EPT![[image loading]](https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84092/novicesl.png)
Banner thanks to topspinserve!
Hello everyone! From the good amount of interest, support and acceptance we received from the previous thread regarding my idea that I put out to the public yesterday regarding a first ever low ranking TL-community based Starleague, I am safe to say that this once crazy dream have become a reality!!! So for all those who are interested of joining and participating in this individual fun and competitive Starleague, please sign right up! (Remember to sign up only if you are interested and have the willingness of spending time and effort to play this through.)
Now regarding the initial rules and format of how this "Starleague" can work out will be listed below that are either already set in place based on ideas (in which can always be compromised) or are decided by YOU! The members of the TL community by voting in the polls!!!! So without further adieu..
What is NSL (Novice Starleague)?
Alright, let's start off with this. I'm sure many of you are puzzled by the fact that some random dude decided to pop out of his cave to the TL community one day to create an exciting individual league for a lot of you. So what is it? It's a TL-community fan based Starleague consisting of low ranking players from the newly formed CPU rank to D+ rank. (Sorry C- and above rankers, this league is strictly for us novice players so make your own "immediate" Starleague! :D) It's where we go by the rules of OSL, MSL, and any other type of individual tourneys out there and duke it out among us low ranking players! (I'm a low ranking player too!
I mean 
)Eligibility
The very first thing we need to go over and discuss is what it takes to be a future Novice Starleague winner! And by that as in what sort of standards you got to be in order to take part of this individual league regardless what happens at the end. Which means, if you started out as a D ranking player and ended at C ranking player, that's all perfectly fine since you started as D rank player but.... there are always the possible case that smurfers and abusers who are C and above pop out to scare and ruin everyone else fun away.... yes.. I am looking at YOU! (well maybe not you exactly...)
So basically players who are from CPU to rank D+ on iCCup are automatically eligible to take part of this league! But how can one determine they are right, fit and worthy enough to join? Well let's find out with this possible poll:
+ Show Spoiler [Polls regarding eligibility] +
Poll: Minimum Game Requirements?
(Vote): None! I trust you and you trust me we're D+ or below!
(Vote): At least 10 games!
(Vote): At least 30 games!
(Vote): At least 50 games!
(Vote): 100 games or more?!?!??!
Poll: APM limit required?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
Poll: How to discriminate skill gaps?
(Vote): iCCup profiles and history of games
(Vote): Screening of games (reps + judges on qualifier rounds)
(Vote): Moral honor code and swearing! (Meaning if you lie, a ban on TL may awaits you...)
(Vote): Other: Suggestions and ideas posted or PM me.
Format
The first ever NSL will be conducted by the full similar copied method of how an OSL works! Which means we will have an all or nothing qualifiers round based on the OSL Offline Preliminaries, then a Ro36 for the survivors of those qualifying rounds, into a 16 remaining players of the "Group Selections".
From there, we'll select the 4 different groups of 4 players where the first four 4 seeds of the group selection will be determined and decided by the organizers of this tourney (mainly I will automatically be Seed 1, my co-host who shall not be named yet will be Seed 2, etc). This will only be in effect for this first ever NSL when starting from the next NSL and forward, the Seeds will be determined by the previous NSL until further notified....
Then we start the round robin of the Ro16 to Bo3 in Ro8 to Bo5 in Semi-finals and Finals, all the way to the grand winner of the first ever NSL!!! Note that players may become a C rank after this NSL in which they would not be eligible to compete with the future NSL until further notice.... But they can start out as D and finish with whatever rank you are at!
FAQ: What about the Ro36 Seeds?!?!?!
Answer: That will be decided later on after the Qualifiers round, possibility with an optional round to determine those Seeds and the remaining seeds available...
The matches would most likely take place on Thursdays and/or Fridays night Eastern Standard Time. I believe this may be convenient for most people and the actual time will be determined very shortly. An event will take place every week where week 1 would be Qualifier round, week 2 being Group Selections and Ro16, week 3 being Ro8, etc...
All in all, each NSL should start and finish all in ONE FULL MONTH. So keep that in mind folks!
+ Show Spoiler [Polls regarding Format] +
Poll: Number of maps in the pool?
(Vote): 5 (minumum)
(Vote): 6
(Vote): 7
(Vote): 8
Poll: Which maps to use?
(Vote): Heartbreak Ridge
(Vote): Outsider SE
(Vote): Destination
(Vote): Python
(Vote): Andromeda
(Vote): Blue Storm
(Vote): Fighting Spirit
(Vote): Moon Glaive
(Vote): Match Point
(Vote): Collosseum 2
(Vote): God's Garden
(Vote): NeoMedusa
Poll: TL Submission Community Map in the map pool?
(Vote): yes!
(Vote): no..
Poll: How to group the players in Qualifier Round?
(Vote): The respective ranks group together to advance (D+ players only place D+ players, etc)
(Vote): Random, mix and match!
(Vote): Doesn't matter, doesn't care.
Sponsors/Prizes
To get everyone hyped up and have a motivation and willing to finish till the end, I was originally planning to have a sponsor for the NSL to create a prize pool (mainly first prize winner only...) that can be something extremely small such as a "10 dollars iTunes gift card!" Although this sounds good and nice to hear, along with the sponsor having their name of their company, organization, or anything before the "NSL" (eg. Ever NSL... one can only dream..?), because this is the first ever Novice Starleague, I will keep this on hold. Which means the very first NSL might not have a prize but rather just to play for fun, honor, joy, and competition among fellow TL players. In the future, I am planning to look to this and perhaps I might even change my idea for this first one before it begins regarding this matter... but for now, it is known as the first ever Novice Starleague!
+ Show Spoiler [Poll regarding Sponsor] +
Signing up!
Now that I have explained the basic idea and the whole concept of this league to come, I will now ask any and all interested TL players to sign up and join the fun!!
To sign up, please simply make a post after this of the following information:
+ Show Spoiler [click me to know how to sign up!] +
[Type of interest into the NSL] - Player, Streamer, Commentator, Sponsor (PM is better), Judge/Ref, or Helper!! (sorry, no boothgir...err boothguys...)
[iCCup rank] - CPU to D+ rank only please...
[Main Race]
[iCCup Name and Link]
[Available Time] - Thursday nights or Friday nights, please pick one!! (Based on EST)
[Contact Info] - PM, AIM, MSN, e-mails, etc....
[Any suggestions, comments, opinions, requests?]
[iCCup rank] - CPU to D+ rank only please...
[Main Race]
[iCCup Name and Link]
[Available Time] - Thursday nights or Friday nights, please pick one!! (Based on EST)
[Contact Info] - PM, AIM, MSN, e-mails, etc....
[Any suggestions, comments, opinions, requests?]
And viola! Simple isn't it?? You don't only have to be a player to take part of this. We need streamers, casters, judges/refs, helpers and so much on! Why, we might even need a real journalist to interview the winners and makes thread of. So how about it, will you take that role and the challenge?
Signing up Deadline: I am looking at the deadline of signing up this tourney to be on Sunday, December 27 @ 00:00 EST!!! After the deadline passes, I am hoping to start this on the beginning week of January and last throughout the entire month of January! So stay tune!
That is for signing up!
More FAQs
+ Show Spoiler +
FAQ: I'm not a D+ rank player or lower, so I can't play it seems... then is there a way to help out or do something else regarding this?
Answer: Why of course!!! We desperately need streamers, commentators, judges/refs, banner maker, interviews, and so on! There are so multiple ways to get active and join the fun! So come ahead and don't be shy!
FAQ: If I'm a player, can I also stream, help out, sponsor, commentator, etc?
Answer: Of course!!!! You can definitely do more than one role than just being a player of this league! The only thing you might not be able to do is judge/ref but we'll see about that... ^_^
FAQ: I suck.
Answer: Aww... don't worry, this tourney is for all noo... novice players like you! So you definitely won't miss out!
FAQ: No, seriously, I really do suck...
Answer: That's alright, this will be a great learning experience for you! You will be able to practice, watch other people play in your level, and so forth. Just because you really do suck shouldn't stop you from playing! ^_^
FAQ: How many players?
Answer: As many as possible!! To be honest, all we need is 16 but I sure definitely wish to see more and more, hopefully reach in the numbers of 100! This should be a fun league to play, watch and learn!
FAQ: What if I can't make it during the times it's listed?
Answer: Hmm... then it is a bit unfortunate but you might be unable to play. But that's ok, there should be plenty of other things to do besides being a player! Like every major Starleague player has their own practice partner or buddy! :D
FAQ: Can I be in the top 4 seeds?
Answer: No, sorry but the first four seeds in NSL #1 is reserved for the ones who made this possible, the hosts, creators and sponsors of this league. But if you try really hard, I bet you can be a top seed on the next NSL!
FAQ: What if I was a C- rank player in the previous seasons but I'm a D rank player now. Can I still play?
Answer: Hmm.. sorry but you might most likely won't be eligible to play as this tourney is designed and created precisely for the lower ranking players, hence the name "Novice Starleague." However in the future, someone might come in and create a league just for you guys!
FAQ: On the "available time" slot of the signup info, the two choices, Thursday and Friday, what timezone is that based on?
Answer: Eastern Standard Timezone as I see that the most convenient timezone to set it on. So if you live somewhere on Europe, you might have to consider the times into consideration.
Answer: Why of course!!! We desperately need streamers, commentators, judges/refs, banner maker, interviews, and so on! There are so multiple ways to get active and join the fun! So come ahead and don't be shy!
FAQ: If I'm a player, can I also stream, help out, sponsor, commentator, etc?
Answer: Of course!!!! You can definitely do more than one role than just being a player of this league! The only thing you might not be able to do is judge/ref but we'll see about that... ^_^
FAQ: I suck.
Answer: Aww... don't worry, this tourney is for all noo... novice players like you! So you definitely won't miss out!
FAQ: No, seriously, I really do suck...
Answer: That's alright, this will be a great learning experience for you! You will be able to practice, watch other people play in your level, and so forth. Just because you really do suck shouldn't stop you from playing! ^_^
FAQ: How many players?
Answer: As many as possible!! To be honest, all we need is 16 but I sure definitely wish to see more and more, hopefully reach in the numbers of 100! This should be a fun league to play, watch and learn!
FAQ: What if I can't make it during the times it's listed?
Answer: Hmm... then it is a bit unfortunate but you might be unable to play. But that's ok, there should be plenty of other things to do besides being a player! Like every major Starleague player has their own practice partner or buddy! :D
FAQ: Can I be in the top 4 seeds?
Answer: No, sorry but the first four seeds in NSL #1 is reserved for the ones who made this possible, the hosts, creators and sponsors of this league. But if you try really hard, I bet you can be a top seed on the next NSL!
FAQ: What if I was a C- rank player in the previous seasons but I'm a D rank player now. Can I still play?
Answer: Hmm.. sorry but you might most likely won't be eligible to play as this tourney is designed and created precisely for the lower ranking players, hence the name "Novice Starleague." However in the future, someone might come in and create a league just for you guys!
FAQ: On the "available time" slot of the signup info, the two choices, Thursday and Friday, what timezone is that based on?
Answer: Eastern Standard Timezone as I see that the most convenient timezone to set it on. So if you live somewhere on Europe, you might have to consider the times into consideration.
And more FAQ to come if duty calls!
Lastly I want to say a few words to end my long waited hard created OP of successfully creating the first ever Novice Starleague!
I thank all parties of helping this come process, from the previous thread, from the ideas of clazz's once exciting Liquid Tourney to the current process of CPL that created the whole coming of this event!
I also strongly encourage for all and any helpers who wishes to help us in the NSL in any way possible to PM me or simply post in the thread!
Please post any further suggestions, comments, opinions, requests in this thread or PM even if you aren't planning to take part of this league!
Finally thank you TL for allowing this to happen, for giving me a chance to create such a league and most of all, you! So take up your hands and get onto your keyboard and start posting away!! And REMEMBER TO VOTE on the polls! Thanks!
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/Picon_small.png)
Protoss
