Community eSports Sky League (March 22nd - April 26th)

[Tropo]

urz  and leto well done looks awesome. my team will decide weather we sign up this weekend

[-Mad Maverick-]

aw man looks so awesome well done urz and company.. and as i have said in previous threads i have popped my head in, good to see that things still haven't changed within the community!   

[Urz]

I've updated the original post to take daylight saving time into account. Each day of the tournament will start at 8pm UTC, which means that if your country is going into daylight savings time in the next couple weeks, the start time will change for you during the tournament. I've included converted time links for the first three weeks of Sky League so you can double check the start times in your locale.

Week 1 (3/22)
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Sky+League+Week+1+%28Group+Stage%29&iso=20140322T20&p1=1440

Week 2 (3/29)
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Sky+League+Week+2+%28Group+Stage%29&iso=20140329T20

Week 3 (4/5)
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Sky+League+Week+3+%28Bracket+Round+1%29&iso=20140405T20

[N-Sunderland]

So the format presented is designed to work with 16 teams... As the signups are currently at 16 and could easily go higher, how is the format going to change to adapt to that?

[redria]

So... As someone who didn't like the idea of this being a tournament format in the first place, and would still like to see a format where each team plays every week...

I have to give credit to Urz and the casters for making this exciting. Maybe I would feel differently if my team had been knocked out 2 days ago, but I had a blast. My heart was racing during each game. Going back and watching the videos I couldn't sit still (despite knowing how they would end). Heck, I even got to make Brick curse on stream. That certainly makes that death a little less painful.

Just as much credit goes to the stellar competition. I know this is only beginning, but I want to thank every team competing in this before we go any further. Sacrilege especially for being excellent sports with all of the DC problems we both had during our match.

I look forward to facing those left standing after this weekend.

[Tropo]

tip of the hat to you too sir mr redira

[Thomas]

Yeah, it's kind of sad to see some great teams get ejected this early, but it did make for some intense matches. And of course all the added fun in the Tipping thread.

I'm guessing the Bracket stage is still best of 3? Might not be too late to make it a best of one and change back to a double elimination~

Or perhaps some third party can run their own lower bracket to see what could have been.

[Captain Smollett]

I definitely enjoyed watching the matches.  I still believe best of 1 matches are the most exciting to spectate and play in.  You really can't rival the suspense and tension it creates.

[Imagine]

I definitely enjoyed watching the matches.  I still believe best of 1 matches are the most exciting to spectate and play in.  You really can't rival the suspense and tension it creates.

It works in double elimination formats, but I don't much like it in single, too much random crap can happen.

[Alistair MacBain]

I agree with Imagine.
While BO1 has its moments its to random for a single elimination bracket.

[Captain Smollett]

I wouldn't use the word random, more like unexpected, and it just makes it more exciting. 

Whichever team makes the fewest mistakes wins, it's just as much about mental toughness as skill, allows teams to surprise their enemies with unexpected tactics and tests them to see if they can react and adjust.

[Omniraptor]

Random definitely applies. Best of 1 doesn't leave enough room for random error caused by external factors like lag, crashes, whatever. Mostly lag.

[Skrimskraw]

to be honest I though about pulling the thralls out due to the rules changes that wouldnt allow all teams to be seeded into the bracket. best of 1 I can agree with for seeding purposes, but bot for the actual tournament.

[Imagine]

I wouldn't use the word random, more like unexpected, and it just makes it more exciting. 

Whichever team makes the fewest mistakes wins, it's just as much about mental toughness as skill, allows teams to surprise their enemies with unexpected tactics and tests them to see if they can react and adjust.

It's not just that, it's also maps. Some teams are going to be better on some maps than others, so having a bo3 will give you a lot more accurate count of who's better skilled overall, and not just better at a particular map.

[Thomas]

I wouldn't use the word random, more like unexpected, and it just makes it more exciting. 

Whichever team makes the fewest mistakes wins, it's just as much about mental toughness as skill, allows teams to surprise their enemies with unexpected tactics and tests them to see if they can react and adjust.

It's not just that, it's also maps. Some teams are going to be better on some maps than others, so having a bo3 will give you a lot more accurate count of who's better skilled overall, and not just better at a particular map.

Well that can lead to the same result as a best of one.
The first map is random-ish, and the team that's better at that map is going to win.
The losing team picks the next map, something they're generally better. They could lose it here or win it.
If the team that won the first match loses the second match, they get to pick a map they're better at and have a high chance of winning.

That first map plays the largest role in determining the overall winner. That's not saying teams can't come back and get two wins, but I would suggest that it's very uncommon. I'd have to go and check the past match videos to verify that however.