player, and so forth until he loses or until all the players in the opposing league are eliminated).
- All games will take place on the same Headquarters Table.
A team must have at least three (3) play in their match for a result to stand. All players do not have to be present at the beginning of the match, but must be there before they time out.

5v5 PRO Regular Season - Match Procedure

The referee for the specific match will have a Headquarters Table made in the designated room at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the match. This table will be rated and protected with no timer, and will have a banner marking it as the Headquarter Table for that match.
The referee will contact both league's captains through YIM as early as 30 minutes before the match to confirm the match. Captains should preferably have at least five (5) players to provide to the referee. The player's list is not required, but if a player that is not qualified is called during the match, that player will be disqualified. Therefore, it is beneficial to provide a player's to the list before the match begins.
Both teams should be at the headquarters table at least five (5) minutes prior to the start of the match.
The match will begin with the Home Team selecting their side (right or left). This side is where the home team will play on for all of the games in the match.
The visiting team will call their players first for the remainder of the match, and the referee will invite each player as they are called.
Once a player is called, no substitution or change may be made.
Timers will always be seven (7) minutes during PRO Matches.
If a player is found to be ineligible to play (if the player has not played in a tournament in the home league in the past seven days) at any point in the match, that player will be disqualified and the score will get changed accordingly. Any ineligible players discovered after the end of the match will not be disqualified.
Captains must still check for all opposing team player qualifications. If any opposing player is not qualified, inform the ref BEFORE 8 ball sinks and game is over and he will check. Once 8 ball is sunk the game will stand but all future matches for the player can have action taken. The ref no longer will check for eligibility.
The losers of games during matches will not report their losses to the PRO Ladder. The referees will note down the winners and losers of each game in the match and submit them to a PRO Admin, who will report the games at the end of that day.
The match will continue until all five players on one team are eliminated. The league to win five games first will receive the win in the PRO Season Standings.

PRO ID Changing Regulations

Players may change their PRO Name only if they wish to change their name AFTER the initials. Initial changes (league changes) may only be done by a PRO Admin! For example, ls_ls_coolguy is allowed to change his PRO ID to ls_master_of_pool123, but only a PRO Admin may change ls_ls_coolguy's PRO ID to pl_master_of_pool123.
Only ONE (1) league change per person is allowed per season. This league change may be used at any point before (Beginning of Week 6) of the Regular Season. When a player wishes to use this league change, they must contact a PRO admin.
When changing leagues, the player must be qualified in their new league with the thirty (30) games including fifteen (15) tournament games.
When changing leagues, the captain of the new league must agree to allow the player to switch to their league. This means that this captain must specifically tell a PRO Admin that the player is allowed to switch to their league. The old captain of the league that a player is switching out of does not have any say in league switches.
Any initial change (league change) that is seen in the daily results will result in a 7-day box penalty, and the player's initials will be changed back to that of their original league. This penalty applies withdrawing and resigning up for a different league.

Captains Responsibilities

The captain is responsible for every matter that concerns his/her team, which includes, but is not limited to:

Knowing and making their team aware of all PRO rules.
Reading Announcements & Newsletters to stay aware of events & rules.
Having their team participate in all PRO tournaments & events.
Making sure all their team's players meet all PRO qualifications
Having their team prepared and on time for all Matches and Tournaments.
Choosing players who are able to act in a sportsmanlike manner and keeping unsportsmanlike players off their teams.
Providing an active and willing referee from their league.
Setting an example for their teams - captains should never engage in arguments or unsportsmanlike conduct on the tables or in lobbies and should advise their players not to do so as well.
Effective immediately, the recruitment of players will not be tolerated in PRO. We will punish as we see fit anyone who disregards this. PRO Rules have been updated accordingly to reflect this. If you have any questions please see an Admin.

Captains who can't handle keeping up with PRO events, and informing or sending players to the matches or tourneys should consider passing the position to someone who will do what is best for the league. If a specific captain continues to not have teams prepared or present for PRO events, the PRO Admin Team will request to that league's admin team that they select a new captain who will handle the league's team more effectively.

Late/Absent Leagues

If a team is not present at the Headquarters Table five minutes before the match is due to begin, the referee will go to that league's room and make a polite announcement in the lobby about the match and its location.
If there are no players from a particular team present at HQ at the scheduled start time, a ten (10) minute timer will be started by the referee on the absent league. If no eligible players show up for that league within the ten minutes, the other team receives a 5-0 victory.
If one league runs out of players midway through the match, a ten (10) minute continuous timer will be started or resumed on the that team. If this timer expires before that league is able to call an eligible player then that league will forfeit the remainder of the match. Remember, a team must have had at least 3 players play in a match for a result to stand.**
If forfeited matches repetitively occur for the same league, PRO will request the league to provide a more satisfactory captain or remove the league from the season.

**Note: These timers only apply for leagues that do not have any players for the match or for the remainder of it. Timers that are necessary because a certain player has stopped playing or is not present are still only seven minutes long.

PRO Players Tour Rules

Any number of players may join a PRO Tourney, but only the first eight (8) to join from a particular lead will earn points in PRO Players Tour standings for their league. In the Weekly 3v3 on Saturday, however, all players signed up for the tourney will receive points.
All qualification rules in home league apply. However, the TD is not responsible for checking on these. It is up to a player to check his/her opponent's qualifications in the home league.
- If a player finds that their opponent is not qualified in their home league, then the player must report it to a TD before that game is over in order to receive the win. A player may not ask for a disqualification after he/she loses the game. However, if the unqualified player is reported to a TD even after the game, that player will be disqualified for the remainder of the tourney.
Timers are only allowed for the earliest of two rounds that are in progress at the time. For example, at the start of the tourney, Round 1 and Round 2 Timers are allowed. Once Round 1 is complete (all matches in Round 1 must have ended), timers for Round 2 and 3 are now allowed, and so on.
All rules mentioned in the section below this do apply in tournaments, so keep them in mind during PRO Tournaments.

Playoff Tiebreakers

In a 2-way tie the team with the better head to head record advances.
In a 3-way tie, if one team has beaten both the other teams in head to head they will finish 1st, and 2 way tie rules apply further. If all 3 teams went 1-1 versus each other the 1st place will be decided by win percentage and 2-way tie rules follow.
4-way ties follow as 3 way ties, where if one team beat all other leagues they get first spot, otherwise win percentage first.
In the event there is a tie in win percentage with 2 leagues head to head decided, if it is 3 leagues with a win percnetage tie a "flip of a coin" viewed by 2 admins will take place.
Sportsmanship, Behavior, and Consequences
Everyone in PRO is expected to know and understand these rules including PRO Players, Staff, and Admins. If there is a rule that is unclear, contact a PRO Admin to clarify the rule.

All aspects of the pool game cannot be covered in these rules. If a situation arises that is not covered in these rules, PRO Admins reserve the right to take action as they see fit!

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