In the history of foreign Brood War, clan leagues have provided many great opportunities for players to play in competitive environments, granting spectators riveting entertainment. ICCup clan leagues have been invaluable in their format and entertainment. Unfortunately, the clan leagues were discontinued due to lack of player interest and an era has come to an end.
We have been waiting for an opportunity to revive the spirit of team competition ever since. Today, we're glad to announce the launch of the new Nation League. For the first season, ten teams will be invited to the Nation League. We have invited the following teams after careful deliberation, drawing inputs from the ESPB-Nation Wars.
Invited Nations
Canada
Eastern Team (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)
France
Germany
Peru
Poland
Russia
Scandinavia: (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden)
USA
World Team: (All the countries not listed except Korea and China)
Format
These teams will be placed into the same division for the Nation League. Each team will face each other twice in a round robin format and earn points accordingly. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. Nation Wars will be played in the following format: 3x 1v1, 1x 2v2 and 1x ACE match.
Schedule
The Nation League will start the 3rd of April; matches will be played every Sunday at 17 CET. The broadcast for the Nation League will start at 19 CET and will be brought to you exclusively on our twitch channel iCCupBwTV
Sign-Up
Players who are interested in picking up the role of Leader in a team are encouraged to apply for that position in the according thread linked in this news. If you just want to be a part of a team, you may sign up as well. However, the team leader will make the final decision regarding the team's roster. A more detailed description of the sign up process is provided in the thread as well.
Prize Pool
Thanks to the donations made by the community and the sponsorship from http://www.esports-betting.pro/ , the current prize pool is €504. Additional donations to the prize pool are gracefully received -- the donation link can be found below.
FAQ
Why have you invited only 10 Nations?
The system allows only multiple of 10 teams and we start with the minimum number in the first season. We may very well look to increase the size for consecutive seasons.
When will start?
April 2016
How can I play?
Ask the Leader of your Nation to recruit you
Can my team pick up a certain player as stand-in?
The administration will decide stand-ins on a case by case basis. Ask in the according thread.
How can i support this event?
You are welcome to show support in the forums, as well as making a donation. All donations will be added directly to the prize pool.
Why are China and Korea excluded from the event?
We feel that having a Chinese and Korean team will bring too many problems regarding high pings and communications to the league, harming the playing experience for the other teams.
Is the ACE match played only in case of tie?
No! All matches have to be played, the system will assign points only when all the results have been reported; and also the more matches you win the more points you achieve.
Any prizes or idea how we can establish that? (e.g through donations) I mean it's not that I'm greedy but I know that it's a motivational factor and will decrease no. of walkovers significantly. I don't think many people will attend if this will be just for laughs and giggles.
On February 14 2016 05:21 kogeT wrote: Any prizes or idea how we can establish that? (e.g through donations) I mean it's not that I'm greedy but I know that it's a motivational factor and will decrease no. of walkovers significantly. I don't think many people will attend if this will be just for laughs and giggles.
ya. when leader ask users to join their nation team, most of them will ask the prizes first ^^
On February 14 2016 05:21 kogeT wrote: Any prizes or idea how we can establish that? (e.g through donations) I mean it's not that I'm greedy but I know that it's a motivational factor and will decrease no. of walkovers significantly. I don't think many people will attend if this will be just for laughs and giggles.
We are currently still negotiating for sponsorship and we hope to be able to present a sponsor soon. The Sponsor Link in the OP can be used to make donations, which will be added 100% to the prizepool. If we find a sponsor we will just add the donations on top of the sponsor money.
We will not forget Cloud. I remember him placing second just barely after Nony in the 2009 Spirit tournament. First place got sent to train with estro team in korea...
Just for your information guys, Polish team is sorting things out in regards to leadership and team, but we'll participate for sure (most probable team is 1v1: trutacz/bonyth/predator/julia/amlacz/yeti/koget + 2v2 team, although we don't know if trutacz will still play after TSL)
On February 15 2016 09:25 tanngard wrote: We will not forget Cloud. I remember him placing second just barely after Nony in the 2009 Spirit tournament. First place got sent to train with estro team in korea...
You're absolutely right. In his golden moment this guy was just a step from being a world Top player.
every Nation has to have a Leader to recruit players and organize the Team, there are still some without anyone who proposed as possible Leader, so please make sure you have read the SIGNUP thread and advance a step if you have the pleasure.
Also remember there are deadlines, then Administration will take the described measures to ensure the integrity of the tournament. Leaders - Sunday 28 Feb - Nations with missing Leader will be replaced. Re-Org - Sunday 6 March - One week in case we need to re-organize teams. Roster - Sunday 13 March - Nations not having 10 players will be replaced. Last check-up - 3 weeks to solve issues. Start - Sunday 3 April
We are happy to announce esports-betting.pro as official sponsor for this tournament. They contribute to our cause by adding 500€ to the prize pool!
esports-betting.pro offer a great service, comparing different options for eSports bets for and providing great coverage for many events alike. Please give them a warm welcome and show your appreciation for their sponsorship!
A direct message from our Sponsor to the fans out there will follow soon. Note: There will be no betting markets available for this tournament!
Also remember there are deadlines, then Administration will take the described measures to ensure the integrity of the tournament. Leaders - Sunday 28 Feb - Nations with missing Leader will be replaced. Re-Org - Sunday 6 March - One week in case we need to re-organize teams. Roster - Sunday 13 March - Nations not having 10 players will be replaced. Last check-up - 3 weeks to solve issues. Start - Sunday 3 April
Thank You
i want to remind everybody tomorrow is the deadline for Leader signups. We currently still miss an application for a French Team Leader. So, Team France can still sign up until tomorrow, after that the slot will be given to an other team, potential players for team France will be assigned to the world team. Thank you for your interest!
On February 29 2016 01:50 chrisolo wrote: No offense to you pebble, but I don't think you have the skill to compete (neither do I, but I do not sign up either )
i thought this was an all around skill team league it would be fun to have something like that to play in at lower levels too
Don't listen to him. It's really all about fun. And participation. This tournament is what you make of it. If you want to sign up, go and sign up! Don't listen to the hater! Do it! It will take not much time and you will be in the roster. Don't stop there. Encourage more players, especially those who have been stuck in the D rank area of the ICCup ladder. Invite them in. Take over the team. Mess with the best. Insist to play with your friends. Especially against Germany. We could need the wins, in case some of our players won't show!
On February 29 2016 01:50 chrisolo wrote: No offense to you pebble, but I don't think you have the skill to compete (neither do I, but I do not sign up either )
On February 29 2016 01:50 chrisolo wrote: No offense to you pebble, but I don't think you have the skill to compete (neither do I, but I do not sign up either )
i thought this was an all around skill team league it would be fun to have something like that to play in at lower levels too
imo its a good thing if u take part of this,who knows maybe your team need you no matter what,making music or giving fresh water
On February 29 2016 07:38 GeckoXp wrote: Don't listen to him. It's really all about fun. And participation. This tournament is what you make of it. If you want to sign up, go and sign up! Don't listen to the hater! Do it! It will take not much time and you will be in the roster. Don't stop there. Encourage more players, especially those who have been stuck in the D rank area of the ICCup ladder. Invite them in. Take over the team. Mess with the best. Insist to play with your friends. Especially against Germany. We could need the wins, in case some of our players won't show!
100% agree.
Can't believe we have people being discouraged from signing up. Anyone willing to compete should sign up regardless of skill. Especially considering how many walkovers there were in most recent Nation Wars (even with sizable rosters).
On February 29 2016 01:50 chrisolo wrote: No offense to you pebble, but I don't think you have the skill to compete (neither do I, but I do not sign up either )
i thought this was an all around skill team league it would be fun to have something like that to play in at lower levels too
Now you Leaders have to create a tagged account and make the join team request in your respective country http://iccup.com/en/clanleague.html then we will give you the full control of your team. Please read the rules again.
3.3
Leaders of each Nation are also responsible for the correct recruitment of their own roster (number, names, smurfs, stand-ins), he can ask Admins help to verify players.
3.4
All players must use their primary ID (no smurf allowed) along with their Nation TAG in the following format: account[TAG] example: LancerX[RU], Kenzy[FR], Draw[CA] It's forbidden to create accounts for other players.
3.5
Players must be resident in the country they sign up in order to participate. For exceptions, see stand-in policy.
3.6
Nation rosters must contain a minimum of 10 to a max of 20 active players in order to be considered eligible, if an invited Nation doesn't fit the minimal requirements will be replaced by Administration. If a Nation exceed the 20 players limit the Leader has to immediately remove someone or the team will be penalized.
13.1
Leaders can recruit players fitting the requirements described at point 3. Participants and General Rules at any time during the League.
13.2
New players must wait two days (48 hours) before to be showed in the line-up list, it is Captain’s responsibility to add new players in time.
Next Deadline: Roster - Sunday 13 March - Nations not having 10 players will be replaced.
So a little update about the peruvian team . Basically nobody wants iccup.em as their leader because he has been disrespectful towards the players saying things like " I am not the leader I am the boss named by iccup.face so I don't care about what you want I will choose and play whoever I want". Apparently being and iCCup admin gives him the right to decide about our nation without taking into consideration player's opinions. In short we expect organizers accept our proposition. We have a full squad ready to go.
It makes more sense to make this case directly on iccup.com and/or write to face. If face works like he used to and you're telling the truth, this might backfire on the admin rather than on your team.
If I am not mistaken castro who is currently our most active player have contacted face about this. Hopefully we can make this work still is sad this kind of people is representing our country as an admin.
On March 03 2016 05:20 Terrorterran wrote: So a little update about the peruvian team . Basically nobody wants iccup.em as their leader because he has been disrespectful towards the players saying things like " I am not the leader I am the boss named by iccup.face so I don't care about what you want I will choose and play whoever I want". Apparently being and iCCup admin gives him the right to decide about our nation without taking into consideration player's opinions. In short we expect organizers accept our proposition. We have a full squad ready to go.
ITS SAD THAT people think they have the right to do whatever they want. And using iccup.face' s name to bully people, who is a great person and admin just makes things even worse. I hope iccup.em gets fired. from a cannon. into the sun.
Good luck and have fun, hope that gets sorted out.
On February 29 2016 01:50 chrisolo wrote: No offense to you pebble, but I don't think you have the skill to compete (neither do I, but I do not sign up either )
If he wants to play and the team accepts him, let him play. When I was a beginner in WarCraft III, I had a fun time playing in tournaments just to see if I could win a game, or have some close fights.
Besides, we need extra players to prevent no shows.
Captains are needed to set the line-up (show what players will play in the NW form), I suggest to give captain status to a couple (or more) of trusted members. (you can do that pressing the "crew" button in team page).
The line-up has to be done max 15 minutes after the scheduled time (bracket with players generated before 17:15 CET).
To play a full NW you must have minimum 4 players ready to play every week.
If teams, for unforeseen circumstances, cannot provide 4 players, Captains can activate a Wild Card (max 6 times per season) to post pone a single match or game.
Maps for the first game are displayed in the NW webpage; for the other games the maps are chosen by the loser of the game just played, not the same map twice in a match ('duplicate map').
The week you meet the team WALK OVER of course means you will not play.
The walkover, also referred to as WO, w/o or w.o. occurs when a Team does not show up for the scheduled Nation War or doesn't have enough members, or simply refuses to play. When this happens, the team that has enough members online and is willing to play, has a right to take the free win - a walkover.
How to take the WO: A screenshot must be taken at least 15 minutes after the start of the match. This screenshot has to include the following:
- Show /time command. - Showing you have enough members to play the Nation War, having players in channel or using the "/c list" command. - Take SS in the correct channel, showing opponents are not there.
A failure to provide one of those steps will result in a walkover denial.
Note: it is well mannered for the opponent team (any Captain) to confirm their own loss in the NW chatbox or NL forum without needing of any SS.
How to report a WO: CHATBOX The most common mode is to use the related NW chatbox, posting the players name match + link to SS FORUM You can as well use the NL forum opening a new topic and using this format: - title: WEEK#n°: Nation1 vs Nation2 - link to NW - link to SS - explanation
Single game WO: A walkover can be taken over a single game as well, in case if the opposing team has some of the players, but not all and won't use a wild card. Or if the player refuses to play. Take a screenshot with /time command in the proper channel.
If the player goes away or offline and you want to get a free win, take the first screenshot with /time (and /where if offline) when the player is away and does not respond. Take a second screenshot at least 15 minutes later with the same commands in the proper channel.
The time: The server CET time may be wrong, so you should not refer to it. Trust your own clock. Every administrator knows the exact server and website time offset, and judges your screenshot according to the real time.
On April 11 2016 13:21 dRaW wrote: Anyone want to design a team icon for North America? :D Gonna try and get face to recognize the clan league icons again since it's Div A.
I recognize your need for a team icon, how about this? It's got the colors, and the text is mostly apt.
Viewers, voice your opinion! Since we can have only a limited broadcast coverage every week, we would like you to vote on which is the best match to cover for your enjoyment.
Poll: Match of the week?
(Vote): World Union vs Germany (Vote): Chile vs Poland (Vote): Russia vs Scandinavia (Vote): Peru vs Eastern Team
we have to switch the Cast to Germany vs World Union today, due to unforseen technical difficulties. We will let you guys vote again next week and broadcast the selected game!
We streamed on our ICCup BW TV Twicth Stream on Sunday, Apr 24 5:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00), the event was also visible on the right hand side under live Events
We are going to do it in the same fashion every Sunday, same time, same channel :>
This week we have a viewers choice again! Vote the NW you want to see casted on the ICCup BWTV Stream!
Poll: Match of the week?
Peru vs Russia (3)
15%
Chile vs Eastern Team (1)
5%
Canada vs Scandinavia (7)
35%
World Union vs Poland (9)
45%
20 total votes
Your vote: Match of the week?
(Vote): Peru vs Russia (Vote): Chile vs Eastern Team (Vote): Canada vs Scandinavia (Vote): World Union vs Poland
Voting closes on Saturday, when i get home to check the results. If the most voted NW happens to be a Walkover or has a very low number of matches played, we will pick the NW with the 2nd most votes!
Votes are closed, Scandinavia vs Canada is your Match of Choice! If we have time to cast more or if the 1st NW happens to be a walkover, we will cast World Union vs Poland instead!
Due to technical difficulties, cast will be held tomorrow at 18:30 CET. Also scandinavia vs canada have not enough players so the cast will be Poland vs World Union and hopefully a second match if time allows.
We haven't added it to the OP yet, because the LP page is still under construction. Im slow with LP edits and lack the time to complete it atm. So if any of you guys want to contribute, go for it! Right now, Team Rosters should be added.
The delayed broadcast for yesterday's NW starts in about 1 and a half hour!ICCup BWTV
(Vote): Russia vs Poland (Vote): Germany vs Canada (Vote): Peru vs World Union
as per usual, we will cast the NW with the most votes on Sunday, 19 CEST. If we have additional time or a walkover happens, we will cast the NW with the next most votes. Voting closed Saturday.
€: Voting closed on Friday, sorry no time to check results tomorrow.
We have some issues with Poland vs Canada match, so your show for today will consist of Germany vs Peru and two great dudes in the faces of Amazingxkcd and CatsPaw.
Team SC disbanded due to inactivity, not enough players were motivated to show up for the Nationwars on Sunday on average. Voddy then resigned as Team Captain, being frustrated and our attempts to bring the team back into working shape weren't fruitful.
In order to keep the scorings fair, all previous results were canceled. You can find the official announcement here:
On June 12 2016 08:29 vinipuxas wrote: this tourney already admins make(with huge mistakes) for russia and poland.just stupid ppl like me donate some money and think its will be nice to play nw in this season. but like always iccup.face/iccup,jin make they own rules who join to team. look some korean can play for this tourney for canada. in russia play 2 ppl who is not russian/ and never live in russia before(admin said : they choise russian team) so guys i think we all can choise any team we like! how can we call this national war ? i think admin job in this league very very poor hope so sponsor will see my msg and dont let this happened again.
We won 1 CW, and lost every single other one. And the one we won was turned into a W.O. after they got kicked out
@Red yes. Apparently team Chile thought the season was over after 10 rounds and didn't remmeber we're playing a double round (team x vs team y twice)
@koget: thx for your support. We take pride in the fact, that we never missed a cast for this completely and we're happy you guys enjoy it :> THe walkovers are very unfortunate yes. Sadly it's the nature of Bw competition (in this day and age) to struggle with player commitment and motivation. Was the same for TLS and other recent foreign events /-:
On the other hand, it's very understandable. Most of us work now, are 25-35 and have stable jobs, kids. Leaves less time for BW.
Russia Alfa and Poland-B join this league as substitute's for the already disbanded teams Scandinavia and Chile.
The lineups of Russia and Russia Alfa, Poland and Poland-B respectivly are strictly devided, both teams start at 0 points. We wish good luck to the new participants!
Poll: Match of the week?
Poland vs Germany (5)
45%
World Union vs Canada (4)
36%
Russia vs Poland-B (2)
18%
Peru vs Russia Alfa (0)
0%
11 total votes
Your vote: Match of the week?
(Vote): Poland vs Germany (Vote): Russia vs Poland-B (Vote): Peru vs Russia Alfa (Vote): World Union vs Canada
As always, we'll stream the NW with the most votes and the one with the second most votes in case of a walkover or similar situation.
On July 14 2016 20:02 Artunit wrote: I haven't played for so many years. But let me join world team or manage it just for nostaligia's sake :D
your free to join the world team (=
Management is already taken care of.
But i wouldn't be suprised if they say no because the team has a quite decent lineup. Anyway contact on of the captains if you wanna do it: http://iccup.com/en/teams/95454.html
On July 14 2016 20:02 Artunit wrote: I haven't played for so many years. But let me join world team or manage it just for nostaligia's sake :D
your free to join the world team (=
Management is already taken care of.
But i wouldn't be suprised if they say no because the team has a quite decent lineup. Anyway contact on of the captains if you wanna do it: http://iccup.com/en/teams/95454.html
On July 14 2016 20:02 Artunit wrote: I haven't played for so many years. But let me join world team or manage it just for nostaligia's sake :D
your free to join the world team (=
Management is already taken care of.
But i wouldn't be suprised if they say no because the team has a quite decent lineup. Anyway contact on of the captains if you wanna do it: http://iccup.com/en/teams/95454.html
On July 14 2016 20:02 Artunit wrote: I haven't played for so many years. But let me join world team or manage it just for nostaligia's sake :D
your free to join the world team (=
Management is already taken care of.
But i wouldn't be suprised if they say no because the team has a quite decent lineup. Anyway contact on of the captains if you wanna do it: http://iccup.com/en/teams/95454.html
Cool thanks!
my god join already,we are deseperate for people
Yeah I realized you already have a huge roster that's why I didn't. gl hf
On July 14 2016 20:02 Artunit wrote: I haven't played for so many years. But let me join world team or manage it just for nostaligia's sake :D
your free to join the world team (=
Management is already taken care of.
But i wouldn't be suprised if they say no because the team has a quite decent lineup. Anyway contact on of the captains if you wanna do it: http://iccup.com/en/teams/95454.html
Cool thanks!
my god join already,we are deseperate for people
Yeah I realized you already have a huge roster that's why I didn't. gl hf
hey it wasnt sarcasm, i made a thread on icc forum about it,huge numbers yes but we are like 2-3 players active and the rest 2v2 guys having lot of problems for 1v1.so plz if you have the time to come sundays 19:00 make id and join us.
Tomorrow (friday) at 19:30 CET we will have the start of "best of" cast series with portion of good games that didnt get casted by our english streamers. Your host will be Catspaw make sure to tune in at http://www.twitch.tv/iccupbwtv.
There will be more casts in time, so its greatly appreciated if players give me some suggestions about their best games from the tour. Crazy, macro or cheese, the only important thing is the fun factor. If you dont have iccup or TL account tell your captain to pm me here, on iccup or in the skype team leaders group.
Not without difficulties the first season of the ICCup Nation League revival is getting close to its conclusion. In the first part of season USA had to merge with Canada due to lack of players, Scandinavia and Chile got disbanded for inactivity, in the second part the most active and populated countries Russia and Poland made a second team and the League could progress in a good way.
After 18 weeks of intense battles, unexpected upsets and great games we have to say the first season has been positive and the best is yet to come.
Playoffs will kick off to determine the truly greatest Nation in the competitive foreign Broodwar scene.
Four teams have qualified and will duke it for the crown:
POLAND
RUSSIA
WORLD UNION
GERMANY
So without further ado, let’s look at the calendar for playoffs first. After the regular season ends, a pause of one week is granted before the grand final!
Quarterfinals:
• Q2: WORLD UNION vs GERMANY — Saturday 20.08.2016, 19:00 CEST
- winner is seeded into Semifinals, loser is eliminated.
• Q1: POLAND vs RUSSIA — Sunday 21.08.2016, 19:00 CEST
- winner advances to Finals, loser is seeded into Semifinals.
Semifinals: • S: winner(Q2) vs loser(Q1) — Sunday 28.08.2016, 19:00 CEST
- winner advances to Finals, loser gets 3rd place.
Finals: • Winner(Q1) vs Winner(S) — Sunday 04.09.2016, 19:00 CEST
- winner get 1st place, loser 2nd place.
The core format remains untouched for playoffs, however there’s a tweak or two. In order to keep the schedule intact and provide a better viewing experience, there will be no wildcards, thus NO POSTPONED matches for the playoffs. That means, if a team fails to provide enough players, it will be penalized with a tech loss for unplayed matches.
In Order to make sure, teams don’t recruit players explicitly for the playoffs, only players who has played at least one match throughout the regular season are eligible to play.
Since these teams started to play by the second half of season and many players were signed in the main, the players from POL-B and RUS-alfa are allowed to play the playoffs for Poland and Russia respectively.
For the playoffs the rules are a bit restricted: starting maps cannot be changed in agreement and categorically no double maps for the same match (you must change maps at every game).
STARTING MAPS Quarterfinals:
1v1 | iCCup | Circuit Breaker 1.0 2v2 | iCCup | Grand Line 2.2
To avoid spoilers the playoffs will be played without bracket support, the replays must be submitted to bbnbc@abv.bg at the end of every single game.
Self stream is forbidden and punished as described in the broadcast info, the same for chat spoiling using any platform.
All broadcasts start at 20:00 CEST of the gaming day. Coverage will be provided exclusively through our official broadcast www.twitch.tv/iccupbwtv in english language and via our selected partner stream in Russian language.
Players and third party streamers are prohibited from streaming games. Teams who broadcast games anyway or allow third parties to do so will be penalized with a tech loss.
Thanks to our sponsor www.esports-betting.pro and the generous contributions of the community, the prize pool for the first Season of ICCup nation League has increased to $1060
1st Place: 50% 2nd Place: 30% 3rd Place: 20%
Keep in mind, the prize pool can still increase and donations are graciously accepted!