Skirmish 7

dance210: Alright guys, I will try to address some (although probably not all) of your questions regarding the format change for Skirmish 7.   First, this is to test out a new format. The format may stay how it is, it may be adjusted, or it may be removed, none of which has been decided. Constructive feedback will be considered; non-constructive feedback much less so.   Why was the format changed? The format was changed to test a way to make Skirmishes more competitive, so that teams of similar “strength” or rank will face each other.   Where did this format idea come from? Some of you may remember a Nvidia/GeForce tournament a couple of years back. In that tournament teams were ranked based on how well they did against an opponent each night. At the end of the week, the match-up for the next week would be determined, with teams of similar win/loss facing each other. At the end of the round robin, the top teams faced each other in a playoff.   What is the reasoning behind the way teams are now seeded? We took this basic concept for Nvidia and applied it to the group stages of the Skirmish. Round 1 teams are unseeded. Rounds 2 and 3 are based on how well each team has done previously.   In a normal tournament, the group stage can be used to determine how many teams move on to playoffs. The teams could then be seeded and a playoff bracket made, usually with one winner. Our Skirmishes work differently; all teams from the group stage move on, half to the Alpha and half to the Bravo. This allows us to have multiple winners; however, it never pits the strongest teams against each other.   Because our goal is to make a more competitive format, we decided to seed the teams differently from group stage to playoffs. The top teams would be placed into their own bracket (still keeping traditional seeding with the strongest in the bracket facing the weakest), with the next set of teams facing each other.   This would continue with all teams, both Alpha and Bravo. Teams that just register for the weekend are kept unseeded, as they have no previous rank.   This actually decreases competition and makes teams rig battles! Maybe, which is why we’re testing it. However, if every good team throws matches the first night, they could still need to face each other. Now though they are all starting at the mid-level, rather than at the top.   As for throwing matches so teams have a better chance of earning gold in a lower playoff bracket….yes, it’s possible. As long as no other strong teams have the same idea and the gold prizes don’t change.   What about the gold prizing? No, the gold prize hasn’t been touched, at least not yet. Please don’t think that it can’t or won’t be adjusted in the future; it is one thing that we are looking at.   Hopefully this should answer some of your questions. You are always welcome to leave constructive feedback and continue the discussion. I’m particularly interested in any responses from Bravo and Weekend playoffs, if the changes make any difference for y’all.   Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have further questions and don’t want it to get lost somewhere in the thread.   I am actually going to end with a question for y’all.   Is the biggest issue with the format change the fact that you need to face teams at or around your level, or the gold?   Thanks!