"The Cogs" Week 8 - Brackets

[Swallox]

Alright! Looks like it's that time again. We're approaching the Finale fast, but how're things going to go down? First up, I have to say that I really didn't plan for five teams... And it's made things more than a little complicated, so blarg to all of you.

In Week 8, we're going to see two group stages featuring the five teams fast enough to sign up to the action. The teams have been randomly assigned into the groups... So who ended up with who? Let's take a look.



In Group A, we see The Brood, Black Flight Squadron and newcomers Destructoid set against one another in a classic three-team round robin. Each team will play against the other once and their victories will be scored. The two teams with the most victories will advance. In the event of a three-way tie, the two teams with the least number of ship kills will face off in a last-ditch attempt to qualify. In the event of a three-way ship-kill tie, I will cry.

Group B are in a far worse situation though. Due to the unfortunate number of participants, Group B only consists of The Raft and The Pastafarians. With so much on the line for both teams, there can be only one. It'll all come down to a single game to determine who advances... So both teams better bring their A-Game!


As usual, the maps have been randomly selected... However, due to the uncertain number of games, the limit on duplicate maps has been lifted. Here are the matchups for Week 8

Group A

Game 1: The Brood vs Black Flight Squadron

• Map: Duel at Dawn

Game 2: Black Flight Squadron vs Destructoid

• Map: Duel at Dawn

Game 3: Destructoid vs The Brood

• Map: Canyon Ambush

Game 4: (IF NECESSARY) Lowest kill score vs Second lowest kill score.

• Map: Duel at Dawn

Group B

Game 1: The Pastafarians vs The Raft

• Map: The Labyrinth

Good luck to all the teams involved. Prepare as best you can, for tomorrow you fight for glory!

Too much, you think? Nyeh, I care not.

Stay safe.

-Swallow

[Urz]

Why would you still try to use a group stage format if there are only five participants? Does this also mean there is going to be a 7 team bracket next weekend?

[Squash]

Wait, where's Muse and Whalers?

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Random...but its the same maps 3x?

Muse didn't signup I take it?

[Swallox]

Why would you still try to use a group stage format if there are only five participants? Does this also mean there is going to be a 7 team bracket next weekend?

There are three seed spots, this was the best way to handle five teams.

Wait, where's Muse and Whalers?

They didn't sign up.

Random...but its the same maps 3x?

Muse didn't signup I take it?

Duplicates were allowed this time around, since there were more than three matches.

[Morblitz]

It saddens me that muse didn't sign up.

Also, the Labyrinth, really? There's a lot at stake there for a king of the hill map.

[Wazulu]

It saddens me that muse didn't sign up.

Also, the Labyrinth, really?

Agreed on both accounts, although you can't blame Muse for showing off their new map with streamers around, right?

[Morblitz]

But that's the thing, it already has been, 2 weeks ago. I thought we were getting back to death matches now. I didn't think it was part of the cogs map rotation, as it doesn't conform to what the standard match format has been for pretty much the entire time the cogs has been running. That is terrifying.

[N-Sunderland]

But that's the thing, it already has been, 2 weeks ago. I thought we were getting back to death matches now. I didn't think it was part of the cogs map rotation, as it doesn't conform to what the standard match format has been for pretty much the entire time the cogs has been running. That is terrifying.

Thank you. We at The Raft have been preparing like hell for a deathmatch, and we get a CP? With a spot in the tournament on the line? To be honest, I doubt anybody wants this. The Labyrinth was fun to watch in week 6 when it was new and unknown, but it's less enjoyable from the perspective of both the player and the spectator than a normal 2v2 deathmatch.

[RearAdmiralZill]

Er, nowhere in the Cog's discussion has Labyrinth been taken out of the rotation. Urz's tournament has by his own choice. Not sure why you guys dislike it so much. It's a fun map that requires endurance, and still kills to get people off the point.

No offense to any of you, but ignoring the possibility of it showing up was a gamble.

[Swallox]

But that's the thing, it already has been, 2 weeks ago. I thought we were getting back to death matches now. I didn't think it was part of the cogs map rotation, as it doesn't conform to what the standard match format has been for pretty much the entire time the cogs has been running. That is terrifying.

Thank you. We at The Raft have been preparing like hell for a deathmatch, and we get a CP? With a spot in the tournament on the line? To be honest, I doubt anybody wants this. The Labyrinth was fun to watch in week 6 when it was new and unknown, but it's less enjoyable from the perspective of both the player and the spectator than a normal 2v2 deathmatch.

I'm sorry, but the map rotation currently includes all five 2v2 maps. The Cogs is a 2v2 tournament, not a DM tournament. Just do the best you can with the time you have. That's all any of us can expect.

Oh, and Labyrinth's setup is actually very interesting from a spectator's point of view. It's one giant ambushfest... Which makes for an exciting match. An early advantage and a little durability can snowball a team to victory... But seizing the point mid-match and turning the tides is more than possible for an organised team. With the fog surrounding the buildings and the point, the tension between waves makes for an awesome show.

[Swallox]

Week 9 preview...

[Machiavelliest]

Also, the Labyrinth, really? There's a lot at stake there for a king of the hill map.

It's your event, Swallow, but I will say that there has been constant backlash about the fact that Labyrinth is a good concept, but a buggy, gravity-welled mess that has a laughably small CP radius.  I don't know if the Pastafarians agree with this or not.

EDIT:  Which match starts when? I need to coordinate with my crew since we'll be waking up at 3AM for this.

[Swallox]

Oh, oops... Forgot to include the times.

We'll be starting at 4pm EST, as always... And going on for as long as it takes. Since there are only four (or five, if things get hairy) matches, we don't have to run them concurrently. Here's how it'll work.


Group A matches'll be played first. Match 1, 2 and 3.

The Group B matches be played afterwards.

...And if we need to, Match 4 from Group A'll be played last.

Since the Group A matches could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a bit, I'd say you don't have to be ready to go from the very start... But as usual, I'd like all the team representatives in the Skype captain's chat at the start.

[N-Sunderland]

Wouldn't it make more sense to play group B first tomorrow? That way, the teams are done and can leave, then you move on to the others, who have to wait through one match before they start playing. With group A going first, the group B players have to be online the whole time, waiting for all three matches to finish. This is a particularly big problem for me since I have to be somewhere at 5:00, and if it takes much more than half an hour for group A, then I'll have to abandon my team.