If a game or match is not completed, players may concede or mutually agree to a draw in that game or match.
While the note on concession is generally obvious because players cannot be held in the tournament venue against their will, players are afforded the opportunity to intentionally draw to prevent intentional slow play and other undesirable outcomes that could negatively affect a tournament as a whole. If players were not allowed to intentionally draw, but a draw would still benefit both players, we would be encouraging players to “intentionally unintentionally draw” by slow playing —or worse— by playing at a reasonable pace but deciding to never attack and eventually just stall the game out, which just wastes everyone’s time.
Players can also agree to draw only a specific game, which must be accurately reported to the Scorekeeper (e.g., 2-1-1) for tiebreaker purposes.
A match is considered complete once the result slip is filled out or, if match slips are not being used, a player leaves the table after game play is finished.
This rule is here to prevent players from needing to be precise in how they determine a winner. If a player has defeated, or is about to defeat their opponent they may still concede as long as the slip has not been filled out or turned in. This allows players to concede at any time without committing tournament fraud.
Until that point, either player may concede to or draw with the other, though if the conceding player won a game in the match, the match must be reported as 2-1. Intentional draws where no games were played are always reported as 0-0-3 in Eventlink.
All games actually played must be recorded accurately, as some tournament tiebreakers are dependent on games won and lost. The note for intentional draws codifies and standardizes the scorekeeping practice.
Players may not agree to a concession or draw in exchange for any reward or incentive. Doing so will be considered Bribery (see section 5.2).
Ignorance of this rule is not a defense for having committed it, however there are different penalties on if this was done knowing/not knowing this was illegal (see IPG 4.4: Bribery and Wagering). Typically Judges make announcements stating this is illegal, so it is unlikely that a player can credibly claim ignorance. It is recommended that a player who is offered any reward or incentive alert a judge immediately.
If a player refuses to play, it is assumed that they have conceded the match.
If you aren’t playing, what exactly are you doing?
