As for the rest of Week 9, it’s not worth discussing. A pathetic and second-season worst 65% match completion in Week 9 really makes me want to change some of the rules to drop certain members from the league. It’s a pathetic excuse to keep members that don’t seem very interested in playing their matches when we have such a long Waiting List. For now, I’ll operate under the existing rules. However, another repeat of that low percentage that mirrors the percentages of the first season of the SFCCL will make me re-consider some of the rules for dropping members. Due to the Ryder Cup, we had 9 less matches that usual, but that should mean we have more participation, not less. Either way, moving on…
Week 10 brings back the popular Inter-Divisional matches, however, with a very big twist. The twist only affects the fighters in the C Division and Blue Division. As promised at the beginning of the year, there would be two opportunities for players on the Waiting List to ‘play-their-way-into’ the SFCCL. That time has come. The top 8 players from the Waiting List in the Americas Region (only 5 players on the European Waiting List) will get their 2 fighters matched up against a fighter from the C Division. The winner of these special inter-divisional matches will be in the C Division next week. It is very possible that, for the first time ever in league history, certain members will only have 1 fighter in the league. Any player/fighter that loses these matches will be placed on the top of the Waiting List & come back when an opening becomes available. However, the winning fighters will move on to play in Fall Brawl (more info on Fall Brawl below). The losing fighters will be on the outside-looking-in. These matches are highlighted in green on the Ranks & Matches page. Good luck!
These special outside matches have increased the number of matches from the usual 64 fights to a total of 77 fights.
WEEK 9 RECAP
A total of 19 matches had to be decided to close Week 9. Eight of those twelve matches were forfeits, which occurs when one member did not play their 2 matches. Seven matches ended in a "Draw" as a result of two members unable to play one of their matches, which is still better than a 'forfeit' any day. Finally, four matches ended in a Double-Forfeit. Below are the final stats:
Completed matches: 36 out 55 (65%)
Forfeited matches: 8 out of 55 (15%)
Draw matches: 7 out of 55 (13%)
Double Forfeit matches: 4 out of 55 (7%)
OLD, NEW, & CHANGING MEMBERS
Two members were dropped from the Americas Region following Week 9. JamusAeons from Arizona and OsiSii from California were dropped due to not playing their matches two weeks in a row. One member from the European Region voluntarily dropped out, Allukko from Finland. I thank him for his commitment to the league and for the courtesy of letting me know. Jay19000 has completed his 3-week probationary period for new members. Welcome officially to the SFCCL!
As a result of the three vacancies, we have 3 new members/6 new fighters in the league (4 in the Americas Region, 2 in the Euro Region):
New Members for the Americas Region:
BX-FR3SH (New York)
VAINHERO (California)
New Members for the European Region:
RUDEBOY_2DEEP (England)
All three members were invited to join the active roster from the Waiting List after "Reserving" their spots. Instead of trying to play their way into the league this week, they are now defending their new spots in the league from the next player on the Waiting List.
NOTE - A "Reserved" notation by their name on the Waiting List means they have given me their commitment to join when an opening becomes available. A player can join only if there is an opening, which is why there are several other members still on the Waiting List with a "Reserved" tag. All new members are subject to the 3-week probationary period which requires all members to play all of their matches in the first there weeks, or they will be dropped from the league.
With the special matches taking place in the C Division and Blue Division, good luck to all the players attempting to play their way into the league! I try to stay neutral most of the time (USA! USA! USA!), but I look forward to seeing how these matches play out. Below is a list of players trying to take their rightfully earned spots in the league this week:
Americas Region:
Normalcey (Canada)
Welcome2Troyland (Nebraska)
TheReal__Mr_Karat (Washington)
FrotoTeaBaggin (California)
DenaycousDee_85 (Florida)
Jok3rfrmbk (New York)
Killawaun (Michigan)
Shoryuken (Washington)
European Region:
To1v11v1y (England)
Qn-Lisa (England)
Alienbuddha (Germany)
Invisigoth47 (Finland)
ShinNagakure (England) <---- designer of the SFCCL logo this season
Their matches are highlighted in GREEN on the Ranks & Matches page.
Members changing fighters:
XxUltimaCloudxX RYU to HAKAN (Bronze to A Division)
SlxSoldier AKUMA to VEGA (B to C Division)
Haduken3 ABEL to SAKURA (A to B Division)
One member changed their PSN screen name:
Ryukenishida to MiHawkMike
Any member in the league can change their fighter, but it will result in a penalty of the new fighter dropping one division and starting at the #15 ranking.
The following 'Auto-Promotions' occurred as a result of the former members and change of fighter (note - depending on where the vacant spot is in the division, not all fighters take advantage of the auto-promotions):
GOLD Division: none
SILVER Division: none
BRONZE Division: 1 spot
A Division: 3 spots
B Division: 4 spots
C Division: 4 spots
RED Division: 1 spot
BLUE Division: 1 spot
Any fighters that did not play their matches do not benefit and could see other fighters jump them in the rankings. It pays to play.
THE WAITING LISTS
Going into Week 10, the top 8 players on the Waiting List (top 5 in the European region) are playing for their spot in the SFCCL. The rest of the List has to sit this week out. Losers of the special inter-divisional matches will be placed at the top of the Waiting List.
Reminder - any player on the Waiting List that is 100% sure they want to join upon an opening becoming available, then be sure to let me know you want to "Reserve" a spot. Then I'll more your name to the top of the list. Otherwise your name will be added to bottom of the Waiting List and you'll have to wait for an invite like everyone else.
MATCH OF THE WEEK:
Grand/ Gold Championship of the SFCCL
Champion Zabi- VIPER (9-1-0) vs. #1 Contender ElGeneral GUILE (9-2-0)
This week's Match of the Week (MotW) is for the Grand / Gold Division Championship between two veteran SFCCL members and two Captains from the Americas Ryder Cup Team. Zabi’s VIPER is going for his second straight title defense against after capturing the title in Week 8 following a Survivor Series Prize Match victory and a title defense against Fran’s Balrog. Zabi re-joined the SFCCL in Week 25 of season one just before Super Brawl. He lives in New York. His Viper holds the top spot in Battle Points among league members with 8,243 points which ranks him 103rd overall in the world with Viper. His Viper began the season in the A Division, and has steadily risen up the rankings. He has wins this season over Novalks, Cooi_Breeze, xx_Von_xx, SALonghorn, Fran_Gil, and Zti890. His other fighter, Dhalsim, just started playing in Week 9 in the Silver Division. ElGeneral’s GUILE is seeking to regain the Grand / Gold Championship for the third time in SFCCL history. ElGeneral hails from California. He is one of the founding members of the SFCCL which began with a PlayStation forums tournament back in March of 2009. His Guile holds the top spot in Battle Points among league members with 18,068 points which also ranks him 7th overall in the world with Guile. He has victories this season over Wild_X_187, twice over Skrface13, Fran_Gil, Epedemicc, Haduken3, and Deltron2020. His other fighter, Bison, is a former Grand Champion of the SFCCL and is currently the Silver Division champion.
Other notable matches:
Gold Division: #2 xxUltimaCloudxx RUFUS (7-2) vs. #3 Flashfan7 BLANKA (5-3-1)
Silver vs. Bronze Division: Champion ElGeneral BISON (6-4) vs. Champion Ccinoone BISON (4-0-1)
Red Division Championship:
Champion Shooryukenn BLANKA (5-1) vs. #1 Contender Hedr1984 VEGA (7-1)
As mentioned above, the Ryder Cup Tournament is just about complete. Stay tuned to the SFCCL Facebook page or the Ryder Cup page on this site for the latest news. The tournament was highly competitive and also displayed a lot of camaraderie among team members. While most matches were plagued with lag, overall, the tournament proved to be very successful. The second Ryder Cup will take place during Week 16.
Next week is FALL BRAWL. Some may be asking, “What is Fall Brawl?” I’m glad to describe it now that we are just two weeks away. Fall Brawl is the only special event in which all members/fighters will participate in. The entire league will be involved in division-specific tournaments. Each division will be seeded in a 16-fighter tournament with the 16 fighters in that specific division. All matches will be single-elimination and the winning fighter of the division tournament will automatically win a Prize Match. That Prize Match is the right to challenge any fighter two divisions higher than their existing division. For example, the winner of the Bronze Division tournament will have the right to challenge any fighter in the Gold Division, the A Division tournament winner will challenge any fighter in the Silver Division, and so forth. Obviously, the Silver Division winner can only challenge a fighter in the Gold Division. The Gold Division tournament winner will also have a Prize Match, but will most likely use it as a 'Rematch' option at a later date. Most importantly, these divisional tournament results will re-rank all the divisions based on your performance. So even if your fighter is undefeated in league so far this season yet loses in the first round of the division tournament during Fall Brawl, your fighter will then be in the lower half of the division rankings the following week. The event is also receiving special attention in terms of days allocated to the event. Week 11 will be the only week spread over 21 days (three weeks). Hopefully, all matches will be completed during this time, but I am prepared to 'decide' matches if needbe. So please play your matches, folks!
This is a high-stakes tournament for the higher ranking fighters in each division to keep their high rankings, yet also give them the opportunity to jump two divisions if they win. That same prize is available for the lower ranked fighters in each division, providing they win the tournament, but a good showing in the tournament will also result in a jump in rankings within their division even if they don't win the tournament. More details to come next week, but just be prepared to defend your ranking as everyone potentially is coming after it!
I promised a better season this year, and I hope that I am delivering it with all these crazy events. It's all in hopes of creating new & exciting matchups for everybody each week & rewarding those members that remain committed to the SFCCL. We are in the busy part of the season right now, and judging by the Waiting List, are creating a league that people want to play in. Thanx again for all of your support!
DEADLINE FOR WEEK 10
Deadline for all Week 10 matches is Sunday, November 14th, 2010.
Good luck to all members this week!