Origin Systems is hosting an officially sanctioned player-versus-player (PvP) event: the Tournament of Champions!

The tournament will be a series of 2-on-2 “fight-night” style events with sixty-four teams from each of the 14 participating shards battling it out for the honor of becoming the shard champions! And that’s not all—the 14 winning teams will advance to a final battle on Test Center, where the winners will be crowned the best duelists in UO!

Participants will be asked to pay an in-game fee of 25,000 gold coins per person, to be collected just before the match. Matches will be scheduled out over several weeks, so whether you're looking to join in the tournament or just show your support by cheering on your favorite fighters, be sure to check the schedule below. If you are going to join in, please make sure to read all the information below very carefully.

If you think you have what it takes to be the best of the best, read on!

Set-up & Rules: Participants should be familiar with the following details regarding the Tournament of Champions:

• Good sportsmanship must be shown before, during, and after the entire Tournament of Champions.
• TOS and ROC will be enforced throughout the entire event.
• No spamming or manifesting will be permitted by participants or spectators.
• Breaking of any of these rules will result in disqualification.
• All players in the Tournament of Champions must fight as two-person teams.
• Sixty-four teams from each of 14 shards (see the listing of shards below) will be accepted to participate.
• If either member of the team does not show up for a scheduled fight, the team will be disqualified.
• Each participant will need to pay an in-game entry fee of 25,000 gold coins (that’s 50,000 gold coins per two-person team).
• Each two-person team must pay this entry fee to a Game Master immediately before the start of their first match.
• The entry fee will only need to be paid once per person.
• Failure to pay the entry fee will result in a disqualification.
• No refunds will be given in the event of a disqualification for any reason.
• All fights will take place in the Jhelom arena.
• Red/Murderer characters may not participate in these fights, as Jhelom is a guarded zone.
• Both members of each two-person team must be in the city of Jhelom at least 5 minutes prior to their scheduled bout.
• Tournament officials will summon the combatants into the Jhelom arena at the time of the battle.
• Failure to appear for your scheduled match will result in a disqualification.
• Combatants may bring personal items into the competition, with the exception of the following:
• No more than 12 potions of any kind can be brought into or used during a fight.
• No magic items other than the potions listed above will be allowed (including weapons, armor, clothing, glacial staves, firehorns, blessed items, plant resources, etc.).
• No pets or mounts will be allowed.
• No Runic weapons will be permitted.
• No tribal spears will be permitted.
• No orcish bows will be permitted.
• No poisoned weapons are allowed to be brought into the arena. However, you can poison a weapon after the match has begun and any time during the match.
• Note: Players can use Dragonscale armor.
• Players are not allowed to "buff" (improve Stats through the use of spells, skills, potions, plant resources, etc.) themselves before a fight.
  • Buffing may occur, however, once the fight begins and any time during the fight.
• Combatants may use any skills or spells during the fight except for the following:
• No hiding will be allowed.
• No use of the Invisibility spell will be allowed.
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• No summoning spells (Summon Fire Elemental, Summon Demon, etc.) of any kind will be allowed.
• Players may not resurrect players during active combat. Tournament Staff will return you from your ethereal state.
• We ask non-participating players who wish to watch the fights do so only as a ghost. A section will be provided for spectators
  • Please be aware that there may be times when Tournament Staff may need to eject all spectators. If this occurs, please do not attempt to return to the spectator section unless permitted by a Tournament of Champions staff member.
  • Non-participating players who interrupt, interfere or inappropriately affect a scheduled match will not be tolerated.
• On the days scheduled below, 64 teams will compete on each shard, and one winning team will be chosen per shard.
• There will be 32 separate fights, each lasting five minutes.
• Each fight will pit one two-person team against another two-person team, and will be a fight “to the death.” The team with the last member alive will be declared the winner of that match.
• If a player leaves the arena area, he or she will be disqualified.
• At the end of 5 minutes, if a winner has not been determined, the tournament officials will make a judgment call as to who will advance. A more aggressive team will win over a less aggressive team—number of survivors, damage done, demonstration of combat skills, and even avoidance of combat will all be factors.
• Only the winning team of each match will advance to the next round.
• There will be 6 rounds of fights on each shard on the appointed day, after which one team will emerge the winner.
• There will be one exception to the 5-minute rule. The final round (and only the final round) on each shard will not end at 5 minutes as the other rounds, but will instead go into a "sudden death" mode if the fight lasts beyond 5 minutes. "Sudden death" will be determined when one team loses at least one member.
• All judgments of the tournament officials are final.
• Once a combatant falls, he/she will be removed from the arena by tournament officials.
• Players will not be allowed to loot one another; the loss of items will not be permitted.
• The winning teams from the 14 participating shards will advance to the Grand Champion matches.
• These Grand Champion matches will take place on a Test Center shard (schedule and rules to be announced).
• All winning teams may be asked to participate in in-game promotional events or interviews for the UO.com website.
• Prizes will be awarded to the winning teams on each shard, and a grand prize will be awarded to the ultimate winner on Test Center.
• GMs will grant each of the winners a special paperdoll title and a specially labeled, custom-hued white sword, created uniquely for this PvP Tournament.

Registering: Players who wish to fight in the Tournament of Champions must first register in two-person teams with OSI. To register, one of the teammates must send an e-mail that lists the chosen shard and both character names to the appropriate address below. Spelling must be exact. Only one entry is allowed per two-person team; multiple entries will be disqualified from participating.

As only so many players can participate, open spots in the tournament registration is limited. Players will be allowed to register up to Saturday, October 19th CDT, as open tournament slots allow.

For example, if Cynthe and Sannio were looking to participate on the Baja shard, one of them would send an e-mail to “bajatournament@uo.com” with the message “Cynthe and Sannio would like to fight in the Tournament of Champions on the Baja shard.”

Please note that the e-mail addresses listed above are for Tournament of Champions registration only; questions, suggestions, and complaints should not be sent to these addresses and will not receive responses.

Schedule & location: The Tournament of Champions matches will be held in the Jhelom fighting pits of Felucca according to the following schedule. Approved combatants are required to be in the city of Jhelom on the Felucca facet at least 5 minutes prior to their scheduled fight.

Only one team can be declared the ultimate winner. Will that be yours?