One LGS I attend frequently has 9-12 players in events with a prize for first place, such as a Game Day mat or a FTV giveaway.

Due to time constraints, the owner wishes to limit all these events to three rounds of swiss plus a maximum single match playoff. There's been a little discussion as to the best way to execute that, and I'm looking for thoughts and feedback.

In the past, we've played three rounds, and if there was only one 3-0 player, they would win outright. Otherwise, the two 3-0 players would have a T2 playoff.

What I've noticed is that this structure creates a lot of animosity and strongly incentives “unfortunate discussions”. Even from round 1, a draw eliminates both players from prize contention, so there is a lot of pressure for concessions. Given the store's use of minimum acceptable time limits, that comes up often. Additionally, the third and final round is typically 6-6 and 6-3 (or 6-4) points at the top two tables. The 3-point player that's paired up is under a lot of social pressure to concede to the 6-point player, but is also being egged on to “dreamcrush” by other players at 6 points who would like their match to be the finals.

I was thinking about making these events always be 3 rounds, with a cut to T2. That would give players an incentive to always play for themselves in the last round, and reduce the devastating effects of an unintentional draw. However, it might make some players salty about going 3-0, but having to play a 1-match playoff against someone who went 2-1.

If anyone else has faced this dilemma, and has found a satisfactory tournament structure, I'm all ears. I'll be giving some feedback to the store owner in a few days.

Per MTR section 10.2:

The number of rounds should be announced at or before the beginning of the
first round; once announced, it cannot be changed. A variable number of
rounds can be announced instead, with specific criteria for ending the
tournament. For example, a tournament with 20 players can be announced as
five rounds unless only one player has four match wins after four rounds.


So, just announce you're running either 3 or 4 rounds - 3 if there are one
or fewer players at 3-0 after R3, 4 otherwise.

On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 8:05 PM, Glenn Fisher <
forum-13909-2d38@apps.magicjudges.org> wrote:

> One LGS I attend frequently has 9-12 players in events with a prize for
> first place, such as a Game Day mat or a FTV giveaway.
>
> Due to time constraints, the owner wishes to limit all these events to
> three rounds of swiss plus a maximum single match playoff. There's been a
> little discussion as to the best way to execute that, and I'm looking for
> thoughts and feedback.
>
> In the past, we've played three rounds, and if there was only one 3-0
> player, they would win outright. Otherwise, the two 3-0 players would have
> a T2 playoff.
>
> What I've noticed is that this structure creates a lot of animosity and
> strongly incentives “unfortunate discussions”. Even from round 1, a draw
> eliminates both players from prize contention, so there is a lot of
> pressure for concessions. Given the store's use of minimum acceptable time
> limits, that comes up often. Additionally, the third and final round is
> typically 6-6 and 6-3 (or 6-4) points at the top two tables. The 3-point
> player that's paired up is under a lot of social pressure to concede to the
> 6-point player, but is also being egged on to “dreamcrush” by other players
> at 6 points who would like their match to be the finals.
>
> I was thinking about making these events always be 3 rounds, with a cut to
> T2. That would give players an incentive to always play for themselves in
> the last round, and reduce the devastating effects of an unintentional
> draw. However, it might make some players salty about going 3-0, but having
> to play a 1-match playoff against someone who went 2-1.
>
> If anyone else has faced this dilemma, and has found a satisfactory
> tournament structure, I'm all ears. I'll be giving some feedback to the
> store owner in a few days.
>
> ——————————————————————————–
> If you want to respond to this thread, simply reply to this email. Or view
> and respond to this message on the web at
> http://apps.magicjudges.org/forum/post/89667/
>
> Disable all notifications for this topic:
> http://apps.magicjudges.org/forum/noemail/13909/
> Receive on-site notifications only for this topic:
> http://apps.magicjudges.org/forum/noemail/13909/?onsite=yes
>
> You can change your email notification settings at
> http://apps.magicjudges.org/notifications/settings/
>



–
*-Eric Levine*

*Marketing & Event Specialist*
*ChannelFireball.com* <http://ChannelFireball.com>