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TSL3 Bracketology 102
Hello once again. If you are reading this and have not read TSL3 Bracketology 101, I suggest you do so because I'm not going to preface this all too much. Instead, I will say that I have gone through each of the methods and filled out the brackets. So without further ado, let's get into it.
Method 1a:
Our first way of going about this is the one already mentioned in TSL3 Bracketology 101.
![[image loading]](http://www.alphabetglobal.com/img/english_alphabet.gif)
Ah, the alphabet.
The alphabet is truly a marvelous creation. It gives structure and order to our thoughts. It is where we turn to for our entire written language. While many of us turn to other languages first, English is the official language of Team Liquid and so it is the one that is represented here.
The alphabet is good for many things. It gives us the words we use. It leads to catchy songs. It can even be used for food. So who's to say that it can't also lead to a good bracket?
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Whichever player's ID comes first alphabetically wins the match-up.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/B0jxM.jpg)
Whichever player's ID comes first alphabetically wins the match-up.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 1b:
While the alphabet's amazing and everything, and having a logical order is nice, we all know that sometimes that just isn't how things roll. Sometimes things just don't make sense. Sometimes left is right. Sometimes up is down. Sometimes
SanZenith beats 
NesTea. And sometimes "Z" is "A."![[image loading]](http://www.stumblerz.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/english-alphabets.jpg)
The hell, is that a nine in there?
With that being said, sometimes it is best to go completely opposite of what we would normally do.
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Whichever player's ID comes second alphabetically (first reverse-alphabetically) wins the match-up.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/dkZmI.jpg)
Whichever player's ID comes second alphabetically (first reverse-alphabetically) wins the match-up.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 2:
Perhaps using the alphabet is a bit too preordained. There's no real mystery there. The players' fates were determined the moment they were born. Or at least the moment they hit the login button. Whatever.
![[image loading]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2588733556_62829c4d50.jpg)
Everyone's got an even shot here. Unless Washington's on the other side too.
We now turn to a classic decision-maker. Coins have been used throughout history to determine winners and yield advantages in sports and in other arenas. Coin flipping actually has had a large impact in Starcraft II's short history.
Last year at Dreamhack Winter 2010, Finnish player
Naama famously won the tournament and ~$25,000. However, Naama was only able to advance to the playoff bracket through the luck of a coin toss. How crazy would things get if we used coins for every match-up?+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Pretty crazy, apparently.
Methods:
Coin is flipped for each individual match-up.
Coin must land heads or tails two out of three times.
Player occupying the upper position in each match-up is always heads.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/JGhsx.jpg)
Methods:
Coin is flipped for each individual match-up.
Coin must land heads or tails two out of three times.
Player occupying the upper position in each match-up is always heads.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 3:
While flipping a coin is random, there may be tendencies. I am after all human, and maybe the way I flip the coin is inefficient and inaccurate. Perhaps my method of flipping a coin has a true tendency of yielding 52% heads and only 48% tails. How random is anything really if a woman or man is holding the reigns? To take the future out of my hands, we turn to computers.
![[image loading]](http://steve.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/Matrix%20tut%202.jpg)
Synthetics, better than humans at everything. Except making sequels.
Well, I lied. Sort of. We turn to computers, who are in turn, turning to nature. I used a random number generator for the next way of filling out the bracket. There's tons of them all over the internet, most of which are really bad or lead to some shady websites. So, I went over to the fine folks at Random.org and used the one they've devised. What separates them from most other "random" sources is they don't use algorithms, which are inherently nonrandom. Instead, they use atmospheric noise to determine all the numbers they plug into their programs.
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
I used the ranking list from here to order the players 1-32.
I generated a random number from 1-32. That player wins TSL 3.
That player and his Ro32 opponent are removed from the list and everyone is renumbered (if needed).
A new random number from 1-30 is generated and that player advances until they hit the winner. He and his Ro32 opponent are removed from the list and everyone is renumbered (if needed).
A new random number from 1-28 is generated and that player advances until they hit a previously selected player. He and his Ro32 opponent are removed from the list and everyone is renumbered (if needed).
Ad naseum.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ecCYv.jpg)
I used the ranking list from here to order the players 1-32.
I generated a random number from 1-32. That player wins TSL 3.
That player and his Ro32 opponent are removed from the list and everyone is renumbered (if needed).
A new random number from 1-30 is generated and that player advances until they hit the winner. He and his Ro32 opponent are removed from the list and everyone is renumbered (if needed).
A new random number from 1-28 is generated and that player advances until they hit a previously selected player. He and his Ro32 opponent are removed from the list and everyone is renumbered (if needed).
Ad naseum.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 4a:
Alphabets, coins, algorithms, atmospheric noise, what is all this junk? Where did we veer off to? This is still about Starcraft II isn't it? And last I checked, it's up the players to perform and decide winners. So let's go with that. Let's take what we already know and use that to determine our winner.
![[image loading]](http://esfiworld.com/sites/default/files/acewin-2.jpg)
Could TSL3 have a similar looking podium?
The popular sentiment is that Koreans own white dudes. It was true in Brood War, so it must be true in Starcraft II, right? Plus, Koreans have had great showings at foreign tournaments including IEM, Blizzcon, Kasperky, and the FXOpen tournaments, to name a few. And there's the fact that players who have spent a long time in Korea have dominated when they've gone to foreign tournaments, examples include: Idra at MLG D.C., Jinro at MLG Dallas, and Ret at Assembly Winter. Logic says this is the way it's going to be and that it's going to continue and exacerbate itself until Starcraft II is just like Brood War was.
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Using the Korean TLPD, the highest rated Korean player wins.
Any non-Korean automatically loses.
In the case of a foreigner versus a foreigner, the player who has had the most experience/success playing in Korea, playing in Korean tournaments, and playing with Koreans in foreign tournaments moves on.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ed08w.jpg)
Using the Korean TLPD, the highest rated Korean player wins.
Any non-Korean automatically loses.
In the case of a foreigner versus a foreigner, the player who has had the most experience/success playing in Korea, playing in Korean tournaments, and playing with Koreans in foreign tournaments moves on.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 4b:
There's something to be said for the volatility of Starcraft II. This isn't Brood War. There are no bonjwas. There are no insane win percentages in televised games over the course of months and months and months. No one is unbeatable, and the Koreans themselves best exemplify this.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/NLopQ.jpg)
Season five of GSL created a world where most of the "best" players are knocked out early and the "weaker" ones move on, what if this continues?
There's a ton of reasons one could throw around for why there were so many upsets in GSL March. Perhaps the players we think are really good, are actually overrated. Maybe the good players got lazy and didn't train as much since they've gotten a taste of the money. Maybe some of these lesser players are actually really good and just needed time to train or just needed more opportunities to show it. Whatever the case may be, it might continue in a small sense in TSL 3.
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Using the Korean TLPD, the lowest rated Korean player wins.
Any non-Korean automatically loses.
In the case of a foreigner versus a foreigner, the player who has had the most experience/success playing in Korea, playing in Korean tournaments, and playing with Koreans in foreign tournaments moves on.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5DgtT.jpg)
Using the Korean TLPD, the lowest rated Korean player wins.
Any non-Korean automatically loses.
In the case of a foreigner versus a foreigner, the player who has had the most experience/success playing in Korea, playing in Korean tournaments, and playing with Koreans in foreign tournaments moves on.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 5a:
Maybe Korea isn't the answer though. This is a foreigner tournament, and yes while there are seven Koreans participating, there is a majority of foreigners. This is their home, their virtual turf, and they're not going to just let anyone waltz right in and own the place just because they were born in a certain country.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/DswHs.jpg)
Traditionally, the winner of TSL is considered the champion of the foreigners.
Maybe there is something to the foreigner talent pool. Perhaps, it is underrated or undervalued. Who's to say Koreans are really better than foreigners?
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Using the International TLPD, the highest rated player wins.
Any Korean automatically loses.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/fM8UN.jpg)
Using the International TLPD, the highest rated player wins.
Any Korean automatically loses.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 5b:
When I said that Koreans best exemplify the volatility of Starcraft II, I was using a bit of hyperbole. In fact, the foreigners have had their fair share of strange moments, most relevantly the TL Opens.
![[image loading]](http://bestgamewallpapers.com/files/warcraft-3-reign-of-chaos/orc-box-art.jpg)
1. Play Warcraft III 2. Switch over to Starcraft II 3. ????? 4. Win TL Open
In fact, six out of the eight TL Open winner/qualifiers have strong Warcraft III backgrounds and little to no Brood War experience. If that doesn't surprise you even a little bit, then I don't know what will.
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Using the International TLPD, the lowest rated player wins.
Any Korean automatically loses.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/DDn0j.jpg)
Using the International TLPD, the lowest rated player wins.
Any Korean automatically loses.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Method 6:
While anything can happen in Starcraft II, and Koreans and foreigners alike have showcased this, things have already happened in Starcraft II. This isn't the first big tournament in Starcraft II.
![[image loading]](http://waleshome.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/euros.jpg)
Money, the ultimate factor in every decision.
Players have already been thrust into the limelight many times in the short history of Starcraft II. Some have performed and others have not. This can be used to determine our future winner. Who is able to shine when the lights are brightest, the noise most thundering, the tension most thick, and the smallest mistake most unforgiving?
+ Show Spoiler [Methods & Bracket] +
Methods:
Using this awesome website, the player with the most money earned in Starcraft II up until this point wins the match.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/n7hfa.jpg)
Using this awesome website, the player with the most money earned in Starcraft II up until this point wins the match.
+ Show Spoiler [Bracket] +
Well, that's all of them. The brackets are filled and now the matches need to be played. This concludes TSL3 Bracketology 102. TSL3 Bracketology 103 will be done once the first round of TSL3 is completed.
