1
Ban phase 1
Skyline Five bans Map Bravo. Northwind bans Map Delta. The remaining pool narrows to five maps.
Map Veto Process — gamer11
How the map veto works
The map veto is the pre-match process where each side bans maps until the pool narrows. The order decides who picks first. In a Bo3, the standard sequence is ban-ban-pick-pick-ban-ban: each side bans two maps, then picks one map each, then bans the final two maps. The remaining map is the decider. In a Bo5, the standard sequence is ban-ban-pick-pick-pick-pick-ban-ban: each side bans two maps, then picks two maps each, then bans the final two maps. Side selection alternates between maps; the team that picked first chooses side for the first map, the team that picked second chooses side for the second map, and so on. The veto order is the operational schedule for the match.
Reference
How the map veto works — full detail
The map veto is the pre-match process where each side bans maps until the pool narrows. The order decides who picks first. In a Bo3, the standard sequence is ban-ban-pick-pick-ban-ban: each side bans two maps, then picks one map each, then bans the final two maps. The remaining map is the decider. In a Bo5, the standard sequence is ban-ban-pick-pick-pick-pick-ban-ban: each side bans two maps, then picks two maps each, then bans the final two maps. Side selection alternates between maps; the team that picked first chooses side for the first map, the team that picked second chooses side for the second map, and so on. The veto order is the operational schedule for the match.
The editorial standard applies across the site. The verification note attached to each entry lists the source page the data was drawn from. We do not fabricate placement, roster composition, dates, scores, brackets or player data. Where a figure is pending publication by the league, the entry says so explicitly and does not invent one.
For viewers who want to read more, the related hubs linked below cover the same topic from different angles. The tournament index pairs with the match schedule to surface the format primer for each event. The team directory pairs with the player profiles to surface the current roster for each team. The news desk pairs with the guides to surface the editorial standard for each story.
Verification note
Sourced from official pages
Every figure on the site links back to a verified source: the league page, the org's official announcement, or the developer's patch post. Where a figure is pending publication, the entry says so.
Worked example
A worked veto from week 37
The week 37 Bo3 between Skyline Five and Northwind used the standard ban-ban-pick-pick-ban-ban sequence. The map pool had seven maps. The veto order decided who picked first; the side selection alternated between maps.
2
Pick phase 1
Skyline Five picks Map Alpha (game one). Northwind picks Map Charlie (game two). The remaining pool narrows to three maps.
3
Ban phase 2
Skyline Five bans Map Echo. Northwind bans Map Foxtrot. The remaining pool narrows to one map.
4
Decider map
Map Golf is the decider. Side selection is decided by a knife round; the winner picks side for the decider. The match runs Bo3 across Map Alpha, Map Charlie and Map Golf.
Side selection
Side selection across a Bo series
Side selection alternates between maps in a Bo series. The team that picked first chooses side for the first map. The team that picked second chooses side for the second map. The decider map side selection is decided by a knife round; the knife-round winner picks side for the decider.
Side bias reflects the historical win rate of the attacking side versus the defending side on a given map. A slight defense bias means defenders win slightly more often. Side bias refreshes after every major patch; the data poster on the games page carries the latest side bias figures.
Where the developer has not yet published a side bias figure, the row says pending. The editorial desk does not infer side bias from a single match; the figure must reflect the league's published match history across the cycle. The desk reads the developer's patch post and the league's published match history together to write the side bias read.
The map veto process is the operational schedule for the match. Reading the veto order is reading the match structure. The format primer on the format-glossary page covers the worked example. The bracket explainer covers the round layout. The patch explained page covers the patch context. Together, the three references are the operational map for the competitive circuit.
See also
Related reading on the veto process
Five references for viewers who want to read the map veto process in detail and understand the round layout for every event on the calendar.
1
Format glossary
Every term a viewer will hear on the broadcast. Bo1, Bo3, Bo5; single elim, double elim, GSL, Swiss, round robin. Plain-language definitions with a worked example from week 38.
2
How to read a bracket
Five formats, five round layouts. Worked examples from week 38 covering single elimination, double elimination, GSL groups, Swiss and round robin.
3
Patch explained
How to read a patch post. Agent changes, map changes, economy changes and side selection, in plain language with a worked example from patch 8.4.
4
Match schedule
Today's matches, listed by start time in UTC. The match card carries the format, the stage and the verified broadcast link.
5
Tournament index
Every event on the competitive circuit, indexed by format and region. Format primers for each tournament card.
Editor's desk
How the desk handles veto coverage
The editorial desk covers veto literacy the same way it covers every other editorial subject: cite the source, do not invent figures, and mark pending entries explicitly. The desk reads the league's published veto history after every cycle close and updates the veto primer on the guides index page. The desk does not infer veto orders from a single broadcast; the order must reflect the league's published veto history across the cycle.
Where the league has published a partial veto history — for example, a Bo5 veto that has not yet been published — the veto primer lists the published portion and marks the rest as pending. The desk does not estimate the missing portion. The desk does not run rumors. The desk does not paraphrase quotes from caster desks.
The desk publishes the veto primer for every tournament card on the tournament index page. The veto primer covers the ban-ban-pick order, the side selection alternation and the knife round tie-breaker. The primer links to the deeper explainers on the guides index. The primer is editorial copy, not a citation.
Where the veto includes a side selection choice, the desk publishes the side bias figures on the games page. The side bias figures refresh after every major patch. The desk does not infer side bias from a single match; the figure must reflect the league's published match history across the cycle.
Where the veto includes a decider map, the desk publishes the decider map side selection rule. The team that wins the knife round picks side for the decider. The desk reads the league's published veto history and the developer's patch post together to write the decider map read.
The map veto process page is the operational schedule for the match. The format glossary is the public reference for format literacy. The bracket explainer is the starting point for new viewers. Together, the three references are the operational map for the competitive circuit. The desk does not duplicate the references; the desk links to the references from the tournament card and the match card.