Spark is running an esports Tournament called The Rise Cup in collaboration with Letsplay.live & Epic Games, Inc on the popular free-to-play battle royale video game, Fortnite.

Fortnite is recommended by its owner and creator Epic Games to be a 13 years and older game. This is a free entry tournament with many prizes up for grabs.

The Rise Cup tournament will open for registration on 2 October 2023.

Registrations will close at 11pm on Monday 23 October 2023.

The Tournament will commence at 9am on 28 October 2023 and conclude with finals at 9am on 12 November 2023.

The tournament is free and open to New Zealand residents aged 13 and older. Players must be in New Zealand during gameplay.

Spark employees and their immediate families cannot enter.

For more details on who can enter please refer to clause 2 in our terms and conditions.

Read The Rise Cup terms & conditions

In order to participate in The Spark Game Arena Rise Cup participants will need to have:

• Either an Epic Games account for PC and Mac players, an Xbox account for Xbox players, a PSN account for PlayStation players a Nintendo account for Nintendo players. To play Fortnite on iOS or iPadOS, you must use a Cloud Gaming service. We recommend Xbox Cloud Gaming. You require an Xbox account to play with Xbox Cloud Gaming. For Android users, an Epic Games account is required. For more information on this playing Fortnite on Android, see the following link: How to Play Fortnite on Android | Fortnite
• A Discord account for participation in the Spark Game Arena Discord Server being used to facilitate the tournament as well as associated communications, support and community management. 

To enter the tournament, you must register by filling out the official entry form at spark.co.nz/therisecup and agree to The Rise Cup terms and conditions.

You will need a Discord username and a Fortnite display name to officially register. You cannot change these names after you register with them. You will then receive an email from Spark Game Arena. This email will contain a link that will allow you to access the Spark Game Arena Discord Server.

Once you join the server, you will also agree to Discord terms and conditions.

If you already have a Discord account, please log in to confirm your username before completing the registration. Discord is currently in the process of requiring many people to change their usernames. We need to be provided with your correct Discord username for you to be verified in Discord and be able to play. If you believe you have given any incorrect information, please email sgahelp@spark.co.nz.

Note: If a player changes their Discord username or Fortnite display name after registering for the tournament, or they input incorrect information regarding these names and fails to notify Spark then the player will not be able to participate. It is the responsibility of the player to check the correct username and display name within Discord and Fortnite before inputting them in the registration fields. If a player identifies that they have provided outdated/incorrect username information, they must contact sgahelp@spark.co.nz no later than 24 hours before the commencement time of gameplay. For any requests to change information within 24 hours of a match, Spark cannot guarantee this will be amended in time for the gameplay and therefore the player may not be able to participate. In the event of this occurring before a singular qualifying match, this player will be disqualified. If this occurs before any matches beyond the qualifying matches, they may be able to participate in subsequent matches if they miss one.

Once you've registered for the tournament on the Spark website, you'll receive an email from Spark providing a link to the Spark Game Arena Discord Server. You'll be required to agree to the Server’s community guidelines in order to enter. Do not share or invite others to the Discord. They must register at the Spark website form to be able to play in the tournament; simply joining the Discord server is not considered registration and those people will not be able to play.

As time draws nearer to the tournament launch date, you'll receive updates from Spark Game Arena to the email address you have provided and also from our partner Letsplay.live in the Spark Game Arena Discord Server. When you join the Discord, you will find access to key information immediately.

Once you have joined Spark Game Arena’s Discord server as a participant, Letsplay.live moderators will communicate instructions with you via the channel’s notice board and place you into lobbies pre-competition. Keep an eye on the Discord to ensure you don’t miss being put into your lobby or any other important tournament information.

We recommend turning on notifications so you are alerted of any posts in the Discord.

You'll receive the Spark Game Arena Discord link in your initial registration email from Spark Game Arena. For the best experience, we recommend that at least 24 hours before gameplay you log into the Discord server using the link in this email. It’s a good idea to do a test run of Fortnite before each of your gameplay days and familiarise yourself with all information contained within the Channels of the Spark Game Arena Discord server. This way you'll feel more comfortable playing and have a better chance to stay in the tournament.

We are offering New Zealand’s biggest ever Fortnite prize pool worth $30,000.

This consists of cash prizes:

• 1st prize: $5,000
• 2nd prize: $3,000
• 3rd prize: $1,500

There are also spot prizes given throughout the tournament:

• 5 x Xbox All Access Experiences (Xbox Series X console + Game Pass Ultimate 24 months)
• 25 x 12 months XGPU (4 x 3-months vouchers per person)
• 3 x Logitech G923 Racing Wheel and Pedals for Xbox
• 2 x Logitech PRO X Gaming Headphones
• 2 x Logitech G715 Aurora Gaming Keyboards
• 2 x Logitech G915 TKL Gaming Keyboards
• 1x Logitech G502 X PLUS Gaming Mouse
• 1x Logitech PRO Wireless Gaming Mouse
• 51 x 1000 VBucks
• 25 x 2800 VBucks
• 10 x 5000 VBucks
• 7x 13500 VBucks

We want this tournament to be fun and safe for people to participate in.

For this reason, participants must adhere to Spark’s Rise Cup tournament Terms and Conditions as well as our Community Guidelines.

The operation of the tournament will be facilitated within the Spark Game Arena Discord, which has it’s own terms and conditions we would encourage you to review. View Discord terms and conditions

1) On Saturday 28 October at 9am, you're required to check in to the Spark Game Arena Discord Channel. Check-in will be closed at 9:30am.

2) You must select the ‘check-in’ green tick box in the Check-in channel of the Discord server in order to be classified as checked in.

3) You'll be divided up into lobbies within Discord by Letsplay.live, following the closure of registrations.

4) Within these lobbies, Letsplay.live will communicate to you the time of the rounds to be played, as well as the Custom Key to be used within Fortnite for these specific rounds.

5) Players will then take the Custom Key and put this in the Fortnite game client (instructions for how to input the Custom Key into the game are in the Spark Game Arena Discord server) to enter into the Fortnite lobby.

6) Once in this lobby, you must press PLAY, and gameplay will commence and the winners of each rounds will have their scores compiled. Gameplay will be Solos in Zero-Build.

7) The winners from each lobby will be the result of either:

    a)  a positional placing for the first rounds of play, or
    b) an aggregated score from each round for the progressive stages. This ensures there are multiple chances to perform within each qualifying round.

8) Letsplay.live will then communicate the scores within the Discord lobby for entrants to see.

Note: this may take a little while to compute and post. Once the scores are posted, Letsplay.live will move those who successfully qualified into the next lobbies at the point of Check-in during the next gameplay weekend.

The first gameplay weekend will consist of ‘best of 1' – meaning the entrant has one chance to play a match to move into the next round.

The second round will be ‘result of 3’ – meaning the entrant will play three matches on the same day and those who score the most points over the three games will move into the final round.

The final round will be ‘result of 5’ – meaning the entrant will play five matches on the same day and those who have the best total score after all five matches will be deemed the winner in order of points ranking. 

Fortnite matches are typically completed around 20-30 minutes, so you’ll need to ensure you allow ample time to play all of your qualifying matches. For example, if you have made it through to the final round, there are five matches so you will need 2-3 hours to complete the round. 

The Fortnite game mode for The Rise Cup will be single-player only, and Build Mode will be turned off; Solo Zero-Build is the game mode. 

We are wanting to get as many New Zealanders (over the age of 13) playing Fortnite as possible and know that Zero Build is an option that helps new gamers feel more comfortable.

We will be running tournaments in Build Mode in the future.

For the first round, no points will be given, and results will solely be determined on positional placement at the end of a round.

For rounds where there are multiple games being played before winners are determined, points are allocated based on positional placement and the number of eliminations per player.

Letsplay.live will designate points to players at the end of each round of gameplay based on the structure below. 

Point structure:

• Each Elimination: 4 Points
• 1st place (Victory Royale): 65 Points

• 2nd: 56 Points

• 3rd: 52 Points

• 4th: 48 Points

• 5th: 44 Points

• 6th: 40 Points

• 7th: 38 Points

• 8th: 36 Points

• 9th: 34 Points

• 10th: 32 Points

• 11th: 30 Points

• 12th: 28 Points

• 13th: 26 Points

• 14th: 24 Points

• 15th: 22 Points

• 16th: 20 Points

• 17th: 18 Points

• 18th: 16 Points

• 19th: 14 Points

• 20th: 12 Points

• 21st: 10 Points

• 22nd: 8 Points

• 23rd: 6 Points

• 24th: 4 Points

• 25th: 2 Points 
  

Spark & Letsplay.live have chosen to use Discord to run the Spark Game Arena Rise cup tournament.

If you’re not familiar with Discord as a platform you can read more about it by clicking here. 

All players participating in The Rise Cup are required to have ready access to the Discord during the matches. This is so Spark and Letsplay.live can assist players with getting into matches successfully, coordinate lobbies and provide assistance to players.

Only registered players will be given access to the Spark Game Arena Server on Discord.

For those who do not currently use Discord, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Discord website. Click the "Register" button in the top right corner of the page. In the following box prompt, enter your email address, and create a username and password.
2. You will need to read the Discord terms and conditions, then click the box to agree. Now, click the "Create Account" button.
3. You will need to verify your email address by clicking the link in the confirmation email.
4. You’re now signed up for Discord. Please do this before completing the registration form.

To join Spark Game Arena's Discord server, you must agree to both Discord's community guidelines, as well as Spark's community guidelines.

Anyone found in violation of the guidelines will be disqualified from the Rise Cup and banned from the server.

Read the Discord Community Guidelines

Read Spark's Community Guidelines

Fortnite can be played on a range of devices and requires an internet connection with a minimum of 5 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speed in order to play. 

Player connections are solely the responsibility of the individual. Should an issue arise regarding widespread connection problems to the server, then the match is either cancelled or, upon agreement between the lobby’s participants and Letsplay.live, postponed. Should a scenario like this occur, this will be communicated by Letsplay.live to all affected players. 

Fortnite is around 40GB to download, unless streamed through Xbox Cloud Gaming or another cloud-streaming service. Please make sure you have downloaded, updated and successfully launched the Fortnite game on your chosen platform the night before gameplay. If your game requires an update and this interferes with your match time, you may not be able to play. This is why we encourage a test run of Fortnite before each of your gameplay days.

Note: If self-trouble shooting doesn’t fix your issues then this is not the responsibility of Spark Game Arena. 

In Fortnite, on the main menu where you see your character, above their head will be the Fortnite display name. If you already play Fortnite, open the game and check what yours is.

For anyone who has never played Fortnite before or is not sure, please follow the guidance below:

Firstly, you need to ask yourself what device you will use to play Fortnite.

• Windows PC and Mac
• Xbox One or Xbox Series console
• PlayStation 4 or 5 console
• Nintendo Switch
• Android mobile phone
• Apple iPhone

It's a slightly different process for each.

Windows PC and Mac

Download the Epic Games launcher. You will be required to create an Epic Game account to use the launcher. Once installed, search for Fortnite and download the game. Load the fully-downloaded game up and you'll find your display name sitting above your character's head as above.

Xbox One or Xbox Series console

Your Fortnite display name should be the same as your Xbox Gamertag. Please download Fortnite from the Microsoft Store on your console and open the game to check first.

PlayStation 4 or 5 console

Your Fortnite display name should be the same as your PSN Username. Download Fortnite from the PlayStation Store on your console and open the game to check first.

Nintendo Switch

Head to Sign in to your Epic Games account, and sign in with your Nintendo account. Follow the prompts, and this should establish your display name. After doing this, download Fortnite on your Switch from the eShop and load it up. The Fortnite display name will be shown as above.

Android mobile phone or tablet

Follow the guide How to Play Fortnite on Android. When Fortnite is installed, open the game to find your username as per the image above.

Apple iPhone or iPad

It is currently only possible to natively play Fortnite on an iOS or iPadOS device via cloud gaming. To do this on Xbox Cloud Gaming is free. On your Apple device, please follow the link Play Fortnite | Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). You will be required to create an Xbox account if you do not currently have one. Just like the Xbox guide above, your Fortnite display name should be the same as your Xbox gamertag. Please load in to Fortnite after following the setup instructions to confirm.

Note: there may be a competitive disadvantage to playing with cloud gaming, and it is the responsibility of the player to decide if this is the means of playing that they wish to undertake. 

Netsafe has some great resources for how to stay safe online.

We recommend their Plain Language Online Safety guides series as well as their Staying Safe Online quick reference guide.

View the Plain Language Online Safety guides

View the Staying Safe Online guide

The Rise Cup will be played in Solo Zero-Build so players will not have the opportunity to interact with others while in-game.

There is no in-game texting or voice chat available.

During gameplay, you can contact the Admin on the Spark Game Arena Discord server via the Ticket Bot. Private messaging to Admin will not be accepted.

Outside of gameplay, please send an email to sgahelp@spark.co.nz

During gameplay, there are strict guidelines that must be adhered to. These are listed in our Community Guidelines (see Community Guidelines tab at the top of this page).

If you notice anything that might be a violation of our Terms of Service or our Community Guidelines then please take a screenshot as evidence and contact the Admin in the Spark Game Arena Discord channel via the Ticket Bot to report it in the first instance. Your identity will not be disclosed to the participant you are reporting.

For any serious or concerning online behaviour that occurs within the context of The Rise Cup, and is in significant breach of the outlined Community Guidelines, escalation may be required including to any applicable law enforcement agencies as per our Community Guidelines.

Public messaging in the Discord server channels will not be available during The Rise Cup Tournament. However, if you’re being harassed through private message or other means while participating in The Rise Cup Tournament, in addition to reporting to the Admin via a Ticket Bot, there are some things you can do to keep yourself safe straight away.

You can prevent the user from contacting you by right-clicking their name and clicking “Block” or “Mute”. For the “Mute” function, you may specify a time interval, or mute the DM channel indefinitely. 

For more information on how to keep yourself safe, read Discord's Four Steps to a Super Safe Account

We recommend having a water bottle close by while you play to stay hydrated. Remember to take breaks away from the console and stay active. Make sure you get a full night's sleep for proper rest.

Netsafe's Gaming Whānau Toolkit is the best resource for New Zealand parents who want to understand how to teach their kids to stay safe online.

It offers advice on digital parenting and is available in English, Te Reo, simplified Chinese, Tongan and Samoan.

View the Gaming Whānau Toolkit

Discord's Family Center is the best resource for whānau who want to understand how kids experience the platform. It aims to enable families to build positive online behaviours.

The Family Center also has a module developed specifically for teens using Discord.

Visit the Discord's Family Center 

It's important to remember that The Rise Cup tournament will not allow any in-game voice, text or chat within the Fortnite platform.

Netsafe's Online Safety Parent Toolkit includes a resource on Fortnite Advice for Parents.

View Fortnite Advice for Parents.

You must be respectful and courteous of our representatives and other users and players on the Spark Game Arena Discord at all times. We will not tolerate harmful communication between players. You must comply with all applicable laws while participating in The Rise Cup using the Spark Game Arena Discord. You must not share content or take any action that features, encourages, offers or solicits any illegal activity.

No acts or threats of physical violence

We understand that some gameplay experiences may include elements of violence, but we take acts or threats of physical violence seriously. This includes doing, threatening or encouraging any of the following things:

• Physical harm to any person
• Malicious or unauthorised disclosure of any person’s real name, contact details or other personal information
• Self-harm or other activity likely to cause serious injury or death. 

We don’t condone content that depicts, encourages or supports terrorism, or violent extremist actors or acts. You may not share or link to extremist or terrorist propaganda, documents, footage or other content, even for the purposes of denouncing such content. 

If we’re concerned about the safety of any person, we may contact Police or Emergency Services or take other reasonable steps.

No bullying, harassing or abusive content or behaviour

Hateful, bullying, harassing and abusive content and behaviour is prohibited during The Spark Game Arena The Rise Cup. This includes doing, threatening or encouraging any of the following things:

• Discrimination, bullying, abuse, harassment or sexual harassment based on any person’s characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability
• Using or configuring your username, gamertag or any part of your Discord or Fortnite account or profile in a way that is harmful, defamatory or offensive

Nudity and sexual harm

Nudity and sexually explicit content or activities, such as pornography, sexual acts or services, are prohibited. Content or activities that threaten or promote sexual violence or exploitation are strictly prohibited and may be reported to law enforcement agencies. In particular, content or activities related to child exploitation and abuse will be reported to appropriate authorities.

Intellectual Property

You should only share content via Spark Game Arena’s Discord that you own or are licensed to share. If you share third-party content (e.g. imagery, logos, music, video footage) without being licensed to do so, you may be infringing another person’s intellectual property rights. Please review your report before sharing to ensure that it complies with applicable intellectual property laws and you have an appropriate licence to use it. 

Any unauthorised content you share on Spark Game Arena’s Discord is a violation of our Terms of Service and these Community Guidelines. This type of content may be removed by Spark or LPL (including at the request of the rights holder) to ensure the infringing content does not remain on Discord.

Spam, scams and other unacceptable conduct

Any content or activity that disrupts, harms, or otherwise violates the integrity of any part of The Rise Cup Tournament, SGA entity, RISE Cup, Spark New Zealand, Letsplay.live or another user’s experience is prohibited. Such activity includes:

• Posting repetitive, unwanted messages or user reports
• Distributing SPAM or unauthorised advertisements
• Phishing or scamming
• Spreading malware, viruses or misinformation
• Bribery, match rigging or similar activity
• Betting, or gambling on any aspect of a match or tournament that has been organised by Spark Game Arena
• Impersonating any person or entity, or falsely claiming an affiliation with any person or entity
• Performing any other similar fraudulent activity

Follow game and tournament etiquette

To keep things running smoothly and help make The Rise Cup an enjoyable experience for all, you must adhere to game etiquette:

• Communication and no-shows: You must do your best to communicate transparently and proactively as appropriate with us and with your team members, opponents and tournament organisers. You must show up for tournaments and events in which you are involved – avoiding no-shows and communicating upfront if you are unable to play with the Admin on the Spark Game Arena Discord. Unless otherwise specified for a particular tournament, if you don’t join a match or tournament at the scheduled time, you may be unable to participate in that event.
• Rulings and decisions: You must comply with and respect our rulings and directions, and the decisions of the tournament organiser (Spark & LPL). Failure to comply with these rulings will result in removal from The Rise Cup and a potential ban from any future Spark-branded Tournaments and competitions.

No cheating

You must act ethically and in good faith at all times in connection with your participation in The Spark Game Arena RISE Cup Tournament. You must not engage in any form of cheating, including hacking, botting or tampering in order to gain an unfair advantage. If you are found to be cheating in any way, we may require you to forfeit the match, disqualify you from the tournament or suspend or ban the cheating players from any further Spark Game Arena Tournaments.

Examples of cheating include (without limitation):

• Stream sniping: Stream sniping and other misuse of a player’s live broadcast to harass or disrupt them in-game
• Exploits and glitches: Using maphacks, wallhacks or other glitches, including using map locations not intended to be used for play, standing on nothing or using a location that can unintentionally be seen out of or through, but in only one direction.
• Scripts and third-party programs: Using scripts, macros, aimbots, config tweaks or third-party programs to do things like automatically aiming, enabling you to perform more than one listed command with a single keystroke or otherwise simplifying the gameplay for you, or which otherwise alter the gaming environment.
• Unauthorised manipulation: Unauthorised manipulation of server configurations and server variables, client configurations and client variables, models, skins, entities, textures, weapons, sounds, or anything else that subverts the terms that apply to the Tournament.
• Hacking: wall hacks, aim bots/auto aimers, speed hacks, ESP, or any other third-party program that alters the game in a way that the game developer did not intend for.

Reporting inappropriate or harmful behaviour

If you experience any behaviour or content that you believe does not adhere to our Community Guidelines, or Terms of Service, or have any other concerns, you can raise it with the Admin account via the Ticket Bot on the Spark Game Arena Discord. Please provide screenshot evidence. Your identity will not be disclosed to the participant you are reporting. 

For any serious or concerning online behaviour that occurs within the context of The Rise Cup, and is in significant breach of the outlined Community Guidelines, escalation may be required including to any applicable law enforcement agencies as per our Community Guidelines.

Public messaging will not be available during The Rise Cup Tournament. However, if you’re being harassed through private messages or other means while participating in The Rise Cup Tournament, in addition to reporting to the Admin via the Ticket Bot there are some things you can do to keep yourself safe straight away.

For more information on how to keep yourself safe, read Discord's Four Steps to a Super Safe Account

You can also contact Netsafe via one of the methods below:

• Text ‘Netsafe’ to 4282
• Call 0508 638 723
• Email help@netsafe.org.nz
• Submit an online report here

Netsafe provides free, confidential advice seven days a week for all online safety challenges. Netsafe can also advise individuals on their options under the Harmful Communications Act if they feel they have experienced harm online.

If it is an emergency and you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services on 111.

Community Management

If players are found to be in breach of the Terms and Conditions, or Community Guidelines, Spark and Letsplay.live will employ penalties dependant on severity. The Terms and Conditions, and Community Guidelines are strictly enforced. 

The expectation from Spark and Letsplay.live is that if a player is found to be in breach, this may warrant any of the following penalties: retraction of the user’s ability to post in Spark Game Arena Discord channels, immediate termination from The Rise Cup Tournament and removal from the Spark Game Arena Discord server, further escalation including legal authorities if required. Severe breaches will be escalated, and may be subject to external investigation if required. 

If you believe that you have been subjected unfairly to any of these penalties, you may make an appeal to the Spark Game Arena team by sending an email to sgahelp@spark.co.nz.

Updates

We can make updates to these Community Guidelines by publishing an updated version on the Spark Game Arena Website (spark.co.nz/gaming). The updated Community Guidelines will have effect from the date on which they are published. By continuing to participate in the Tournament after that date, you are agreeing to abide by the updated Community Guidelines.