Ambition - Page 3

NahLGaE

Korea (South)523 Posts

March 31 2008 15:32 GMT

#41

great idea. but isnt holding qualifying on iccup a bit skewed? because of the points system on iccup i mean, because your rank is determined almost as much by how much/frequently you play because wins give way more points than losing takes away, so someone with a much much worse (even under 50%) win % can have a higher rank than someone who has like a 70-80% win % but merely played fewer games? so i just thought using iccup wouldnt be the best/fairest method >> i mean you can argue that the ppl who really want to qualify will and should play the most and be rewarded for doing so but still, the emphasis on frequent play over skillful play seems a bit too much on iccup.

Chill

Calgary26003 Posts

March 31 2008 16:31 GMT

#42

The staff put a lot of thought into the format. I'll walk you through the thought process so hopefully you can agree with us that it will work out well.

Everyone agreed we want a lot of known names in the finals. They are consistent (that's why they are known) and will provide exciting games in the final rounds of the TSL. Our goal then became coming up with a format that rewarded consistency, while having a realistic time frame.

We also fought to make sure anyone can play. This is very important in the spirit of competition and legitimacy as a foreign league. Can you imagine the OSL being invite only? It cheapens competition by adding an arbitrary amount of invitations. In the end, we decided to search for a format that is open to everyone, but rewards consistent play. I think that's why the TSL is so exciting, it's not the same 16 players you see in every league. If some unknown players or underdogs scrape their way into the top 48, that's great! I'll be cheering for them.

In having a league that's open to everyone, there are only two formats to use: Tournament and ladder. Given that there's about 1000 people signed up in 24 hours for the ICC team, running a tournament would be a logistical nightmare. So we planned a ladder.

Here is why a ladder rewards the best players. Let's assume you are going to play infinite games with a 50% win percentage, which any number of unknown foreign players could do. Once you hit A-, you lose 130 points for every game you lose, while you gain 130 for playing on MotW. Weaker players with 50% win percentages will get stuck at this point. Even if they have a slightly higher win percentage, say 55%, they will be getting so few points that stronger players should be able to get passed them during the pivotal final week. This is also helped by the shorter time frame. If the ladder was 3 months, someone could grind to Olympic Rank 10 points at a time; however, with a 3 week time frame there just isn't enough time for weaker players to achieve a rank they don't deserve.

Next we needed to solve the problem of rewarding the #1 player, to prevent people getting to #32 and then stagnating. We played with the idea of seeding, but there wasn't enough reward to warrant grinding up the last 32 places. This is why the top 16 get a bye, it gives you a reason to continue climbing the ladder even once you've secured a qualifying position.

You'll notice everything is best of 3. LDT2 is double elimination. This stops one-build wonders and all-ins from being as effective. It rewards solid play. It allows strong players who have one weaker matchup to have a better chance of getting through.

And after all that, there will be 16 solid players in the TSL.

Response

United States1938 Posts

March 31 2008 20:41 GMT

#43

is it bad if im not excited at all about TSL?

Hot_Bid

Braavos36402 Posts

March 31 2008 20:52 GMT

#44

On April 01 2008 05:41 GoSuPlAyEr wrote:
is it bad if im not excited at all about TSL?

Not at all, everyone has their own interests and opinions.

Daigomi

South Africa4316 Posts

March 31 2008 21:42 GMT

#45

On April 01 2008 05:41 GoSuPlAyEr wrote:
is it bad if im not excited at all about TSL?

No, it is not bad that you are not excited about this. Everyone has their own interests as HotBid says. What is bad is that you feel the need to mention that as a comment on a very passionate piece of writing.

If you're not interested, great stuff, but there's no need to piss on the hard work of others.

Chill, thanks for trying to explain our reasoning behind the format. We really put a lot of thought into it- about 5 pages worth of comments as long as the one Chill posted here, and the format we came up with was the only one that could satisfy all of us.

Showtime!

Canada2938 Posts

March 31 2008 21:53 GMT

#46

TL.NET ladder back? ;O

LightRailCoyote

United States982 Posts

March 31 2008 22:20 GMT

#47

My. God.

I had to use my acct. to just say how awesome this is.

I don't know if I'll play, but i love you guys. So much.

Raelcun

United States3747 Posts

March 31 2008 22:53 GMT

#48

I like this idea a lot and glad it's bringing players to iccup

good luck to all who play

Skazzo

United States102 Posts

April 01 2008 12:40 GMT

#49

Loved the write up. I hope we can all appreciate that this is a pivotal moment in not just foreign BW, but foreign progaming in general.

kramus

United States1259 Posts

April 01 2008 14:44 GMT

#50

haha what's that countdown of now? 273 days-->

ThePhan2m

Norway2751 Posts

April 11 2008 15:07 GMT

#51

I really admire you for this. And really, if your going trough with this, please go all the way and make it the best tournament outside korea. cant wait for the next stages!

War_Minister

Canada86 Posts

April 12 2008 04:22 GMT

#52

Glory to Team Liquid!

Plexa

Aotearoa39261 Posts

April 12 2008 09:52 GMT

#53

On April 12 2008 00:07 ThePhan2m wrote:
I really admire you for this. And really, if your going trough with this, please go all the way and make it the best tournament outside korea. cant wait for the next stages!

Rest assured we are going through with this and we have set our expectations high