Official Rules & Terms of Participation

TNS Draft Day

Last Updated: August 22, 2026

Event Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Event Time: 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT to approximately 1:00 AM ET / 10:00 PM PT
Organizer: Tampa Never Sleeps Inc
Game: MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls
Official Contact: play@tns.gg

These Official Rules and Participant Terms (“Rules”) govern participation in TNS Draft Day (the “Event”), an online competitive gaming event organized by Tampa Never Sleeps Inc (“Organizer”).

By accepting an invitation to participate in the Event, participating in the draft, checking in, or competing in the Event, each participant agrees to these Rules and any supplemental competition instructions provided by the Organizer.

1. Rules Subject to Change

These Rules are subject to change at the discretion of the Organizer.

Organizer may reasonably modify, update, clarify, or supplement these Rules before or during the Event when necessary due to competitive integrity concerns, technical issues, production requirements, participant availability, game or platform updates, publisher requirements, or other circumstances affecting the operation of the Event.

Organizer will make reasonable efforts to notify participants of any material changes as soon as reasonably practicable.

Any updated or supplemental rules communicated by Organizer will become part of these Rules upon notice to participants.

Organizer will not intentionally modify competitive rules for the purpose of unfairly benefiting or disadvantaging a particular participant or team.

2. Event Overview

TNS Draft Day will consist of five (5) captains and twenty (20) additional players, forming five (5) teams of five (5) players each.

Individuals may apply for consideration for the twenty-player draft pool. Applications will close on August 27, 2026.

Organizer will select twenty (20) players from the eligible applicant pool. Selected players will then be drafted by the five captains during a live snake draft on September 5, 2026.

Once the draft is complete, team rosters will lock and competition will begin.

The five teams (including their captains) will compete in a round-robin team tournament.

At the conclusion of the round robin, the top two (2) teams in the final standings will advance to a Final Match to determine the TNS Draft Day Champion.

The winning team of the Final Match will receive a total prize of $2,000 USD, distributed as $400 USD to each of the five winning team members.

Each captain will separately receive a $200 USD captain participation fee, subject to fulfillment of their applicable captain responsibilities.

3. Eligibility and Minor Participants

Participants, including Captains and Accepted Applicants, must:

  • Meet the minimum age requirements applicable to MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls and any platform or third-party service required for participation.
  • Have lawful access to the game and a supported platform.
  • Have the equipment and internet connection reasonably necessary to compete online.
  • Be legally permitted to participate and receive any applicable compensation or prize.
  • Provide accurate eligibility, payment, and tax information when reasonably requested.
  • Comply with these Rules and applicable game and platform terms.

Participants who have not reached the age of legal majority in their jurisdiction may participate with the permission of a parent or legal guardian.

Organizer may require a parent or legal guardian to approve participation, broadcast appearances, receipt of prize money or compensation, or other Event-related requirements.

Organizer may require proof of age, identity, residency, or eligibility where reasonably necessary.

4. Applications and Player Selection

Applications to participate will close on August 27, 2026.

Submitting an application does not guarantee selection for the Event.

Organizer will select twenty (20) applicants for the draft pool.

Organizer may consider factors reasonably related to operating and balancing the Event, including:

  • Player skill level.
  • Competitive experience.
  • Player availability.
  • Platform availability.
  • Connection quality.
  • Event and production requirements.

Prior to the draft, Organizer will separate or categorize selected players based on skill level for purposes of competitive balance.

Organizer may replace a selected participant who declines, becomes unavailable, fails to respond, becomes ineligible, or cannot reasonably participate.

5. Draft and Team Rosters

The Event will use a snake draft.

Each of the five captains will select four (4) players from the twenty-player draft pool.

After completion of the draft, each team will consist of:

  • One (1) captain.
  • Four (4) drafted players.
  • Five (5) total team members.

The draft order will reverse after each round.

For example:

Round 1: Captain 1 → Captain 2 → Captain 3 → Captain 4 → Captain 5
Round 2: Captain 5 → Captain 4 → Captain 3 → Captain 2 → Captain 1

This pattern will continue until all twenty players have been drafted.

Initial Draft Order

Draft order will be randomly determined before the Draft begins.

Draft Pick Timer

If a captain does not make a selection within a reasonable timeframe, Organizer may grant an extension or make another reasonable ruling necessary to continue the draft.

Roster Lock

Rosters lock immediately upon completion of the draft.

After rosters are locked, players may not be traded or independently change teams.

If a player withdraws, becomes unavailable, or is unable to compete, Organizer may approve or assign a substitute.

Organizer has final approval over all substitute players.

6. Tournament Format

The Event will begin with a five-team round robin.

Each team will compete against every other team.

Team matches will use a Waseda-style team format, with players matched according to their designated team position:

  • Player 1 vs. Player 1
  • Player 2 vs. Player 2
  • Player 3 vs. Player 3
  • Player 4 vs. Player 4
  • Player 5 vs. Player 5

Individual Match Format

Each Individual Match will be a FT1 game using the game’s FT3 round format.

Stage Selection will be set to Random.

Team Match Winner

The team that wins at least three (3) of the five individual player matches wins the team matchup.

All five individual matchups will be played during the round-robin stage for purposes of standings and applicable tiebreakers.

Team Player Order

Player order will be decided according to the skill level of the players, with the Captains going last in the order.

Round-Robin Standings

Teams will be ranked primarily according to team matchup wins and losses.

Tiebreak order:

  1. Head-to-head result between tied teams.
  2. Individual match differential.
  3. Individual game differential.
  4. Organizer-administered tiebreak match if necessary.

The tiebreak procedures above will be used where necessary to determine the final round-robin standings, including which teams advance to the Final Match.

Final Match

At the conclusion of the round robin, the teams ranked first and second in the final standings will advance to the Final Match.

The Final Match will use the same Waseda-style team format and Individual Match Format described above.

The team that wins at least three (3) of the five individual player matches in the Final Match will be declared the TNS Draft Day Champion.

The winner of the Final Match will receive the first-place tournament prize described in these Rules.

Game Version

The Event will use the current version of MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls at the time of the Event, unless otherwise stated by the Organizer.

7. Schedule, Check-In and Technical Requirements

The Event will take place online on Saturday, September 5, 2026.

The scheduled Event window is:

8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT to approximately 1:00 AM ET / 10:00 PM PT

The Event may extend beyond the estimated end time where reasonably necessary to complete competition.

Check-In

Captain & Player Check-In: 7:45 PM ET / 4:45 PM PT

Participants must remain reasonably available during the Event and respond to tournament staff when required.

A participant who fails to respond or appear within two (2) minutes of a required match or call time may be penalized or replaced if they do not respond in a reasonable manner.

Platform

Matches may be played on PlayStation 5 or PC at Organizer’s discretion.

Organizer may determine the appropriate platform based on technical, competitive, production, or operational requirements.

Communication

Participants are required to be available through Discord.

Internet Connection

Participants are responsible for maintaining a stable internet connection.

Organizer may request reasonable connection or technical testing.

If a player experiences a disconnect, game crash, or other technical issue, Organizer may restart the game, require play to continue, change platforms or servers, issue a game or match loss, or make another reasonable ruling intended to preserve competitive fairness.

Intentional disconnects may result in disqualification.

8. Competitive Integrity and Conduct

Participants must compete fairly and behave appropriately toward other participants, tournament staff, production personnel, commentators, sponsors, partners, and viewers.

Prohibited conduct includes:

  • Cheating or unauthorized software.
  • Use of prohibited exploits.
  • Account sharing or impersonation.
  • Match fixing.
  • Collusion.
  • Intentionally losing or throwing matches.
  • Stream sniping.
  • Unauthorized outside assistance.
  • Intentional disconnections.
  • Manipulation of results.
  • Wagering on matches in which the participant is competing.
  • Harassment or threats.
  • Hate speech or discriminatory conduct.
  • Targeted abusive behavior.
  • Deliberate disruption of the Event.

Organizer may investigate suspected violations and may issue warnings, game losses, match losses, removal, disqualification, or prize forfeiture where appropriate.

Participants are expected to reasonably cooperate with Event administrators investigating a potential competitive integrity violation.

9. Streaming, Broadcast and Content Rights

Participants are encouraged to livestream their individual point of view during the Event.

Streaming Requirements

Streaming is required for Captains and optional for Accepted Applicants.

Stream Delay

No stream delay is required.

Participants who stream must comply with applicable platform requirements and any Event, sponsor, title, category, disclosure, or overlay instructions provided by Organizer.

Participants are responsible for third-party music, graphics, video, or other content they independently include in their own stream.

Broadcast Rights

The Event may be livestreamed, recorded, photographed, clipped, rebroadcast, or otherwise documented by Organizer or its authorized partners.

By participating, each participant grants Organizer a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use their:

  • Name.
  • Gamertag.
  • Image and likeness.
  • Voice.
  • Webcam or video appearance.
  • Gameplay footage.
  • Event-related interviews or statements.
  • Event-related POV footage.

Organizer may use Event-related material for live broadcasts, VODs, highlights, clips, social media, Event promotion, sponsor reporting, archival purposes, and promotion of future editions of the Event.

Participants retain ownership of their personal channels and independently created content.

10. Captain Responsibilities and Compensation

Each captain is expected to:

  • Participate in the live draft.
  • Draft four players.
  • Participate in the tournament.
  • Stream their individual point of view during the Event.
  • Communicate with their team.
  • Be available at required Event times.
  • Cooperate with reasonable tournament and production instructions.
  • Participate in required technical testing.
  • Complete any agreed Event, promotional, streaming, or sponsor obligations communicated before participation.

Each captain who fulfills their applicable responsibilities will receive:

$200 USD

Five captain payments will result in total captain compensation of:

$1,000 USD

The captain participation fee is separate from tournament prize money and is not dependent on competitive placement.

A captain who withdraws, fails to participate, or materially fails to complete agreed responsibilities may lose eligibility for some or all of the captain fee, subject to Organizer’s reasonable determination and applicable law.

11. Tournament Prize and Payments

The TNS Draft Day Champion, as determined by the Final Match, will receive a total first-place prize of:

$2,000 USD

Each of the five winning team members will receive:

$400 USD

No tournament prize will be awarded to any other placement unless otherwise announced in writing by Organizer.

Organizer will pay each winning participant directly.

A captain on the winning team will receive both:

  • $200 captain participation fee.
  • $400 first-place prize.

A winning captain will therefore receive $600 USD total.

Payment Information

Participants receiving compensation or prize money may be required to provide:

  • Legal name.
  • Contact information.
  • Payment information.
  • Tax documentation.
  • Proof of identity.
  • Parent or guardian information where applicable.

Required payment information and documentation must be submitted within fifteen (15) days following the Event.

Organizer will issue payment within thirty (30) days after receiving all required payment and tax information from the participant.

Participants are responsible for applicable taxes and reporting obligations associated with payments received.

12. Organizer Authority, Changes and Cancellation

Organizer and its designated tournament administrators have final authority over ordinary Event administration, including:

  • Application and eligibility decisions.
  • Draft administration.
  • Player substitutions.
  • Rule interpretations.
  • Match procedures.
  • Technical rulings.
  • Platform and server selection.
  • Competitive penalties.
  • Match and standings results.
  • Qualification for the Final Match.
  • Determination of the Event Champion.

Organizer may reasonably adjust the Event schedule, match order, draft procedures, technical procedures, platform, or competition procedures where necessary due to technical issues, participant availability, competitive integrity, production requirements, or circumstances outside Organizer’s reasonable control.

Organizer will make reasonable efforts to notify participants of material changes.

Organizer may postpone, suspend, modify, or cancel the Event if circumstances make it impractical, unfair, unsafe, or technically impossible to continue as planned.

The provisions of this section are in addition to the Rules Subject to Change provisions stated at the beginning of these Rules.

13. General Legal Terms

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Tampa Never Sleeps Inc is not responsible for participant-side internet failures, hardware or software failures, game server outages, platform outages, lost communications, or other technical issues outside Organizer’s reasonable control.

These Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

If any provision of these Rules is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the maximum extent permitted by law.

By participating in the Event, each participant confirms that they:

  • Have read and agree to these Rules.
  • Meet the applicable eligibility requirements.
  • Understand the Event format.
  • Understand that round-robin standings determine qualification for the Final Match and that the Final Match determines the Event Champion.
  • Understand the applicable compensation and prize structure.
  • Agree to applicable broadcast and recording terms.
  • Have obtained any required parent or legal guardian permission.

Questions regarding these Rules may be directed to:

Tampa Never Sleeps Inc
play@tns.gg