WCSOutside of the GSL, NASL is the only Major with a proper league format. The regular / post season league design mirrors how most traditional sports operate, which can be a lot of fun analyzing, if anyone bothers.
How the league stand after week 8
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/BvYia.png)
Note: the black bars represent remaining matchups; source http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/North_American_Star_League_Season_3
Note: the black bars represent remaining matchups; source http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/North_American_Star_League_Season_3
In week 9, five players have concluded seasonal play (one from each division -
Zenio, 
Ryung, GanZi, 
Alicia, and Puzzle); 4 has two sets to play due to rescheduling (W7D1 PuMa vs NightEnD, W8D5 White-Ra vs Polt); the remaining 36 players have a set left to play each.Based on my discussion with Xeris, the league commisioner, the post season works like this in season 3:
- 8 players seeds directly into the post-season playoffs
- 5 - All five #1 seeds from each group
- 3 - three of five #2 seeds advance to directly to the playoffs
- 5 - All five #1 seeds from each group
- 14 players goes into a wild-card race for 8 playoff spots (with addition of 2 players from The NASL Open)
- 11 more players remain safe for next season
- 12 players eliminated of NASL and will need to re-qualify
Notations I will be using
- P advance directly into playoffs
W advance into wild-card race
S safe for next season
O out of NASL
The playoff picture column lists possible post-season status for each players given their current standing.
League standings
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zyix9.jpg)
For example,
Puzzle already finished his regular season at 7-1 Sets +12 points . If MC wins 2-0 against MorroW, MC will end Season 3 with 7-1 Sets +10 points ; If MorroW wins 2-0, MorroW will only be at 6-2 Sets 5 points - neither scenario will detrone Puzzle from the top seed in Division V. Therefore, Puzzle has guaranteed his spot in the post season playoffs.Analysis
- 7 players are 6-win or better; 8 more can end up 6-win this week. Therefore all 6-win players will either be P or W and not
SO - 2 players are 7-lose or worse; 8 more can end up 7-lose this week. Therefore all 7-lose players will be O
- 13 players are 5-lose or worse; 9 more can end up 5-lose this week. Therefore all 5-lose players will either be O or S and cannot be
PW - 18 players are 5-win or better; 7 more players can end up 5-win this week. Therefore 5-win do not guarantee a player will be P or W.
Note:Stephano currently stands at 5-2 Sets 6 points his worst case scenario is losing 2-0 to NightEnD and all 18+7 players capable end up 5-win or better (shockingly possible). In that case, the standings can become- 22 Stephano 5-3 +4
23 GanZi 5-3 +3
24 Zenio 5-3 +2
25 Ryung +2
MorroWEven if MorroW 2-0 MC, the standings will still be
- 1. Puzzle 7-1 +12
2. MC 6-2 +6
3. MorroW +5
HerOWorst Case scenario, Hasuobs 2-0 herO, Demuslim 2-0 Dimaga; division 2 becomes
- 1. DeMusliM 6-2 +10
2. HerO 6-2 +8
3. Hasuobs 6-2 +6
Division I: Puma+15; Stephano +8
Division II: DeMusliM +10; HerO +8
Division III: HuK +10; Strelok +7
Division IV: Alicia +7; Ret +7
Division V: Puzzle +12; MC +10
Top seed: Puma > Puzzle = DeMuslim > HuK > Alicia
Second seed: MC > Stephano = HerO > Ret > Strelok
Therefore, HerO will still be P; additionally
HasuObs cannot be GanZiEven if Strelok and Sen both lost their final matchup and that Strelok and Ganzi will both be 5-3 Sets +3 ; Strelok has the head-to-head win over Ganzi; therefore Ganzi cannot be
Only 4 players have post-season status decided prior the final week of NASL regular season. This means we can look forward to closely contested matches all week long, with players playing not only for the standard $150 each set, but also their post-season lives. During the same time last season, much more of the league standings had already been decided. This points to NASL making positive changes to the format, and that the NASL player pool has dropped its deadweight become much more competitive.
Thank you for reading! More edits and posts coming up as the final NASL week unfold before our eyes.
