Tournament Update 3/13/12

We are only 6 days away from the T6SROF Open and yet I haven't shared much with you guys as to what's going to happen.  I have to admit, the details are going to be based on the final numbers, but you should all be pleased to know that the registrations ARE in line with my expectations already and we still have 4 more days of open registration before I lock it down and put it all in stone.

More after the jump!

Here's what to expect as a registered competitor:

1. "Pool play" will start as of 3/19/12.  You will receive your list of opponents via email and it will be up to you to add them all in game and start playing!  

2. There will be 3 pools of players.  A. Diamond+, B. Plat/Gold, C. Silver/Bronze.  

3. Each player in the pool will play approximately 12 games to determine seeding in a tournament.  This will vary based on final numbers, but I want to have a good idea what we're getting into, build a little "competition history" on you guys and start being able to cast these games as if you're all seasoned pros regardless of level.  Part of that is getting a LOT of your competitive replays in.  These stats will be tracked for future tournaments and hopefully our little community can handle itself in a way that makes it as awesome for you as it is for me.

4. There is a chat room set up for you guys.  Use it to help meet up with players who are ready to play.  It's CASE SENSITIVE so you have to enter it in all caps: T6SROF  Join up, see who's in your pool and ready to go, and get those games in!

5. Pool play will last approximately 2 weeks.  We'll see what our percentage of completed games are after week 1 and try to accommodate everyone as best we can.  We have players from all over with all sorts of schedules and I want them all to feel welcome.  If that means pool play goes an extra week or is over after one week, great!

6. Games will be cast as I have available time and my co-casters are around.  That means not all replays are guaranteed to be cast on stream, but I will do my best to watch a lot of them.

7. Once the tournament is a wrap there will be a full replay pack available to download if you want to view them at your own pace.  I also intend to upload the VODs to youtube (if I can figure that out) and make everything as seamless as possible for people who want to check out things on their own schedule.

8. The tournament itself will have its final details announced towards the end of pool play.

9. Standings "should" be able to be tracked online.  That could be as simple as a google doc spreadsheet showing who's played who and where everyone stands or as fancy as I have time to make it.  These details may or may not be posted live as I'd like to keep things spoiler free if people really get into this.  Still up in the air.  The bracket itself WILL be online for anyone to see but the results will be posted after the games are cast.

RULES FOR POOL PLAY

1. You're going to play each player twice [NOTE: depending on the group you may play each player more or less times].  Player who's BATTLE.NET name is alphabetically first bans the first map, then the other player bans the second one and gets first map pick.  Maps can't be played twice.  Map pool is the current season's ladder map pool for 1v1 play.  (to clarify, maps need to be Blizzard official maps, no MLG, GSL, etc maps) EDIT (AFTER A 50DKP MINUS) The second map is chosen by the player who banned the first map... or in other words, the second map is picked by the player who's battle.net name is alphabetically first.

ex. BYOBKenobi bans Tal'Darim Alter LE, SPOLZ bans Antiga Shipyard and selects Cloud Kingdom for the first map.

2. Replays MUST be sent in by BOTH players to my email address T6SROF@gmail.com.  The subject line for these replays MUST be formatted properly as outlined below.

3. DROPS/LAG - If someone should drop and you both agree to restart, we'll call it a wash.  If you'd like to dispute if it counts or not, send the replay and play your second match.  I will decide personally with 100% unchallenged authority.  I'd rather you guys figure it out on your own, but if you need me to step in I will... just know I'll hate you both for making me be the bad guy.

4. MIA players - There really isn't much we can do but try to reach out to people via their preferred contact methods which you will receive in your welcome package.  You will not be penalized for not hooking up with someone who's MIA.  Details on this one are not quite ironed out, but you will only get points for winning, so if you're not playing, guess what?

5. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: This is my tournament and I'll handle it as I please.  My say is final.  BECAUSE I AM HARD YOU WILL NOT LIKE ME, BUT THE MORE YOU HATE ME THE MORE YOU WILL LEARN.  I am doing this out of my own pocket on my own free time and I don't anticipate any problems, but if things come up that need my swift justice, that's what it'll get... my swift justice which is FINAL and non negotiable.  We have nothing but great people involved, so I see nothing but blue skies and great games ahead, but PLEASE try and help this go smoothly by being cool and trying your best to do things correctly.  It will make future tournaments way more likely.

FORMATTING YOUR RESULTS EMAIL IS KEY... HERE'S HOW

Group A, BYOBKenobi  vs SPOLZ 3/13/12

So that means [YOUR GROUP], [YOUR BATTLE.NET NAME]  vs [OPPONENT'S BATTLE.NET NAME], [DATE formatted MONTH/DAY/YEAR]

I can't overstate how important it is to format the subject line properly.  I want to be able to pull these replays quickly and see where we're at. 

THE BODY OF THE EMAIL

PLAYER NAME banned MAP NAME, PLAYER NAME banned MAP NAME and picked MAP NAME.  PLAYER NAME won.

Game 2: PLAYER NAME picked MAP NAME.  PLAYER NAME won.

REPLAY FILE NAMES

GROUP, PLAYER NAME vs PLAYER NAME, GAME 1 or 2, date MM/DD/YYYY

This will help in casting the games as we'll know what happened first and what people's reactions were.  It will help us (me) get in your head and make the casting more deep and fun for everyone.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU follow the format guidelines!

Here's an example:

I want this same email from BOTH PLAYERS.  Once the FIRST result email comes in the second guy loses any chance of disputing the match if they don't get their email in after ONE HOUR.  If these replays don't match I will reach out to you both to resend the files.  If they still don't match, YOU'RE OUT!

Why do I want it worded just like that?  SO I CAN START LEARNING ABOUT YOU GUYS!  I want to cast every one of the games I can as if you're all top notch pros.  I want to start learning about your map preferences, I want to see what you do in different circumstances.  I want to really try my best to make you guys feel as special as you make ME feel on a daily basis.  I can't thank you guys enough for being so cool.  I've felt so good about what we've done here recently and this is my chance to give back.  Help me know all I can about your play by formatting your emails properly and sending in your replays in a timely manner.  

HOW CAN I HELP NOW?

1. If you want to try your hand at casting, send me an email (unless I know you already do... I'm looking at you, Baxter)

2. I'm looking for tournament overlays!  Something to pull up while doing interviews, pre game announcements, etc.  I'm a terrible graphic designer and you guys have been such a huge help with EVERYTHING you see on stream, so if you're bored, help me out!

3. Check out the stream, hit follow, stop in and say hi, help me figure out what I'm doing wrong, give advice on sound levels, graphic quality, etc.  Be critical of what you see and hear.  It helps greatly.

4. Have FUN while playing in the tournament!  I will do everything in my power to make it cool for you, try to enjoy yourself!