The round consists of two sections: Logical Puzzles and Hacking. The Logical Puzzles section includes MCQ and short-answer questions. The Hacking section consists of given code solutions where participants have to find test cases that make the solution fail.

• Each section will have a fixed time limit.
• MCQs will be evaluated based on the correctness of the selected option.
• Short-answer questions will be evaluated based on the correctness of the logical explanation.
• For the Hacking section, only valid failing test cases will be considered.
• Any form of malpractice will result in disqualification.

In case of a tie in score, the participant with the earlier submission time will be ranked higher.

The competition consists of an Auction Phase, Coding Phase, Second Auction, and Final Time-Breaker Phase. At the beginning, every participant receives the same amount of virtual money. In the first auction, Easy, Medium, and Hard coding questions are put up for bidding. Each question has a predefined score based on its difficulty. Participants bid using their virtual money, starting from the question's base price. Each bid can be increased only by a fixed amount X. Once the bidding ends, the highest bidder gets the question and the corresponding amount is deducted from their balance. Participants then enter a 1 hour 30 minute coding round, where they can solve the questions they purchased. After the first coding round, a second auction is conducted. Participants can use their remaining money to either purchase additional questions or purchase hints for questions they already own. After the second auction, the final coding/time-breaker round begins. Participants attempt their newly acquired questions and continue solving their eligible questions within the given time. The final score is calculated based on the questions successfully solved throughout the competition. The participant with the highest final score is declared the winner.

• All participants start with an equal amount of virtual money.
• A participant cannot bid more than their available balance.
• Every bid must increase by the predefined increment X.
• Once a question is won, its bidding amount is deducted from the participant's balance.
• Questions and hints cannot be transferred between participants.
• Only questions acquired by a participant can be attempted by them.
• The cost of hints and additional questions is decided before the auction.
• All auction decisions are final once confirmed.
• Standard competitive programming rules apply during the coding phases.
• The total score is based on the difficulty/score of successfully solved questions.
• The winner is determined by the highest final score.

If two or more participants have the same final score, the participant who achieved the score first / solved the required questions in the shortest time will be ranked higher.