Note: this ruleset is similar to the 2025 Open Tournament structure. All details are subject to change depending on how many participants we have this season. Final details of the 2026 Open Tournament Structure will be finalized once the Qualifier period ends.

Code of Conduct

Always treat others with respect, even if you don’t agree with them. Our Discord server, Twitch chat, and YouTube comments are not a space for aggressive debate.
Bigotry, including but not limited to sexism, racism, LGBTphobia, is not permitted under any circumstance. This includes derogatory language, even when used in a 'non-hateful' manner, and includes its use in nicknames, bios, or similar.
All players should be aware that many matches of this tournament will be streamed on Twitch, and therefore should comply with their terms of service for all streamed matches.
During matches streamed on the CustomSongsCentral Twitch account, players' names must be as they appear (or be a recognizable derivative) in the official tournament standings.
Custom Songs Central (a.k.a CSC) reserves the right to disqualify and eliminate any player from the tournament for any reason, should they be deemed sufficiently harmful. The Custom Songs Central: Championship Series (a.k.a. CSC:CS) staff also reserves the right to forward any warranted community ban to the CSC and Clone Hero Discord servers in extreme cases.
If it is discovered you are banned from the following Discord servers, you will be banned here as well:
- Clone Hero
- Custom Songs Central
- Clone Hero Score Challenge
- 6 Fret Community
- 5 Fret Tournament Hub
To take part in the tournament, players must be a part of the CSC: Championship Series Tournament Hub Discord server.

General/Gameplay

All stages of the tournament will use the latest version of Clone Hero found on the Clone Hero website (currently v1.0.0.4080final).
Players may use any guitar controller, keyboard or other input device (e.g. Xbox controllers, D.K. Bongos, etc.) as long as the inputs are mechanically triggered by the players themselves. The underlying specs therein (e.g. mechanical frets, raking strumbar, etc.) are not restricted.
- Players may use any means of employing auxiliary features, such as whammy and star power, as long as they are mechanically triggered by the players themselves. Macros for multiple inputs or pre-timed inputs are not permitted.
- Modifiers (all taps, all strums, double notes, etc.) are disallowed. Any exceptions will be explicitly stated by the organizers.
  - Gamepad Mode does not count as a modifier, and therefore is allowed.
- A player's primary input method may not be changed while a song is being played. However, players may change input methods between songs if they wish.
- Any player setups that deviate from those stated in this ruleset must be approved by staff before tournament use.
Unless otherwise indicated, every song will be played at 100% speed.
Any highway scroll speed can be used.
Any highway background can be used, assuming it follows the Code of Conduct stated above.
Any instance of match fixing, including but not limited to cheating, sandbagging, or intentionally missing a match, is not permitted under any circumstance.
During all stages of the tournament, players will use online versus mode. Non-staff spectators are allowed if both players agree to it. For matches on the CSC Twitch stream, casters, refs, and broadcast staff will spectate your match.
Where available, players should join a Clone Hero server provided by the CSC:CS staff for the tournament. The connection details of the server will be communicated prior to the match by the organizer.

Qualifying Round

The qualifying period of the 2026 Open Tournament will span from Saturday, March 21st at 12PM EDT to Saturday, April 4th at 12PM EDT.
- Note: While matches start on the 4th, the group stage setlist will be revealed on Saturday, March 28th. This allows for one week of practice on the setlist before matches begin.
To join the Open tournament, participants must submit an entry form including basic player information and an in-game screenshot of the entrant’s score from the Qualifier chart’s results screen (released via Discord). Players may submit this form multiple times. The entry form with the player’s highest submitted score will be used as the official placement score and player info for each entrant.
- Screenshots of the song select screen or any other means of sharing scores are not permitted.
Participants will submit their best score on the CSC:CS Qualifying Chart. The chart is made up of multiple songs put together, which can also be found separately on Chorus Encore for training purposes (except charts marked CSC:CS Edit).
Participants should take screenshots of their scores using the in-game screenshot function on the results screen. Screenshots of the song select screen or any other means of sharing scores are not permitted.
Participants' Clone Hero profile names must exactly match the nickname they wish to participate with.
Here are the steps necessary to join the 2026 Open. These steps must be followed in order to successfully enter. You cannot upload a screenshot before filling out the Google Form:
1. Use "/qualifier" in #2026-open-signup in our Discord server
2. Read all rules in "CSC: Championship Series 2026 Rules"
3. Complete the Google Form linked in "Qualifier Form Link"
4. After completing the form, Upload your IN-GAME screenshot by clicking "Upload Screenshot"
Once the Google Form is filled out, you can use “/qualifier” to upload better scores as many times as you’d like until the end of the Qualifier period (Saturday, April 4th at 12PM EDT). You can also edit your Google Form submission to update any information you need to.

Group Stage

The group stage will span from Saturday, April 4th to Saturday, April 25th.
Players will be seeded into round robin groups based on their qualifying score. Group size will vary depending on the number of total submissions. Within these groups, players will play against each other once. Matches will follow the match process detailed below.
For each match, players are awarded 1 point per song victory, and 2 points for overall match victory. Within each group, players will be ranked based on points earned. Once all matches have concluded, the top 2 players from each group are guaranteed to proceed to playoffs.
If, at the end of the group stage, two or more players have the same amount of points, the tie will be broken in the following order:
1. Total matches won
2. Least songs lost
3. Head-to-head record
4. Sonneborn-Berger Score

Playoffs Stage

After the group stage, the tournament will proceed to the playoffs. The playoffs setlist will be revealed on Saturday, April 5th and matches will begin on Saturday, April 12th.
Players will be seeded into the bracket based on their performance in the group stage.
The bracket will be a single elimination bracket until we reach the top 16 players.
- At 16 players, the bracket will switch to double elimination and all players will be reseeded via a point re-calculation where:
  1. The group stage points carry over.
  2. Points (for calculation purposes) in the Single Elimination matches are worth twice the normal amount.
  3. Any point ties will go to fewest songs lost in Playoffs, then by Playoff seed.
  4. Players with byes are assumed to have won a Round 1 match 4-0.

Setlists

The tournament will feature 2 setlists: one for the Group stage and one for the Playoff stage. Each setlist will be revealed one week before matches for that stage begin.
Each setlist will contain 13 charts spread across 4 categories: Solo, Strum, Hybrid, and Tiebreaker.
Solo: 3 charts that test one-handed and/or tapping proficiency.
Strum: 3 charts that test strumming proficiency.
Hybrid: 4 charts that test a mix of soloing and strumming.
Tiebreaker: 3 charts used in the event of a score tie that test solo, strum, and hybrid proficiency, respectively.
In addition, the playoffs setlist will also feature 3 Boss songs. Boss songs are harder than the other songs, and can only be picked during Top 16 matches. They are otherwise treated as non-tiebreakers.

Charts and chart terminology

All players must use the correct version of the charts featured in the setlist, provided by CSC:CS staff. Any alteration will make charts incompatible in Clone Hero's online mode.
Solo, strum, and hybrid chart categories may feature any of the following subcategories:
Consistency: Places an emphasis on focus, pathing and nerve management.
Stamina: Somewhat fast or technical in long stretches - likely to test a player’s stamina.
Technical: Features the hardest sections, but speed and/or complexity are kept to short bursts.
Gimmick: Has particularly unconventional or niche elements that are crucial to victory.
Tiebreaker: Longer and harder than standard charts.

2025 Open Tournament Match Rules

[Subject to change. To be updated once 2026 Qualifier window closes]

General

Players are encouraged to stream their matches, if they wish.
A match is a head-to-head between two players.
A match is won by winning a set number of songs, depending on the current stage:
- Group stage/Playoffs start: Best of 7 (Bo7), first to 4
- Playoffs end (Top 16): Best of 9 (Bo9), first to 5
The primary song win condition is to achieve a higher score than one’s opponent.
Should a score tie occur, the win is determined by considering the following elements in order:
1. Total amount of notes hit
2. Highest note streak
3. Lowest section accuracy percentage (higher of the two wins)
4. Amount of star power phrases earned
- If all else fails (i.e. a double FC with the same path and execution), the next song counts double. If this is the case, song pick is granted to the player who did not pick the tied song. If the tie occurs on the chart before the tiebreaker, the tiebreaker is played. If the score tie occurs on a tiebreaker, organizers will decide on another song to play, usually a second tiebreaker.

Match Process

First Song

Both players will take turns banning one song from the setlist. Banned songs cannot be picked for the entire duration of the match.
The higher seed will decide whether they want to ban first or second.
The player that bans first will pick the first song.

Middle Songs

The player who lost the previous song picks the next song. Songs cannot be picked twice in the same match.
If a player wins enough songs before the final song (eg. 4 song wins before round 7 in the group stage), the match ends. Otherwise, the match progresses to the tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker

If more strum songs have been played than solo songs, the solo tiebreaker is played.
If more solo songs have been played than strum songs, the strum tiebreaker is played.
If the number of solo songs and strum songs played are equal, the hybrid tiebreaker is played.

Additional Notes

Players can ban songs in the Solo, Strum, Hybrid, or Boss category. A banned song cannot be picked during the whole match. Tiebreakers may not be banned.
Players are responsible for warming up on their own before the match. No warm-up songs are allowed during a match.
If a player needs to restart a song for any reason (e.g. hardware/software failure), they may request one at any point, but it is up to the discretion of the opposing player (and referee, if applicable) if a restart will be granted. Players can only request 1 restart per match.

In-match communication

Players are allowed and encouraged to communicate through a Discord voice channel (VC). Players should have a microphone ready to use if they choose to use VC. Text-based communication is also acceptable if you are not comfortable joining a VC. VCs are available in the CSC Tournament Hub Discord server.
Players should not under any circumstance join a voice channel of a tournament match in progress. The streamer and casters in spectator mode joining in for brief player interviews and insight are the only exception.
Players are encouraged to mute and deafen themselves whilst they are playing songs. If a referee is present, they will control server mutes and deafens for the match. During non-gameplay portions, both players should, of course, be undeafened.

Scheduling and Reporting

During all stages of the tournament, players are expected to schedule their matches promptly within the designated stage timeframe. CSC will designate live stream time slots, which players are encouraged to sign up for if they are available. However, matches may be played at any time, and players are ultimately responsible for finishing their matches - doing so will be beneficial for their chances at progressing.
Exhibition matches are encouraged to be scheduled for any remaining stream slots not filled by official matches no earlier than 24 hours before the scheduled stream start time. If, during the 24 hour time frame, any official participants would like to schedule a match during the exhibition match’s time slot, they will take priority over the exhibition match.
If a player advances to the Top 4 players in the playoffs, they are required to be available for the grand finals stream. We encourage every participant to play on stream, but only the aforementioned players are required to play on stream.
We heavily encourage participants to have a referee present for their matches. We prefer participants reach out to our referees at least 30 minutes before your match is scheduled to start. Please only self-ref if absolutely no referee is available.
- If a referee is present, they will report the match. If no referee is present, then players may self-report their matches. Reports must include the following:
1. The match results (e.g. Khromatical 5 - 3 Brad)
2. The banned songs (e.g. Khromatical bans Synchronal Steps)
3. The song picks in order, and who won them (e.g. Brad picks Giant Steps (120%) - Khromatical wins!)
4. Screenshots of each song results screen
  A template has been provided for you at the bottom of this document.
- Any self-reported match that has rule-breaking anomalies (eg. a song that was banned gets picked, wrong order of picks/bans) can be nullified by an organizer. Nullified games must be redone in their entirety. However, once a match has finished, it will usually stand. This is at the discretion of tournament staff. Participants should make themselves aware of the banning order and if there are disagreements, please contact an organizer or referee.

Reporting Template

Player1 0-0 Player2

Player1 bans A
Player2 bans B

G1: Player1 picks C - Player1 wins!
G2: Player2 picks D - Player2 wins!
G3: Player1 picks E - Player1 wins!
G4: Player2 picks F - Player2 wins!
G5: Player1 picks G - Player1 wins!
G6: Player2 picks H - Player2 wins!
G7: TIEBREAKER - J - Player1 wins!

Player1 wins!

[screenshots, video link, Twitch VOD or anything else]

Updated by CSC:CS Staff on March 21, 2026