A scrim is the closest thing to a real match that an amateur team can get on a weeknight. It is also the easiest one to waste: a late lobby, a missing fifth, nobody sure which maps were agreed. This guide covers the whole loop for a captain: what to settle before you ask, the messages to send, the lobby settings, how to use the time, and what to do in the fifteen minutes after.
Every template below is plain text. Copy it, change the values, post it.
What a scrim is, and what it isn't
A scrim is a practice match between two teams, arranged directly between them, usually in a custom game. It has no rank attached: custom games don't award or remove RR, and the result doesn't count anywhere official.
That changes what "winning" means. The score matters less than whether you practiced what you came to practice. A team that loses 9-13 but ran its new B execute ten times got more out of the evening than a team that won by playing its usual default.
It is also not a ranked five-stack with a different opponent. The other team is giving up an evening too, so the unwritten rules (be on time, cancel early, don't publish their footage) matter as much as the game itself.
Before you post: three things to settle
Your five, and a sub
Don't post a request until you know who plays. Ask the roster first, then post. If one player is a "maybe", either find a sub before posting or post for a later slot.
A sub who already knows your defaults is worth more than a stronger player who doesn't. If you have a regular sixth, tell them about the scrim at the same time as the starters, not when someone drops out an hour before.
The maps you want
Pick one or two maps, in order of preference, and be ready to swap one. Most teams will accept your first pick if you accept theirs for the second map. Check the current competitive map pool in the client before you post: it changes every few patches, and asking for a map that left the pool usually gets you no replies.
One goal for the session
Write down one thing you want to come out of the scrim with. Good goals are narrow and checkable:
- "Run the A execute on Haven at least six times and find out where it breaks."
- "Hold B with the 2-1-2 setup and rotate on the first contact, not on the plant."
- "Win pistol rounds: same plan both halves, then compare."
The best source for this goal is your last VOD review (see our team VOD review method). Without a goal, a scrim turns into ranked with better comms.
Writing the request (LFS post)
LFS means "looking for scrim". Scrim servers on Discord usually have a channel for it, each with its own format rules: read them first. The fields below cover what almost every team asks before replying.
LFS | EU | avg Ascendant 2
Thu 22 Oct, 20:00 CEST (19:00 UK)
2 maps, all rounds played | Haven + your pick
We host, Frankfurt server
DM: captain#EUW
Three variations for common cases:
LFS TONIGHT | EU | avg Diamond 3
21:00 CEST, 1 map (Lotus or Bind), 24 rounds
You host or we host, both fine
DM: captain#EUW
LFS weekly | EU | avg Platinum 3 to Diamond 1
Tuesdays 20:30 CET, 2 maps
Looking for a regular opponent for the next 4 weeks
DM: captain#EUW
LFS | NA | avg Immortal 1
Sat 24 Oct, 19:00 ET (16:00 PT)
Bo2, practice block on B retakes for the first 6 rounds of each half, then regular play
DM: captain#NA1
The average rank tells the other team whether the match will be useful for them. Don't round it up: a lopsided scrim wastes both evenings.
Time zones: the most common reason a scrim starts late
Always write the time with its zone, and check it. Three traps catch teams every year:
- Summer and winter time. Central Europe is CET (UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) in summer. The UK is GMT, then BST. The US East Coast is EST, then EDT.
- Different change dates. Europe leaves summer time on the last Sunday of October, the US on the first Sunday of November. In 2026 that is 25 October and 1 November: for that week, Paris and New York are five hours apart instead of six.
- "20:00" with no zone. Your opponent reads it in their own time.
On Discord, a timestamp avoids the problem: <t:1792692000:F> (Thursday 22 October 2026, 20:00 in Paris) shows the date and time in each reader's own time zone. Any online "Discord timestamp" generator gives you the number for your slot.
Confirming the scrim
Once a team replies, send one message that settles everything. If something is missing, it will come up in the lobby, at 20:05, with ten people waiting.
Scrim confirmed: [Your team] vs [Their team]
When: Thu 22 Oct, lobby open 19:50 CEST, first round 20:00
Host: we create the lobby, invite your captain (captain#EUW)
Server: Frankfurt
Maps: 1. Haven (our pick, you pick side) 2. Lotus (your pick, we pick side)
Format: 24 rounds per map, all rounds played
Settings: tournament mode on, cheats off
Pauses: tech pauses only, call it in all chat
Recording: we record with OBS for our own review, nothing published without asking you
Contact if late or cancelled: captain#EUW on Discord
Two lines deserve a word.
Sides. "One team picks the map, the other picks the side" is a fair default. Write it down so nobody argues about it in the lobby.
Recording. Say who records and what happens with the footage. Most teams accept a recording for internal review and refuse publication. If you want to post clips, ask before the game, not after.
Lobby settings to agree on
Custom games have a short list of options that change how a scrim plays. The names below are the ones used in tournament rule sets; menus move between patches, so check them in the client:
| Setting | What to agree |
|---|---|
| Tournament Mode | Usually on. In tournament mode each team has tactical timeouts. |
| Allow Cheats | Off for a real scrim. Teams turn it on for drills (pause timer, infinite credits). |
| Play Out All Rounds | On if you want every round of both halves, even after a team reaches 13. Useful when the score matters less than practice. |
| Overtime: Win By Two | Your call. Off saves time if you play all rounds anyway. |
| Hide Match History | Agree on it if either team doesn't want the game to show in match history. |
Replays. Since patch 12.10 (May 2026), a custom game only has a replay if the lobby owner turns recording on in the custom options before the match, and again before every new game. If your team reviews from replays, make it part of the host's checklist. If you need footage you can cut and share, record with OBS or your graphics card's capture tool instead.
Planning the session
A scrim of two maps of 24 rounds takes a long evening once you count setup and the break between maps. Decide in advance what you are practicing in each part of each half. The table below is a starting point, not a rule:
| Rounds | Side | Focus | Who calls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attack | Pistol plan A | IGL |
| 2 to 4 | Attack | Conversion or eco, as it falls | IGL |
| 5 to 8 | Attack | Default, then the execute you are testing | IGL |
| 9 to 12 | Attack | Free: read the defense, adapt | Second caller |
| 13 | Defense | Pistol hold | IGL |
| 14 to 20 | Defense | The setup you are testing, rotate on contact | IGL |
| 21 to 24 | Defense | Retakes only (give up the site on purpose if both teams agree) | Anchor |
Keep the plan in your team voice channel, not in all chat. If the opponent agreed to a practice block (for example retakes only for six rounds), write it in the confirmation message.
Pauses
Agree on what a pause is for. Technical problems (a crash, a disconnect) are always fine: say "tech" in all chat and say when you are ready. Tactical timeouts in tournament mode are part of the game. Long pauses to argue strategy are not: do that between maps.
After the scrim: fifteen minutes
The debrief is where a scrim turns into practice. Keep it short and do it the same night:
- Thank the other team in their channel or DMs, and propose the next date if it was a good match.
- Log the result: map, score by half, which side you started on, pistol results, both comps, who played. A list of results is the only way to see a trend over a month (see what to track after every scrim).
- Answer the goal. One sentence: did the execute work, where did it break?
- Flag three to five rounds for the next VOD review, with the round number. Not the whole game.
Scrim etiquette, in one list
- Cancel as early as you know, and say it to their captain directly. A "sorry, can't tonight" at 19:55 costs the other team their evening.
- Be in the lobby at the time you wrote, with the five you announced. If a sub plays, say so before the game.
- Keep your rank honest in the request.
- Don't publish their footage, their comps or the score without asking.
- Keep all chat friendly. Banter is fine; flaming the team that gave you an evening of practice is not.
- If the match is lopsided, say it at half time and agree on what to do (keep playing, switch to a practice block, or stop early).
How many scrims a week?
There is no right number. It depends on how many evenings your five can actually play, and on what you do with the scrims. Many amateur teams settle on two or three scrim nights a week, plus one review slot. Two scrims with a goal and a debrief will teach you more than four without either.
Start from real availability, not from the number you wish you had: if your five are only free together on Tuesday and Thursday, those are your scrim nights. Creating a Premier team covers how to plan a week around official matches.
FAQ
Do scrims affect your rank? No. Custom games don't award or remove RR.
How long does a scrim take? Plan about an hour per map of 24 rounds, plus setup. That is an estimate: overtime, pauses and slow lobbies all add time.
Can we scrim with a sub? Yes. Tell the other team in the confirmation, or at the latest before the first round.
What if the other team is much stronger? It can still be a useful evening. Play all rounds, stick to your goal, and look at what they did to you in the review. Tell them honestly if you think the gap is too big for a second scrim.
Where do I find teams to scrim? Scrim and LFG channels on Discord servers for your region and rank, amateur leagues, and teams you meet in Premier or ranked. Check each server's rules before posting.
Keeping it in one place
If you keep scrims in a shared doc, it needs at least: date, time with zone, opponent, maps, who is playing, who has answered, and the result. In Staq, a scrim is a session on the team schedule: each player answers I'm in, Maybe or Can't make it, the Discord reminder mentions only the players who haven't answered, and the result is logged on the session.