I would like to propose something that might give the competitive scene of guns of Icarus a face lift. I have spoken to a few of the big clan leaders about this, some have voiced concerns, some have been all for it. I'm putting this idea out there for people to look at and vote on themselves. I think this new tournament will take competitive Guns of Icarus to a new level and will let us see some great new teams.
With the preface out of the way lets get down to my idea. A double elimination tournament that will run starting at 7:30PM EST on Fridays and Saturdays. Why Fridays and Saturdays and why 7:30 EST? As some of our international players can attest to if a game is played on Sunday it will be going into Monday. The reason I say 7:30 EST is because that is a time when west coast players will be getting off work, Russians will be waking up at ~4 am rather than staying up until 3 am fighting, and aussies and Japanese folks will be crawling out of bed at around 6 am instead of 4-5 am. It is a much more forgiving time for the international player base while still being completely feasible for American players.
FORMAT
16 teams to start will play a single game the winners of this game will move on to round 2 in the winners bracket the losers will be placed in the losers bracket with a chance to fight their way back into the championship match. Round 2 will also be a single game, the losers from the winners bracket are seeded against the winners from the losers bracket for round 3. Round 3 will be the first of the best of 3 games, for the winners and the losers brackets. Losers of the round 3 winners bracket are seeded against winners of the round 3 losers bracket for round 4. I think you are seeing the pattern here. The entire tournament can be done in 5 weeks with up to 20 teams. Once you break 20 we have to go into 6 week tournaments.
What makes this style of tournament more fun? A simple answer is "comeback kids" and "Cinderella stories." Everyone loves seeing the guy who went down in week one claw and fight his way back to the top. This format also doesn't get rid of inexperienced teams instantly. They get two chances to prove themselves and if they get knocked out in week 2 they only have to wait 4 weeks for another chance to prove themselves, and 4 weeks is plenty of time to get better without getting bored.
So maybe you're saying this sounds like a fun single tournament but what about after the first tournament? Well that is actually when the fun truly starts. Seeding will be based off performance in the last tournament, basically you will be given points on kills, also this seeding will not pit 1 v 16. the top 4 teams from the previous tournament will be handed a bye week. This serves two purposes, it rewards the teams that made it the farthest and also keeps them from slaughtering any brand new teams to the tournament system. If we are honest with ourselves throwing a newly formed team against one of the top 5 teams for their first game is just leading them to slaughter. So the bye week actually gives new teams a chance to taste the nerves of competition without throwing them into a meat grinder, while giving the highest placing teams a chance to relax and scout the competition.
RULES
-No weapon bans are being implemented
-No suicide is allowed
-Loadout locks will be implemented on the winning team, but each team will know the map cycle for the upcoming maps as soon as their opponent is known.
-Each team will have it's roster locked, you can’t play for multiple teams throughout the tournament.
-Substitution will be based on a pool system, each clan can have it's substitute pool open to each team but when a substitute is used he is bound to that team for the current round and the following round. E.G. TEAM BOB uses Pikachu round 2 as a substitute gunner. Pikachu is bound to TEAM BOB for round 2 and 3.
-This is a 2v2 tournament. All 2v2 maps will be used.
-There will be some rules added pertaining to the teams carrying legacies into Tournament 2. These will be hammered out later, and will be posted once I have something I believe is fair and sensical.
CASTING
There are multiple people interested in casting for this event. Some just want to commentate others want to be the streamer. I am currently looking for some people who love stats and can keep track of all sorts of them. A teams "point total," the weapons they use the most, their favorite ships, what maps they do best on, etc etc.
I would really like there to be 3 casters for each game. An analyst, a joker, and a stat guy. The stat guy will be more like a producer who shoots in helpful numbers and facts but other than that doesn't do a whole lot of talking.
If you are interested in casting for this let me know. I'll give anyone a fair shake and if you know your GoIo you probably got yourself a job.
MANAGEMENT
Seeing as how I have the dubious distinction of bringing this idea up, I will be managing season 1. That being said, this is not a one man job, anyone interested in helping with stat compilation, graphic aides, new team management, etc. is more than welcome to help. Just let me know and I will incorporate you in a great behind the scenes team.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
CEsports and this tournament will be affiliated. You do not have to be in the CEsports system to participate but if you are the points will be counted(through the CEsports system). This tournaments seeding will not be based off the rankings from CEsports or anything else at this time. I will not force anyone to be part of something they do not want to be part of and I will not seclude the tournament from people who are part of that system.
CEsports teams will have to follow all CEsports rules to be eligible for points. The CEsports rules will be enforced on CEsports teams by the referees in game.
I am working with a few other tournament organizers to plan mid season battles for the teams that are eliminated. So that they can stay busy and get some practice. These side battles will be streamed and commentated if you want them to be. Skrimskraws “Scrimmage League” is a perfect example of a way you can get some competitive fights in during downtime.
SIDE NOTES
Some flexibility will be allowed for smaller clans needing some extra people, real life comes first and special circumstances can be worked with, just let one of the organizers know so we can make a decision on how best to help you out.
Also for the western europeans who are going to be hit the hardest by this time shift I am willing to always start your games first and or maybe a half hour earlier if the enemy team is capable of working with that.
I want a community chat after each match where we get peoples reactions, as well as interviews with each team before the matches. It is much more involving when you know the people who are flying rather than just seeing a logo.
I want stats to play a huge roll in the casting. It is alot more fun hearing about a teams previous matches than just sitting there shooting the shit about nothing in general. Hearing that this team won the first round lost the second by a single kill and is now on the war path. I dunno that just adds a little bit of fun for the viewer.
A note on the "Seeding." Some people have asked why I wouldn't do seeding based off of wins. The simple answer is because then you get a situation like the BCS where it's a complete joke of a seeding mechanic. Using Kills as points keeps the seeding clean and simple, you have to get 5 kills to win so if you win every game you are the top seed. On a CP map scoring will be every 100 points = 1 kill so you do have the potential to squeeze out an extra point on a CP map. (CP map point rounding still under discussion)
Contact information
-Steam name Ofiach
-gunsoficarusroadcrew@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out.
