Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Singles & Doubles Ruleset

Tournament Rules

  1. Tournament Length

    This tournament is double elimination (two total match losses).

  2. Set Length

    All tournament sets will be best-of-three (first-to-two wins), until Top Eight at which point tournament sets will be best-of-five (first-to-three wins). Rules below do not change between these two set formats.

  3. Set Procedure

    1. Each player will select their characters. Either player may elect to do Double-blind Character Selection as detailed in section 5.
    2. Players will use Starter Stage Striking to determine the first stage — see Game Rules section 3.1 for details.
    3. The players will play the first game of the set.
    4. The winning player from the preceding game will choose two stages to be banned, as detailed in Game Rules section 3.2. The losing player of the preceding game will then pick a stage for the next game, adhering to the stage clause as detailed in Game Rules section 3.3, and any bans.
    5. The winning player from the preceding game will announce their character selection for the next game.
    6. The losing player from the preceding game will announce their character selection for the next game.
    7. The next game is played.
    8. Repeat steps four through eight for all subsequent games until the set is complete.

  4. Stage Agreement Clause

    Players may select any LEGAL stage if they both agree on it. Players may not play on illegal stages or change the length/terms of a set. If this is violated, both players will be subject to complete disqualification from the event.

  5. Double-blind Character Selection

    Either player may request that a double-blind selection occur. In this situation, a pool captain, referee, or third party will be told, in secret, of each player’s character choices for the first round. Both players are to then select their first round character, with the pool captain, referee, or other third party validating the character selections.

  6. Stage Striking

    Players will play a best-of-one game of rock paper scissors, and the winner may choose to either strike first or strike second. Stages will be chosen in a P1-P2-P2-P1 order.

  7. Pausing and the Home Button

    Pausing is to turned OFF in the settings. However, if it is not, pausing is only legal while either player remains upon their OWN respawn platform, and only for the purpose of summoning a Tournament Official, or in the case of a controller malfunction. All other pauses will incur a stock loss to the player who pauses the game. If the pause causes the opponent to lose their last stock, the pausing player receives a game loss. This rule also applies to controllers which cause the game to revert to the Switch home screen.

  8. Stalling

    Stalling, or intentionally making the game unplayable, is a bannable offense at the discretion of Tournament Officials. Stalling includes, but is not limited to, becoming invisible, continuing infinites past 300%, and reaching a position that the player’s character can never be reached by the opposing character. Stalling will result in a forfeit of the game for the player that initiated the action.

  9. Self-Destruct Moves

    If a game ends with a self-destruct move, the results screen will determine the winner. If a sudden death occurs as the result of a self-destruct move, a standard sudden death play-off game applies — see section 10 for details.

  10. Sudden Death

    If a game goes to Sudden Death, the winner is determined by stocks and percentage at the time the game ends. If both players are tied in stocks, the player with the lower percentage is the winner. In the event of a percentage tie, or a game in which both players lose their last stock simultaneously, a one-stock tiebreaker will be played with a three-minute time limit on the same stage and with the same characters as the tied game. The results of an in-game 300% Sudden Death do not count. If Sudden Death occurs in a Sudden Death game, this process is repeated.

  11. Stock Sharing

    Taking a partner’s stock is allowed in Doubles.

  12. “Grab and Go” Clause

    In Doubles, a player may not switch controllers with their teammate.

  13. Missing Teammate Clause

    If a player’s teammate is not present for a game, the match will not continue until their teammate arrives. They may not play a two versus one match or play with a CPU.

  14. Character Color/Team Color Selection

    If there is a dispute in character colors or team colors (e.g., both players want to use green Fox), the players will play one game of rock paper scissors to determine who gets the color.

  15. Team Color Clause

    When in Doubles play, both teams are required to choose character costumes that are similar to their team color. For example, two R.O.B. players on the red team would use the red R.O.B. and the R.O.B. with red arms if requested. In the case of a character without a similar color option, such as Fox who doesn’t have a blue version, the teams may use the closest color that is available to that character.

  16. Color Request Clause

    Players may request that their opponent change colors in order to accommodate colorblindness, or if their color is indistinguishable from the other team color or the stage background. This request must be made before the game starts. For example, requesting Cloud for the green team to be able to distinguish when the limit gauge is charged, or having Sonic on the blue team to prevent confusion.

  17. Warm-ups

    Warm-up periods, button checks and “handwarmers” may not exceed 60 seconds on the game clock. Violation of this rule may result in a game loss at the discretion of the Tournament Official.

  18. Counterpicking

    Each player who lost the previous game is given 60 seconds after bans are selected to notify their opponent of their counterpick. If no counterpick is selected in this time frame, a judge should be summoned and the counterpicking player will receive a game loss.

  19. Tardiness

    Anyone who is not present for their set 10 minutes past the scheduled start time of the round is subject to a total disqualification from the event.

Game Rules

  1. Game Settings

    • Stock and time are set to three stock and seven minutes for Singles and Doubles (if applicable)
    • Final Smash Meter: OFF
    • Spirits: OFF
    • Damage Handicap: OFF
    • Stage Selection: Anyone
    • Items: OFF and NONE
    • First to: One Win
    • Stage Morph: OFF
    • Stage Hazards: OFF
    • Team Attack: ON
    • Launch Rate: 1.0x
    • Underdog Boost: OFF
    • Pausing: OFF
    • Score Display: OFF
    • % Show Damage: YES
    • Custom Balance: OFF
    • Echo Fighters: Separate
    • Radar: Big
    • Teammate Highlight: ON
    • Mii Fighters: All moveset combinations are legal

  2. Stage List

    Starter Stages
    • Battlefield
    • Final Destination
    • Town and City
    • Pokémon Stadium 2
    • Smashville
    Counterpick Stages
    • Kalos Pokémon League
    • Small Battlefield

    The following Omega and Battlefield forms of stages will not be allowed in tournament:

    • Duck Hunt
    • 75m

  3. Additional Rules

    1. Starter Stage Striking

      Players may strike from the legal stages to determine the starting stage for the first game, with each person striking stages in P1-P2-P2-P1 format. If Final Destination is chosen, either player may require that it be played on the tournament’s accepted alternative form. In FanimeCon 2022’s case, Omega Mario Galaxy is the only acceptable alternative form.

    2. Counterpick Stage Banning

      After each game of the set, before counterpicking, the player who won the previous game may ban two stages from the full stage list. These bans do not persist throughout the set. The loser of the previous game then chooses from the remaining stages, barring the most recent stage — see section 3.3 for details.

    3. Stage Clause

      A player/team may not pick any stage they have counterpicked and previously won on during the set.

    4. Mii Fighter Clause

      Mii Fighters must use their default costumes — though players may select any color for their Mii in accordance with Tournament Rules section 14 and section 15 — and must use a Guest Mii. Any player who intends to use a Mii during a set must declare they are creating Mii Fighters before the set. Mii Fighters should be named after the combination of special moves chosen, listed in the format “XXXX.” Any combination of moves may be used, but any movesets that any player may want to use during a set must be created before the set begins. There is a limit of up to three Mii Fighters, unless explicitly given permission from the Tournament Director.

    5. Control Setup Clause

      No player may create more than three control schemes per set unless explicitly given permission from the Tournament Director.

    6. Patch

      FanimeCon 2022 will use whichever patch is currently live at 11:59 pm PST on Wednesday May 25th, 2022.