Please read these rules before entering the 2009 European World of Warcraft Arena Tournament (the "Tournament"). By entering and participating in the Tournament, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements in Sections 1 below.

2009 WORLD OF WARCRAFT EUROPEAN ARENA TOURNAMENT OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES

1. Sponsor; Eligibility.
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, SAS, AND BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO HEREIN AS THE “SPONSOR”) IS THE SPONSOR OF THIS TOURNAMENT. THIS TOURNAMENT IS OPEN ONLY TO INDIVIDUALS WHO PAY THE ENTRY FEE (as defined below), AND WHO ARE, AT THE TIME OF ENTRY AND AWARD OF PRIZE: (A) LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES: FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, SPAIN, THE UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND, THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG, NORWAY, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, RUSSIA, ITALY AND SWITZERLAND THAT ARE SERVED BY THE FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH AND UNITED KINGDOM ENGLISH EU WORLD OF WARCRAFT SERVER, (B) HAVE ATTANED THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN THEIR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE, AND (C) HAVE AUTHORIZED ACCESS TO A WORLD OF WARCRAFT ACCOUNT THAT IS IN GOOD STANDING AND HAS BEEN UPGRADED WITH “THE BURNING CRUSADE,” AND “WRATH OF THE LICH KING” EXPANSIONS TO WORLD OF WARCRAFT UPON THE COMMENCEMENT DATE (DEFINED BELOW), AND WHICH REMAINS IN GOOD STANDING THROUGHOUT THE TOURNAMENT (THE “ACCOUNT”). If you are under the legal age of majority in your country of residence, but over the age of 13 (or at least 14 years old in Spain, UK, Russia) (a "Minor"), you may still enter and be one of the Eligible Participants, subject to local law, if you otherwise meet all of the eligibility criteria set forth above and one of your parents or legal guardians read and agree to these Tournament rules on your behalf in order to participate in the Regional Qualifier Tournament or the Finals, and win a prize. A parent or legal guardian must agree to accept any prize won by a Minor. For UK residents, a parent or guardian must accompany any Minor and pay all their own travel expenses and accommodation costs associated therewith in order for such Minor to participate in this Tournament. Directors, officers and employees of Sponsor, its parent, and any of their respective affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and immediate families of each are not eligible to participate or win any prizes. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Offer void where prohibited. Eligible Participants must have a World of Warcraft account which includes an associated valid email address. Sponsor reserves the right to verify the email address provided to Sponsor by the Eligible Participant. The Eligible Participant must be the authorized account holder of the Account, unless you are a Minor using the Account registered by your parent or guardian who is the Authorized Account Holder. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who registered the Account on the World of Warcraft gaming service. There is a limit of one Arena Team per Eligible Participant per Qualification Round.

2. Disclaimer.
Sponsor will not be responsible for (a) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled or distorted, inaccurate, incomplete or damaged transmissions or entries, if not directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Sponsor; (b) telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer- or communications-related malfunctions or failures, if not directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Sponsor; (c) any Tournament disruptions, injuries, losses or damages caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Tournament. Additionally, in accordance with the World of Warcraft Terms of Use available at http://www.wow-europe.com/legal/termsofuse.html and without limiting Sponsor’s rights therein, Sponsor retains the right to modify or delete content, data, player characters, accounts, statistics, user profiles, weapons, armor, quests, loot, any other information created, accumulated, stored or uploaded to World of Warcraft at any time and for any reason at its sole discretion.

3. Tournament Period.
The Tournament shall commence on the start of the Qualification Round of the Tournament, which shall be at approximately 10:00 AM Central European Time (9:00 AM GMT) February 25, 2009 (the “Commencement Date”), and shall continue through the end of the Arena Tournament Finals, which is expected to conclude on or about July, 2009.

4. Entry; Entry Fee.
To enter, simply go to the Account Management page of http://www.wow-europe.com, log in, using your account name and password, click on the link for the Tournament, and pay the applicable entry fee (with state taxes and / or value added tax (“VAT”), if and where applicable). The Entry Fee for the Tournament is 15 Euros, or 12 GBP.

5. Arena Teams, and Participation in the Tournament

A. Tournament Realms. The Tournament shall take place on one or more realms which are activated specifically for Eligible Participants (the “Tournament Realms”). Each World of Warcraft character that an Eligible Participant creates on this realm is a level 80 Character, with high level armor, weapons, trinkets, and other items, and all talent points available for talent specialization.

B. Arena Teams. The Tournament shall determine the top “Arena Team” made up of no less than three (3), and no more than six (6) Characters played by Eligible Participants who are of the same “faction,” i.e., an Arena Team must be made up of all “Alliance” Characters, or all “Horde” Characters. The members of an Arena Team (“Team Members”) shall be designated by one (1) Eligible Participant for each Arena Team who operates as the “Team Captain,” and who purchases an Arena Team charter from an Arena Promoter using World of Warcraft Gold provided to their Character, and then invites other Eligible Players to join the Arena Team. All Arena Team members must be Eligible Participants and must separately enter in order to participate. Competition in the Tournament shall take place in the Arena Battlegrounds in World of Warcraft, and in accordance with the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and Arena Battleground rules. To engage in an Arena match an Arena team will 'queue' or 'sign up' to enter an Arena Battleground with an "Arena Battlemaster." Once an Arena Team is queued, the Arena Battleground system will match the Arena Team up with another Arena Team, and the match will take place. The match will then commence, and continues until only one Arena Team is left. The Arena Team with players alive at the end of the match is the winner. If an Arena Team competes in ten (10) Arena Matches over a week long time period, then that Arena Team receives a “rating” based on its performance in those ten (10) Arena Matches in accordance with the standard rating system for Arena tournament matches (an “Arena Rating”) available at http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/index.html. Arena Teams may compete in as many matches as it is able to participate in during the Qualification Round of the Tournament. For more information on the Arena Battlegrounds, and the rules that govern combat in the Arena Battlegrounds, please go to http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/index.html

C. Team Participation in the Tournament. During the Qualification Round of the Tournament (described below), an Arena Team may utilize any three (3) Characters who are Team Members of the Arena Team to make up a three member team to compete in the Arena. In the event that an Arena Team qualifies for the Regional Qualifier (described below), the Team Captain must designate three (3) Team Members from the Arena Team who will be eligible to compete in the Regional Qualifier, and if the Arena Team qualifies, for the Finals. In the event one or more Team Members are unable (due to illness, absence or other reasons beyond their control) to participate in the Qualification Round, the Team Captain may substitute another Team Member, if available.

6. Tournament Rules.
All matches that take place in the Tournament shall take place in accordance with the World of Warcraft Arena Rules, which are available at http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/index.html. In the event of any conflict between these Official Rules and the World of Warcraft Arena Rules, these Official Rules shall prevail. “Cheating,” as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion, and specifically including, without limitation, “win-trading,” shall result in disqualification of the Arena Team and all of its Team Members. Third party user interfaces compatible with World of Warcraft, and which do not violate the World of Warcraft Terms of Use may be used during the Qualification Round of the Tournament, but will not be allowed at the Regional Qualifier or the Finals. At the Regional Finals, Team Members will have fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of the first match with each opponent Team Member to prepare the computer on which they will use to participate in the Tournament match.

7. Determination of Winners.

1. The Qualification Round of the Tournament. The Qualification Round of the Tournament shall last for approximately six weeks, and will commence approximately on February 25, 2009 at approximately 10:00 AM, Central European Time (9:00 AM GMT) (subject to ‘Server Maintenance’ to be performed by Sponsor), and end on April 7, 2009 at 9:00 PM Central European Time (8:00 PM GMT). The first two weeks of the Qualification Round will be a “practice” period, and during this time Eligible Participants may switch from one team to another without that Arena Team being penalized. After the “Practice Period,” all Arena Rating points will be set to 1,500, and Arena Teams shall compete to earn an Arena Rating based on their participation in 3 vs. 3 matches held in the “Arena Player vs. Player Battlegrounds” on the Tournament Servers. During the two weeks immediately following the end of the Practice Period, if a player switches from one Arena Team to another, the Arena Team that the Player switches to will have its Arena Rating penalized by subtracting 150 points from its Arena Rating. During the last two weeks of the Qualification Round of the Tournament, players cannot switch Arena Teams. To qualify for the Regional Qualifier Tournament, each Arena Team must play a minimum of 200 games. In order for a Team Member on the qualifying Arena Team to be eligible for the Regional Qualifier Tournament, the Team Member must participate in at least 30% of the Arena Team's matches played during the Qualification Round. At the end of the Qualification Round of the Tournament, the Arena Teams that are ranked in the top 1,000 of all Arena Teams in the Tournament will receive an invitation to compete in a “special one – week ladder tournament” (the “Invitational Ladder Tournament”). At the conclusion of the Invitational Ladder Tournament, the eight Arena Teams who have the highest Arena Rating in the Invitational Ladder Tournament will receive invitations to compete in the Regional Qualifier Tournament. In the event of a “tie” where more than one Arena Team is tied for the last position eligible for an invitation to the Regional Qualifier Tournament, a single elimination “mini tournament” will be held between the Arena Teams tied for that last position, and the winner of the “mini tournament” will be invited to the compete in the Regional Finals. The date, time and brackets for such a “mini tournament shall be determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.

2. The Regional Qualifier Tournament. The dates, times and locations for the Regional Qualifier Tournament will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and shall be distributed to the Team Members of the Arena Teams that qualify for the Regional Qualifier Tournament by e-mail no less than two weeks before the dates of their respective Regional Qualifier Tournament. The Eligible Participants who qualify for the Regional Qualifier Tournament will compete in a "best 3 out 5, double elimination” format to determine who will qualify for the Finals. At the Regional Qualifier, Arena Matches will be limited to a time period of twenty (20) minutes. If at the expiration of the time limit there is no clear winner, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, the two Arena Teams shall play in another Arena Match to determine the winner, and if at the end of twenty (20) minutes there is no clear winner in the second match, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, the winning Arena Team will be determined based on which Arena Team did the most damage to its opponent during the initial match.

8. Prizes.

A. Qualification Prize.
Each Eligible Participant that competes in two hundred (200) matches during the final four weeks of the Qualification round of the Tournament shall be eligible to receive a unique, in-game “pet,” that the Eligible Participant may associate with characters on the World of Warcraft account registered by the Eligible Participant. The pet will be mailed to the character designated by the Eligible Participant during the registration process within four weeks following the Qualification Round of the Tournament.

B. Qualification Prize – Vanquisher Title.
Eligible Participants who have played 200 Arena Matches as a member of an Arena Teams that is ranked in the top 1,000 of all Arena Teams at the end of the Qualification round will receive the “Vanquisher” title for characters on the World of Warcraft account registered by the Eligible Participant that are level 71 or higher. The characters that the Eligible Participants use to qualify for the above prizes must play all of their qualifying games on the same Arena Team and must remain on that team for the duration of the Tournament. If an Eligible Participant leaves an Arena Team at any time during the Tournament, the number of games previously played will be set to zero, at which the Eligible Participant will then begin to accrue matches with his/her new Arena Team.

C. Characters Associated with In-Game prizes
The live characters that an Eligible Participant wishes to associate the in-game prizes must be on the same account as the one registered for the tournament.

D. Regional Qualifier Tournament.
1. Participation in the Regional Tournament: Three Team Members of each Arena Team which qualify to compete at a Regional Qualifier Tournament will win a trip to the Regional Qualifier Tournament in their Region that includes: (i) round trip coach air fare from the regional airport nearest the Team Member’s residence to the site of the Regional Qualifier Tournament; and (ii) two (2) nights lodging (double occupancy) at a hotel of Sponsor’s choice, meals and ground transportation, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion. The approximate retail price of this prize package is estimated at $2,000 USD (excluding VAT), depending upon the cost of travel for the Eligible Participant to attend the Regional Qualifier Tournament. All travel must take place on the dates and times as specified by Sponsor. If one or more Eligible Participant(s) who are part of an Arena Team cannot attend the Regional Qualifier Tournament, such Arena Team will still participate, but without such Team Member(s). Eligible Participants who qualify to compete in the Regional Tournament shall be responsible for obtaining, at their own cost and expense, all the necessary visas, passports, or other travel documents issued by the government of their country of citizenship so that they have the legal capacity to travel to the site of the Regional Qualifier Tournament, such site to be announced by Sponsor after the Second Qualification Round of the Tournament. Winners are responsible for any and all other costs and expenses associated with their prize that are not specifically set forth herein, including without limitation the cost of any required travel insurance. In the event that an Eligible Team Member from an Arena Team that qualifies for a Regional Qualifier Tournament is a “minor” in their country of residence, that Team Member must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, who shall be responsible for all of their own travel and accommodation costs.
2. Fifth through Eighth Place Winners. The Eligible Participants that compete on behalf of the Arena Team that competes in the Regional Qualifier Tournament but that do not qualify as First, Second, Third or Fourth place winners shall receive a prize package consisting of a check in the amount of two hundred US dollars ($200.00 USD).
3. Fourth Place Winner. The Eligible Participants that compete on behalf of the Arena Team that places fourth in the Regional Qualifier Tournament shall receive a prize package consisting of a check in the amount of five hundred US dollars ($500.00 USD).
4. Third Place Winner. The Eligible Participants that compete on behalf of the Arena Team that places third in the Regional Qualifier Tournament shall receive a prize package consisting of a check in the amount of one thousand US dollars ($1,000.00 USD).
5. Second Place Winner. The Eligible Participants that compete on behalf of the Arena Team that places second in the Regional Qualifier Tournament shall receive a prize package consisting of a check in the amount of two thousand US dollars ($2,000.00 USD).
6. First Place Winner. The Eligible Participants that compete on behalf of the Arena Team that places first in the Regional Qualifier Tournament shall receive a prize package consisting of a check in the amount of five thousand US dollars ($5,000.00 USD).

E. Invitation to Compete at the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational Arena Championships. In addition to the prizes referenced above, up to three players to be designated by their Arena Team Captain from the First Place Winner and the Second Place Winner who have played in the Regional Qualifier will receive an invitation to the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational World Championships, to be held prior to December, 2009at a location to be designated by Sponsor. The Eligible Participants for the Arena Teams that are invited to compete in the Finals shall have seven (7) days to communicate their acceptance of their invitation, or Sponsor may (but is not required to) choose the next most eligible Arena Team to compete based on a Team’s final standing in the Arena Team’s respective Qualifier Tournament. Those Eligible Participants who are members of the Teams invited to the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational World Championships will each win: (i) round trip coach air fare from the regional airport nearest the Team Member’s residence to the site of the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational World Championships (Sponsor may substitute ground transportation for airfare, in its sole discretion, if the winner(s) are within driving distance to such site); and (ii) two (2) nights lodging (double occupancy) at a hotel of Sponsor’s choice, meals and ground transportation, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion. The approximate retail price of this prize package is estimated at $2,000.00 U.S., depending upon the cost of travel for the Eligible Participant to attend the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational World Championships. All travel must take place on the dates and times as specified by Sponsor. If one or more Eligible Participant(s) who are part of an Arena Team cannot attend the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational Arena Championships, such Arena Team will still participate, but without such Team Member(s). Eligible Participants who qualify to compete in the 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational Arena Championships shall be responsible, at their own cost and expense, for obtaining all the necessary visas, passports, or other travel documents issued by the government of their country of citizenship so that they have the legal capacity to travel to the United States of America. Winners are responsible for any and all other costs and expenses associated with their prize that are not specifically set forth herein. In the event that an Eligible Team Member from an Arena Team that qualifies for a 2009 World of Warcraft Global Invitational Arena Championships is a “minor” in their country of residence, that Team Member must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, traveling on the same itinerary, and who shall be responsible for all of their own travel and accommodation costs including, without limitation, transportation and accommodation costs and any cost or expense associated with obtaining all the necessary visas, passports, or other travel documents issued by the government of their country of citizenship so that they have the legal capacity to travel to the United States of America.

C. Prize Restrictions. Prizes are not transferable. No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash) of any prizes will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize. If any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, or potential winner does not respond within seven (7) days of notification, or refuses to execute an applicable document, prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. All prizes are awarded "AS IS" and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). TO THE EXTENT ALLOWABLE BY LAW, FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL TAXES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, AS APPLICABLE, VAT TAXES AND CUSTOMS WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.

9. Collection of Information. The information necessary to operate the Tournament was collected by Sponsor at the time that each Eligible Entrant registered the World of Warcraft account used to participate in the Tournament, and without limiting Sponsor’s rights under its privacy policies available at http://eu.blizzard.com/en/privacy.html with regards to its use of the information, will be used to contact you specifically for operation of the Tournament. By entering the Tournament, you also give your consent to the collection use and processing, as set forth in the privacy policies mentioned above, by the Sponsor of your personal information provided at registration as well as any further information provided during your participation. In the event that you are a citizen of France and/or any of the other countries whose citizens are eligible for this Tournament, and pursuant to French law and/or other legislation pertaining to data collection and processing, you are informed that the data collector is Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., whose servers and computer systems are based in the United States and therefore stores such data in the United States. The data utilized for the Tournament was collected from all Eligible Participants at the time that the Eligible Participant registered the World of Warcraft Account which the Eligible Participant utilizes to compete in the Tournament. Upon request, you will be provided with access to your personal data. You also have a right of opposition to the data collection, under certain circumstances. To exercise such right, you may write to "Blizzard Entertainment –Personal Data,” c/o Blizzard Entertainment, TSA 60 001, 78143 Vélizy Villacoublay Cedex France. You may also withdraw your personal data upon request, however you will be disqualified as a entrant in the Contest if you withdraw your personal data prior to the determination and fulfillment of the prizes listed in Section 7 herein. Additionally, such a request may place you in non-compliance with Section 1 of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use.

10. General Release. To the extent permitted by applicable law, by entering the Tournament, you release Sponsor and any of its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agencies (collectively, the "Released Parties") from any liability whatsoever, and agree not to make any claims against the Releases Parties in respect of any costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Tournament (including, without limitation, participation in the Tournament) or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory. Some jurisdictions do not allow (i) the exclusion of implied warranties on applicable statutory rights; and in the case of the countries of the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain, (ii) limitations on a contracting party’s liability with regards to damages or death caused due to its negligence or intentional misconduct, so the above exclusions and limitations may not apply in some cases.

11. Affidavit & Release. As a condition of being awarded any prize, winners may be required to execute and deliver to Sponsor a signed affidavit of eligibility and acceptance of these Official Rules and release of liability, as permitted by applicable law. In the event that a winner is under the age of majority in his or her country of residence, winner’s parent or legal guardian will be required to execute and deliver such documents. Failure to return a signed affidavit within seven (7) days may result in forfeiture of prize. Potential winners are responsible for ensuring return of all required materials; proof of sending will not be considered proof of receipt by Sponsor.

12. Winners List; Rules Request. A list of winners will be posted at http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/tournament/news.xml no later than December 31, 2009 and until March 31, 2010. For a copy of the winners list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after December 31, 2009 and before January 31, 2010 to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: 2009 European World of Warcraft Arena Tournament - Winners List. To obtain a copy of these rules, send a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: 2009 European Union World of Warcraft Arena Tournament - Rules Request.

13. Copyright Notice. The Tournament and all accompanying materials are copyright © 2009 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., and its respective licensors. All rights are reserved.

14. Miscellaneous. Sponsor reserves the right to patch or update World of Warcraft at any time to fix bugs, change balance, or add features as deemed appropriate by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, without suspending or canceling the Tournament. The Tournament and these Official Rules will be governed, construed and interpreted under the laws of France. Eligible Participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to change these Official Rules at any time, in its sole discretion, and to suspend, cancel or modify the Tournament or any Eligible Participant's participation in the Tournament should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor's control affect the administration, security or proper play of the Tournament, or Sponsor otherwise becomes (as determined in its sole discretion) incapable of running the Tournament as planned. Due to server capacity and other technical limitations eyond the control of Sponsor, Sponsor reserves the right to limit the number of Eligible Participants. Eligible Participants who violate these Official Rules, tamper with the operation of the Tournament or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, the Tournament or any other Eligible Participant (in each case as determined in Sponsor's sole discretion) are subject to disqualification from entry into the Tournament. Sponsor reserves the right to lock out persons whose eligibility is in question or who have been disqualified or are otherwise ineligible to enter the Tournament. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision herein shall not affect in any way the validity and enforceability of any other provision in these Official Rules. If you have any questions about these Official Rules or the Tournament, please email them to tourneyinfo-eu@blizzard.com or send written questions to: 2009 World of Warcraft European Arena Tournament c/o Blizzard Entertainment, SAS, TSA 60 001, 78143 Vélizy Villacoublay Cedex France.

15. Tournament Sponsor. The sponsor of the Tournament is Blizzard Entertainment, SAS, TSA 60 001, 78143 Vélizy Villacoublay Cedex France; and/or Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., P.O Box 18979, Irvine, CA 92623.

© 2005-2009 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. World of Warcraft is a trademark, and Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks or registered trademarks, of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights are reserved.