TeamLiquid Starleague season is nearly upon us. Starting the week after MLG Anaheim we will begin a series of qualifiers, spread across the North American, Europe, and Korean servers. They will run for five weeks straight, one qualifier on each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. These will be the same as traditional TL Opens.
The first TSL qualifier will be on June 12, the week after MLG Anaheim and just over three weeks from today.
The opening broadcast of TSL4 Round of 32 will kick off July 28, 2012. We have opened a TSL4 Forum to help begin the discussion!
Qualification
Here is the breakdown of the 32 player spots in the TSL4:
3 players seeded from TSL3
10 winners of TL Open qualifiers on NA/EU servers
5 winners of TL Open qualifiers on KR server
8 highest placing players based on points from the TL Open NA/EU qualifiers
6 highest placing players based on points from the TL Open KR qualifiers
In other words, 18 players will qualify through the ten NA/EU qualifiers, and 11 will qualify through the five KR qualifiers. Since the winners of the tournaments automatically gain entry, there will be two separate point rankings (one for NA/EU and one for KR) that determine the remaining qualification slots.
Place
Points
1st
TSL Spot
2nd
100
Ro4
60
Ro8
41
Ro16
21
Ro32
11
Eligibility
All EU/NA players may play in both the 5 NA qualifiers and 5 EU qualifiers (10 total tournaments).
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must:
Live in North America or Europe; OR
Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR
Live in South America or a non-Korean country
To play in Korea, the player must:
Live in Korea; OR
Be a citizen of Korea
Players who qualify for both must elect whether they wish to participate in the 10 EU/NA tournaments or the 5 Korean tournaments. Those in China, Taiwan, and SEA may choose to play in either the EU/NA tournaments or in the Korean events. Players in South America will play on the EU/NA qualifiers.
Players will indicate which they are choosing simply by entering and playing an event on that server. Entering events on both point rankings will result in disqualification.
Examples, assuming these players wish to participate in TSL4:
EG.iNcontroL lives in the United States and is not a citizen of Korea, he can only choose to play in the 10 EU/NA qualifiers
IM.NesTea lives in Korea and is not a citizen of a NA or EU country, he can only choose to play in the 5 KR qualifiers
Liquid`Jinro lives in Korea and is a citizen of Sweden, he can elect to play in the 10 EU/NA qualifiers OR the 5 KR qualifiers
Empire.Violet lives in the United States and is a citizen of Korea, he can elect to play in the 10 EU/NA qualifiers OR the 5 KR qualifiers
GamaniaSen lives in Taiwan, he can choose to play in the 10 EU/NA qualifiers OR the 5 KR qualifiers
Dates
The 15 qualifier tournaments will be played over five weeks starting on June 12, with three tournaments per week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Week One
Tuesday, Jun 12 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Wednesday, Jun 13 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Thursday, Jun 14 9:00am GMT (GMT+00:00)
NA/EU Ranking - EU server NA/EU Ranking - NA Server Korean Ranking - KR Server
Week Two
Tuesday, Jun 19 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Wednesday, Jun 20 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Thursday, Jun 21 9:00am GMT (GMT+00:00)
NA/EU Ranking - EU server NA/EU Ranking - NA Server Korean Ranking - KR Server
Week Three
Tuesday, Jun 26 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Wednesday, Jun 27 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Thursday, Jun 28 9:00am GMT (GMT+00:00)
NA/EU Ranking - EU server NA/EU Ranking - NA Server Korean Ranking - KR Server
NA/EU Ranking - EU server NA/EU Ranking - NA Server Korean Ranking - KR Server
Maps
All maps are uploaded to EU, NA, and KR servers with TSL4 in the name, they can be found simply by searching for TSL4. All maps are current GSL versions with depots at ramps, and minor modifications where noted.
TSL4 Metropolis LE
Notes: Some doodads removed to help with framerate issues. Added neutral depot on ramps.
TSL4 Daybreak
TSL4 Antiga Shipyard
Notes: Cross-spawn only, gold bases replaced.
TSL4 Entombed Valley
Notes: Horizontal spawn disabled.
TSL4 ESV Ohana
TSL4 ESV Cloud Kingdom
TSL4 ESV Korhal Compound TE
Notes: Design of natural tweaked to allow for standard wall-off. Third no longer able to be sieged from high ground. Corner base mineral lines shifted to make the expansion more neutral. Comprehensive changelog
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I like this qualification process. Should see a lot of the top talent get through, as well as a decent mix of foreigners and Koreans. Looking forward to it!
Love the somewhat strict rules for the NA/EU and KR qualifiers, separating them. Personally I don't care whether the players are foreigners or Korean, but I know that matters to a lot of people, and this certainly will make them a lot more happy.
Doubt there's much point in me joining, but I'm really hoping to see some new players make a name for themselves here.
On May 22 2012 09:18 Zeroxk wrote: What's with the NA qualifer time? Amateurs who work/go to school won't be able to join
That is the first thing that crossed my mind too. Only pros/semi-pros/ or people who think they are good enough to take the day(s) off it seems is what they are aiming for. Or just a lot of EU ppl :p
On May 22 2012 09:18 Zeroxk wrote: What's with the NA qualifer time? Amateurs who work/go to school won't be able to join
We basically had to find a time that fit both NA and EU pro schedules, that wasn't on the weekend because that's when all the professionals are traveling and playing other tournaments. Yes, it sucks for amateurs who work and go to school at that time, but our first priority is making it as easy as possible for the most professionals to play.
On May 22 2012 09:31 0neder wrote: So...Nony's own team won't heed his suggestion for 5 maps?
Technically, it is TeamLiquid the site that is running TSL4, not TeamLiquid the team. Either way, Nony's suggestion is just that, a suggestion. If Nazgul were running TSL4 as the coach, he could put as many maps as he wanted; or if the team voted.
Not that I am against Nony's suggestion, but it isn't as simple as the team not heeding his suggestion. There are other factors involved.
One of the coolest things about last TSL were playing in those epic huge qualifiers every Saturday...shame there isn't at least a few, was really looking foward to that. Won't even be able to watch half of these, if they're even going to be broadcasted the same way those TL Opens used to be.
The TLOpens used for these qualifiers were almost my favorite part about TSL3, so I am really looking to this! Also, I am going to harass the hell out of some people to compete in this... anyone who can play on a GM level really shouldn't miss the opportunity to play in the TSL...
you must be from NA to participate in it?? what if you are from latin america? you can't participate o.O? and ughh, korhal compound... it's not a very good map in my opinion
I love the map changes. Also, to Zeroxk: I don't think amateurs are going to ever do well in this tournament, sorry.
Especially if they can't even give up a few hours of work or school to be in a premier tournament. If you don't care enough to do that, you don't care enough to qualify.
Are there different rankings for NA and Europe? In other words does the TOP 4 in standings advance in Europe as well as NA? Or is there a overall standing where the TOP8 advance?
Not totally clear to me.
Anyway absolutely awesome to see the progress of TSL4.
Bizarre schedule for the qualifiers, basically eliminates anyone with school or a job.....wasnt TSL's idea to find new talent and bring them into the scene?
Other than tha, I really like the points schedule, it makes it so much better than a 1 off lucky placement like alot of tournaments.
So excited for this, I'll have to catch the vods though because of the time. Too bad, because even though I'm only diamond I played in it last time and beat a master player in the first round, the highlight of my Starcraft career haha
On May 22 2012 09:14 opterown wrote: what if, for example, puma visits the NA EG house for a few days - can he qualify through NA that way? or any other korean player like that
Yeah he can enter through NA/EU but if he does he is stuck in that group until he qualifies.
On May 22 2012 09:14 opterown wrote: what if, for example, puma visits the NA EG house for a few days - can he qualify through NA that way? or any other korean player like that
Yeah he can enter through NA/EU but if he does he is stuck in that group until he qualifies.
No, PuMa is a citizen and resident of KR, he must play the KR qualifiers.
On May 22 2012 09:14 opterown wrote: what if, for example, puma visits the NA EG house for a few days - can he qualify through NA that way? or any other korean player like that
Yeah he can enter through NA/EU but if he does he is stuck in that group until he qualifies.
Basically, what Tree said. A player needs to be living there, ie moving there with the intention to stay. There are probably a few situations like PuMa that would remain a bit subjective but it isn't fair to allow PuMa to be in the US for a day and then play 9 more qualifiers from back in Korea.
Really looking forward to this. My only gripe is the inclusion of Antiga... that map is so far past its expiration date that it's really starting to stink up the joint.
Solid map lineup- didnt expect anything less from TL! Though I do wish they would replace Antiga Shipyard- that map is just really bad for taking a 4th
Antiga is old, but it has always been a pretty good map, one of the first good macro maps on the ladder. The fourth is hard to take in some situations too but no worse than alot of other maps, its just that the first 3 are are so nice and easy. Its also nice to have a little variety and the high ground in the middle being so important makes this map interesting at least.
On May 22 2012 11:03 DragoonPK wrote: So does this mean I can play in the open brackets because im from Bahrain ?
You're welcome to enter in the NA/EU qualifiers
To be perfectly clear, nobody is banned from participating based on where they're from. The post outlines the main pro population but of course people from locales not mentioned there are more than welcome to participate.
quick question: if there are dedicated qualifiers for tsl 4, what about all the tl open that happened so far? I thought they were supposed to be some sort of qualifier for an invitational tournament? http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/TeamSpeak_TL_Open_26
Ouch. So incredibly disappointed with the Open times. I will not be able to watch a single live Open this time around and they were my favorite part of TSL3 :'(
I understand that the wonky scheduling is to accommodate traveling pros, and that these are just qualifiers rather than the main event, but I still would have liked to see at least a little more weight given to the interests of average NA viewers and aspiring amateur players.
Thank you so much for putting on another TSL. I'm still really looking forward to it, but my unbridled excitement definitely cooled a bit after reading this news...
Edit: Wait. The games will be casted from replays like last time, right? If they'll be broadcast later on when viewing is more convenient then please disregard my whining
On May 22 2012 14:30 Gonff wrote: Ouch. So incredibly disappointed with the Open times. I will not be able to watch a single live Open this time around and they were my favorite part of TSL3 :'(
I understand that the wonky scheduling is to accommodate traveling pros, and that these are just qualifiers rather than the main event, but I still would have liked to see at least a little more weight given to the interests of average NA viewers and aspiring amateur players.
Thank you so much for putting on another TSL. I'm still really looking forward to it, but my unbridled excitement definitely cooled a bit after reading this news...
Edit: Wait. The games will be casted from replays like last time, right? If they'll be broadcast later on when viewing is more convenient then please disregard my whining
The broadcasts will start roughly 4pm EDT, and will last ~3 hours.
Is there a good reason why you did not seperate the NA and EU qualifiers? It's a bit hard to expect players to play in 10 qualifiers for 1 event and if they only participate in the EU ones they may fall off in points due to lesser players just playing in all 10 of them.
On May 22 2012 14:30 Gonff wrote: Ouch. So incredibly disappointed with the Open times. I will not be able to watch a single live Open this time around and they were my favorite part of TSL3 :'(
I understand that the wonky scheduling is to accommodate traveling pros, and that these are just qualifiers rather than the main event, but I still would have liked to see at least a little more weight given to the interests of average NA viewers and aspiring amateur players.
Thank you so much for putting on another TSL. I'm still really looking forward to it, but my unbridled excitement definitely cooled a bit after reading this news...
Edit: Wait. The games will be casted from replays like last time, right? If they'll be broadcast later on when viewing is more convenient then please disregard my whining
The broadcasts will start roughly 4pm EDT, and will last ~3 hours.
I intend to participate but I don't have a NA account so playing only EU means I got fuck all chance to advance. I don't understand why you guys didn't split them 5 for NA and 5 for EU / with only NA players playing in the NA ones and only EU players playing in the EU ones / This is s quite terrible for people like me ; / I'm not gonna splash 50 euros to buy a NA client / account just to try to qualify for this tournament. And its fucking sad because I've been waiting to play in the qualifiers since forever ... ; /
A little bit more than "usuall" separated spots for foreigners than for koreans. (and I still think that at the end, something must be done with the TBLS , like it happened with koreans in TSL3.) So much stories coming.
The conditions for who can play where seem haphazardly put together.
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must:
Live in North America or Europe; OR
Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR
Live in South America
To play in Korea, the player must:
Live in Korea; OR
Be a citizen of Korea
Players who qualify for both must elect whether they wish to participate in the 10 EU/NA tournaments or the 5 Korean tournaments. Those in China, Taiwan, and SEA may choose to play in either the EU/NA tournaments or in the Korean events.Players in South America will play on the EU/NA qualifiers.
Why is the condition for playing in Korea not simply "Live in Asia or be a Korean citizen", instead of having a one-off exception for people in SEA/Taiwan/China being allowed to play Korea and the condition for EU/NA "not live in Korea or be a citizen of a non-Korean country". That seems like it would cover the intent of the rules, without being so needlessly complicated. Why is there this second mention of South America for no reason?
Also chalk me up as another sorely disappointed in the regression that you're only holding qualifiers on weekdays now. What happened to TSL3, where you held them on weekends? Do you really think the TSL is so unimportant to pros that they won't be able to make time for it on weekends...? If that's really TL's judgment on the tournament, then I'd question whether the time is right to have the tournament at all.
I really enjoy the map pool. A great selection of maps and the alterations for spawns, with the removal of gold bases was an excellent choice. It shows TL knows they are knowlageable about what they are doing. Super excited to see the results of TSL4. Always a pleasure to watch.
On May 22 2012 15:06 OutOfMyMind_pro wrote: I intend to participate but I don't have a NA account so playing only EU means I got fuck all chance to advance. I don't understand why you guys didn't split them 5 for NA and 5 for EU / with only NA players playing in the NA ones and only EU players playing in the EU ones / This is s quite terrible for people like me ; / I'm not gonna splash 50 euros to buy a NA client / account just to try to qualify for this tournament. And its fucking sad because I've been waiting to play in the qualifiers since forever ... ; /
Shouldn't you be glad that your "home" qualifiers won't be overrun by Korean progamers?
edit: Nvm, Koreans are only allowed to participate in their own qualifiers. Reeks of protectionism. ^^" On the other hand, there are more seats reserved for players on the Korean region, compared to seats reserved for EU or NA, so I guess it's not as bad.
I just searched for the maps out of the mappool. Almost all have two versions available, the second version is marked as "cloaked", what does that mean? Sorry if this is a stupid question xD.
On May 22 2012 16:47 Aenur wrote: I just searched for the maps out of the mappool. Almost all have two versions available, the second version is marked as "cloaked", what does that mean? Sorry if this is a stupid question xD.
I think that "cloaked" maps mean that you can't watch build orders/unit information/score/... after the match.
On May 22 2012 09:18 Zeroxk wrote: What's with the NA qualifer time? Amateurs who work/go to school won't be able to join
Honestly the people that are meant to play in these will be able to. Just a few enthousiasts now won't be able to play in the qualifiers but they very likely had no chance to qualify to begin with.
Why do so many tourneys still use Antiga Shityard and Entombed butt drool.
Also I understand the reason for having NA/EU tournament in separate servers for same people, but it is unfair for people who only have account on one, especially since in HotS you will only need one so no need to buy now.
I do hope TE makes Korhal a bearable map to play, and that the ladder version would also be tweaked similarly. The current Korhal's ZvP makes me want to kill myself. ZvT isn't exactly fun either.
Man.... Im not gonna lie, those qualifier times really disappoint me. Like, if you're not a progamer, you basically cant attempt to qualify unless you want to take the day off work.
Pretty much rules out us casual players who also work and have families, no matter what league. Would it be too mucb to ask for TL to make TSL5 qualifiers on the weekend?
to allow everyone from na/eu to play in all na+all eu tournaments is REALLY unfair for the "non-pros". really cant understand why you would do such a thing
Yep, I think it's quite a mistake to plan to have qualification tournament during work time; as it really negates TSL's specificity, i.e. to be the tournament that you wanna watch, because you have taken part in the qualifications before... Then, TSL just becomes another "pro tournament", to be watched from far, if you have time; not something you wanna be involved in.
Honestly, if some pros can't make on a week end, they still have something like 10 qualifications rounds to make it so...
so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
On May 22 2012 23:24 Jaegeru wrote: Awesome, I would be interested in seeing what they changed on Metropolis to fix the frame rate issue if they didn't remove the island expo's.
I guess pros are expected to have a decent enough pc to handle Metropolis.
On May 22 2012 23:24 sVnteen wrote: so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
If not explicitly stated, other areas around the world default to their normal server. i.e. NA for japan, EU for africa and so on.
On May 22 2012 23:24 Jaegeru wrote: Awesome, I would be interested in seeing what they changed on Metropolis to fix the frame rate issue if they didn't remove the island expo's.
The changes are effectively the same as the GSL lite version, and will be similar to the version that Blizzard is looking to republish on the ladder
On May 22 2012 23:40 Peak123 wrote: I guess Naniwa and Thorzain are seeded from TSL3??? but who is the 3rd seeded person? I cant remember who finished 3rd place.
On May 22 2012 23:24 sVnteen wrote: so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
If not explicitly stated, other areas around the world default to their normal server. i.e. NA for japan, EU for africa and so on. republish on the ladder
Whew. =) Good to know. You guys might want to clarify that in the article. It really sounded like you were saying only players from NA, EU, and KR could participate.
For instance, it sounds like this part of the article is false:
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must: Live in North America or Europe; OR Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR Live in South America
if people from Japan can play in the NA quals, they obviously they do not meet the above requirements.
On May 22 2012 23:24 sVnteen wrote: so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
If not explicitly stated, other areas around the world default to their normal server. i.e. NA for japan, EU for africa and so on. republish on the ladder
Whew. =) Good to know. You guys might want to clarify that in the article. It really sounded like you were saying only players from NA, EU, and KR could participate.
For instance, it sounds like this part of the article is false:
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must: Live in North America or Europe; OR Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR Live in South America
if people from Japan can play in the NA quals, they obviously they do not meet the above requirements.
Its phrased like that because (at the moment) there are no top tier players from regions outside of NA/EU. The point of the rule is that if you want to play in EU/NA tournaments then your default server for your region should be EU or NA or have residence in a country that does (as in the case of violet and others).
I really like the possibility of qualifying by points despite the small chance that people could possibly throw a game in the finals of a qualifier because they already have enough points to qualify for the tournament anyway, while their opponent (a friend) does not.
That small chance is nothing though compared to the fact that well performing players can still qualify when unlucky in the finals, so it's worth the chance.
Since when is TL Open traditional? The first one was run a year ago or so right? ^^
I hope this TSL will be blessed with as good games as the last one. That would be plenty of fun!
On May 23 2012 01:01 Fijnkonijn wrote: I really like the possibility of qualifying by points despite the small chance that people could possibly throw a game in the finals of a qualifier because they already have enough points to qualify for the tournament anyway, while their opponent (a friend) does not.
That small chance is nothing though compared to the fact that well performing players can still qualify when unlucky in the finals, so it's worth the chance.
Looking forward to TSL4<3
I dont think youre allowed to play once youre qualified. I belive it was that way last year.
On May 22 2012 23:24 sVnteen wrote: so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
If not explicitly stated, other areas around the world default to their normal server. i.e. NA for japan, EU for africa and so on. republish on the ladder
Whew. =) Good to know. You guys might want to clarify that in the article. It really sounded like you were saying only players from NA, EU, and KR could participate.
For instance, it sounds like this part of the article is false:
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must: Live in North America or Europe; OR Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR Live in South America
if people from Japan can play in the NA quals, they obviously they do not meet the above requirements.
Its phrased like that because (at the moment) there are no top tier players from regions outside of NA/EU. The point of the rule is that if you want to play in EU/NA tournaments then your default server for your region should be EU or NA or have residence in a country that does (as in the case of violet and others).
Well according to the rule Japanese players can participate. Even if their default server is NA. I think thats what he meant.
On May 22 2012 23:24 sVnteen wrote: so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
If not explicitly stated, other areas around the world default to their normal server. i.e. NA for japan, EU for africa and so on. republish on the ladder
Whew. =) Good to know. You guys might want to clarify that in the article. It really sounded like you were saying only players from NA, EU, and KR could participate.
For instance, it sounds like this part of the article is false:
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must: Live in North America or Europe; OR Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR Live in South America
if people from Japan can play in the NA quals, they obviously they do not meet the above requirements.
Its phrased like that because (at the moment) there are no top tier players from regions outside of NA/EU. The point of the rule is that if you want to play in EU/NA tournaments then your default server for your region should be EU or NA or have residence in a country that does (as in the case of violet and others).
Look, I'm not trying to get into some contentious argument with you, and I understand what you are saying, but language means something, and the language in the article says that you have to either live in NA or Europe, be a citizen of a country there, or live in South America. You're saying that is not true, so change it.
On May 22 2012 23:24 sVnteen wrote: so does this mean that africans and any asian players except korean, chinese or taiwanese players are basically banned from the competition? that's kinda ridiculous imo
If not explicitly stated, other areas around the world default to their normal server. i.e. NA for japan, EU for africa and so on. republish on the ladder
Whew. =) Good to know. You guys might want to clarify that in the article. It really sounded like you were saying only players from NA, EU, and KR could participate.
For instance, it sounds like this part of the article is false:
To play in EU/NA tournaments, the player must: Live in North America or Europe; OR Be a citizen of a North American or European country; OR Live in South America
if people from Japan can play in the NA quals, they obviously they do not meet the above requirements.
Its phrased like that because (at the moment) there are no top tier players from regions outside of NA/EU. The point of the rule is that if you want to play in EU/NA tournaments then your default server for your region should be EU or NA or have residence in a country that does (as in the case of violet and others).
Look, I'm not trying to get into some contentious argument with you, and I understand what you are saying, but language means something, and the language in the article says that you have to either live in NA or Europe, be a citizen of a country there, or live in South America. You're saying that is not true, so change it.
Yeah, I'm not sure why it's stated that way. The way it's stated seems overly complicated and up for confusion, when it could be much more simply stated what they're trying to achieve :D
On May 22 2012 21:50 HyperionDreamer wrote: Man.... Im not gonna lie, those qualifier times really disappoint me. Like, if you're not a progamer, you basically cant attempt to qualify unless you want to take the day off work.
Pretty much rules out us casual players who also work and have families, no matter what league. Would it be too mucb to ask for TL to make TSL5 qualifiers on the weekend?
Well for TSL3 the qualifiers WERE on the weekend . I think it's a bummer too (not that I'd qualify, but it'd be fun to try and to watch the tournaments, except the only way I could do that is if I took a day off work, which is kind of a lot to do for some tournament.)
I like the format of the qualifier a lot except for the U.S. times, 11 a.m Eastern is pretty hard to swing if you have a job or class, especially for someone who would need to qualify on points. You can take the day off once maybe, but not the whole week. It's hard for me to say if people who aren't pro gamers have a legit shot to qualify for something like this, but at least in the foreign scene it sounds possible.
Seriously, why are you cutting the middle east out of all of this. We have a couple of grandmaster players, that can actually do something and amount to something. You can't just leave us out of this like blizzard did!
On May 23 2012 04:31 DanCaek wrote: Seriously, why are you cutting the middle east out of all of this. We have a couple of grandmaster players, that can actually do something and amount to something. You can't just leave us out of this like blizzard did!
As was mentioned in the comments (although not the OP ) they can still participate in the NA/EU ones if they want. It's just confusingly stated in the news, but anyone (well, barring people who are banned for cheating or whatever ) anywhere in the world can partake in a qualifier.
It means you pretty much have to be either a fulltime pro, or unemployed or not attending class/job to play in one I read HotBid explanation and it makes sense, but one of the main fun part of the TSL to me was to see new players and new faces rises and with these times it means that a lot of these potential new faces won't able to attend. The chance of seeing a new Thorzain this TSL is very slim I think.
On another topic, I believe the map pool is pretty good, except for Korhal. I hate that map, the third is kinda hard to defend. Oh well, we will see how it goes.
On May 23 2012 01:01 Fijnkonijn wrote: I really like the possibility of qualifying by points despite the small chance that people could possibly throw a game in the finals of a qualifier because they already have enough points to qualify for the tournament anyway, while their opponent (a friend) does not.
That small chance is nothing though compared to the fact that well performing players can still qualify when unlucky in the finals, so it's worth the chance.
Looking forward to TSL4<3
I dont think youre allowed to play once youre qualified. I belive it was that way last year.
Sorry, maybe I didn't explain myself properly.
Yes, if you win an open you are qualified. But if you have not yet won a qualifier and have done well in previous ones, you could end up playing the finals from a qualifier while you are because of the 100 points you get for second place, qualified at that point (Could obviously only be said near the last few qualifiers). So you could throw the game if you were playing someone who you would like to see in the TSL4. (Because again, with the 100 points for second place you are qualified).
Chance for this happening are rather small however, I'm sure that before the last qualifiers someone has a significant point lead from previous qualifiers he or she played and it's obvious they are qualified without having won a final from the qualifier, they would be excluded from participating for this reason.
On May 23 2012 01:18 Robinsa wrote: Since when is TL Open traditional? The first one was run a year ago or so right? ^^
I hope this TSL will be blessed with as good games as the last one. That would be plenty of fun!
On May 23 2012 01:01 Fijnkonijn wrote: I really like the possibility of qualifying by points despite the small chance that people could possibly throw a game in the finals of a qualifier because they already have enough points to qualify for the tournament anyway, while their opponent (a friend) does not.
That small chance is nothing though compared to the fact that well performing players can still qualify when unlucky in the finals, so it's worth the chance.
Looking forward to TSL4<3
I dont think youre allowed to play once youre qualified. I belive it was that way last year.
Sorry, maybe I didn't explain myself properly.
Yes, if you win an open you are qualified. But if you have not yet won a qualifier and have done well in previous ones, you could end up playing the finals from a qualifier while you are because of the 100 points you get for second place, qualified at that point (Could obviously only be said near the last few qualifiers). So you could throw the game if you were playing someone who you would like to see in the TSL4. (Because again, with the 100 points for second place you are qualified).
Chance for this happening are rather small however, I'm sure that before the last qualifiers someone has a significant point lead from previous qualifiers he or she played and it's obvious they are qualified without having won a final from the qualifier, they would be excluded from participating for this reason.
Tried explaining a little bit better, lol.
The biggest issue raised with the qualifier system last season was the fact that getting second once virtually guaranteed qualification. We examined last seasons qualifier and set about improving it based off of feedback. Last season it was weighted so that Ro2 < 2x Ro4 < 4xRo8, but this season we have that Ro2 < Ro4+Ro8 < 2xRo4 < 3xRo8 which means that its significantly easier to break 100 points in comparison to last season. We hope that this will address the "100 points and in" problem that happened last season.
I'm confused, why can't EU tournaments start around 12 am EDT and NA tournaments start at 5pm EDT? Why do many Europeans get to play around 5pm every tournament while NA competitors will play, on average, at 10 am?
Why do both regions have to be at the same time? Just because NA can compete in EU tournaments and EU can compete in the NA tournaments doesn't mean they need start at the same time.
You're essentially saying EU player's best time to compete is 5 pm, yet NA players seem to only be able to play at 10 am? Why can't NA play at 5pm as well?... If 5pm EDT is too late for EU players, maybe make it 4pm, and if that's too late for some, it's probably a very small margin. Let's have 5 tournaments for both regions with the best time slot possible for that region, and then if a player's schedule is flexible, they can join a EU tournament that's 11 am EDT, or a NA tournament that's 5pm EDT.
We're gamers, if someone can't stay up until 12-1 am to play, but can make a 10-11 am tournament, something's wrong
Blows my mind that you couldn't added at least one or two qualifiers on the weekend. I get that you want professional players to have a chance, but if you looked at the upcoming event schedule...there were a few weekends you could of scheduled tournaments on.
Oh well. So much for getting new players into the scene -.-
Signing up will be done TLOpen style. As in, we'll create separate sign ups for each event which you can register to attend. These will be done closer to the date
Decision to change the points works out very well, even though I would have reduced the points on second place by a small margin as well.
I took a test in an excel sheet (PM if you want me to host it) and it raised the cut off points to 141 points instead of the 103 at TSL3. I simply took the old qualifiers but used the new scoring system.
With regards to the playing field that would have only made 1 difference (SeleCT would have qualified instead of ZeeRaX) but the seeding for the main bracket would have been very different.
In the old ranking you had TLO > Ciara/MorroW (how did that tiebreaker get resolved?) > Goody > Adelscott/Fenix (tied) > Zeerax > Strelok.
In the new ranking you have MorroW > TLO > Strelok > Fenix > Ciara > SeleCT > Goody > Adelscott.
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Now the most important thing: In the new system you have 21 man breaking 100 points, instead of 10. This very much shows that the system worked in making finishing 2nd less valuable.
Quick facts about the other scoring system: - You'd have had Nada-Morrow as Ro32 matchup - You'd also have had MC-TLO or Jinro-TLO, depending on the tie breaker (old situation had a tie) - KiWiKaKi just missed out on qualifying, ending on 136 points - KiWiKaKi and dde are by far the most consistent players, scoring points at 6 qualifiers. - You can still get in by scoring at only 2 qualifiers (Adelscott did it), however you have to make the finals once and get to Ro8 the other time. This is an improvement as before ZeeRax also qualified with a Ro16 and a second place, however this time he didn't make it.
I like the re-adjustments compared to last season, but hell I still miss the ladder periods we used to have way back when. It's a shame B.Net 2.0 doesn't allow that to happen and instead we have to stick to qualification tournaments, meh.
Korean Open is going to be so fucking stacked, it will seriously be like code A or possibly even code S JUST TO QUALIFY.
Holy shit just look at it, it's already stacked. Boy oh Boy I feel bad for foreigners. They did fine in TSL3 due to game being young and cross server play, but this time, top 3 KR = easy.
for EU/NA qualifier, will the points be the sum of 10 qualifiers or sum of highest 5? cus it might be unfair for ppl who only play on EU or only play on NA
I hope TL looks at this and realize that if they hosted the qualifiers on the weekend the turn out rate would of been much higher. This in return would of increased the amount of interest in the event.
EPT
. I think it's a bummer too (not that I'd qualify, but it'd be fun to try and to watch the tournaments, except the only way I could do that is if I took a day off work, which is kind of a lot to do for some tournament.)
