Countries will be seeded and then randomly allocated into groups. Each country will play each other once, with a win yielding 2 points, a draw 1 point and a loss zero points. The top two of each group will then progress to the knockout stage of the tournament. The Rounds Difference figure* will determine who progresses if more than one country has the same number of points.
The general format of a match will be 12 rounds split over 2 maps (6 per map), half as suspect and half as swat. Each country can choose their own favored map. The matches would consist ideally of a 5 v 5, if there is a shortage of players this can be cut to 4 v 4.
Due to the current woeful SWAT climate, this tournament will have no fixed game mode. What that means is, the default version will be 1.0 for all matches, however if both teams prior to a match agree to playing in 1.1, the match (and server) can be moved there.
If a team is more than 20 minutes late after the scheduled time, this will count as a "No Show" and the match will be forfeited to the opponent team. If a player crashes during the game, a compatriot on VIEW may join in his place. If the ViP crashes, the round will be awarded to the suspect team, no matter what the situation may be.
Each individual can only represent the country which they live in, regardless of their background - for example, a person of German origin living in Poland can only represent Poland.
*Rounds Difference figure is the difference between Rounds Won and Rounds Lost over the course of the tournament.