Week 13 is officially closed, and the holiday season impacted some the league to a degree. While not the worst performance, Week 13 only had 77% of its matches completed, which is good enough for third worst performance this season. There was 2 additional matches last week as both Rematch Clauses were played, but considering the holiday breaks for Christmas and New Years, it was understandable. Now its time to get back to the street fighting business! Interesting side note in that the Grand Champion and European Champion used both Rematch Clauses last week, but both champions lost their titles.
The 2vs2 Tournament was played during Week 13, and saw the most members participate than any SFCCL live event. 12 teams were made out of the 24 members that played, which represent a third of the members in the league. Note that all the winning teams had both members hailing from the same state or country. Congrats to the winning teams as each member will play their Prize Matches during Week 14:
1st Place: Jay19000 / Cuby (brothers from Florida)
* earning a match versus any ranked fighter in the league
2nd Place: Jok3rfrmbk / Zabi- (New York)
* earning a match versus a ranked fighter from the next highest division
3rd Place: SabishiiRyuu / Wauhti (Finland)
* earning a match versus a ranked fighter from the same division
All Prize Matches are posted with the weekly Rankings and Matches.
(Note to CUBY and JOK3RFRMBK - please let me know whom you want to challenge with your Prize Matches as you have not replied to my previous messages)
The SFCCL is 72 members (144 fighters) strong going into Week 14 with 6 new members.
WEEK 13 RECAP
A total of 17 matches had to be "Decided" to close Week 13. Seven (7) of those seventeen matches were forfeits, which occurs when one member did not play their 2 matches. Five (5) matches ended in a "Draw" as a result of two members unable to play one of their matches, but remain at the same rankings this week in a rematch. Lastly, five (5) matches ended in a Double-Forfeit. Below are the final statistics:
Completed matches: 57 out 74 (77%)
Forfeited matches: 7 out of 74 (9%)
Draw matches: 5 out of 74 (7%)
Double Forfeit matches: 5 out of 74 (7%)
OLD, NEW, & CHANGING MEMBERS
There were a total of four (4) openings in the America Region, and two (2) openings in the European Region following Week 13. The two (2) European members voluntarily quit the league due to time constraints. Three (3) members from the Americas Region were dropped due to two-weeks of inactivity. Finally, one (1) member from the American Region was banned from the SFCCL due to violating the Honor System policy. More info on this last member later.
The departing members are:
Deltron2020 (New York)
FrotoTeaBaggin (California)
ND2130srk (Virginia)
SlxSoldier (Canada)
CorridorsOfTime (The Netherlands)
Hooko28 (Iceland)
I thank everyone for their interest in the league and wish them the best. As a result of the departing members, we have a total of six (6) new members this week, four (4) in the Americas Region (a returning season 1 member) and two (2) in the European Region:
DELRIOUSIDOIT (California)
KOYFAHTNA (Iowa)
MODETYPE_BEAST (Louisiana)
SUPREMEKINGQ7 (Minnesota)
MODUZ (England)
PUZZLLER (England)
All members were invited to join the active roster from the Waiting List. Welcome to the SFCCL!
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: 1 spot
SILVER Division: 2 spots
BRONZE Division: 3 spots
A Division: 2 spots
B Division: 6 spots
C Division: 8 new spots
RED Division: 2 spots
BLUE Division: 4 spots
GREEN Division: 4 new spots
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.
Members changing fighters and Division change:
Feiinweltall ADON to MAKOTO (Bronze to A Division)
Tokenluis EL FUERTE to AKUMA (C Division)
Hedr1984 VEGA to DEE JAY (Red to Blue Division)
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 WAITING LISTS
Going into Week 14, the Americas Region list is 19 players long, while the European Region list only has 1 player. The past couple of weeks have had many opening for new members to join. As a result, I've stopped taking requests for 'Reserved' spots as I will begin to offer the openings to the first players on the list. Some member have been waiting for 5 months, and were unaware of they were being jumped by others who 'Reserved' their spots. Hopefully those who are invited to the league are still interested in playing. If not, a new member will be invited next week to take their place.
MATCH OF THE WEEK:
SILVER DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP: Champion Ccinoone BISON (7-2-1) vs. #1 GuurenLagen (8-2)
This week's MotW pits two fighters who have been steadily climbing the rankings. CCINOONE'S BISON began league play in Week 5, after Ccinoone changed his fighter from Guy. He began as the #15 ranked fighter in the Bronze Division. Ccinoone hails from New York and first joined the SFCCL in Week 15 of season one. His Bison holds the top spot among league members in Battle Points with 10,143 points, which is good enough to be ranked 355 in the world. His Bison defeated Skrface's Ryu last week to move up into the # 1 Contender in the Silver Division, however, with the auto-promotion of Zabi's Dhalsim into the Gold Division, his Bison then became the Silver Champion. Guurenlagen hails from Canada and joined the SFCCL in Week 4 of season two. His Blanka began in the B Division as the #9 ranked fighter and has been climbing ever since. His Blanka holds the third spot among league members in Battle Points with 8,328 points, which is good enough for 607 in the world. He is coming off a victory over Epedemicc's Cody last week to become the #2 ranked fighter in the Silver Division, but due to the auto-promotions, moved up into the #1 Contender ranking.
Notable Mention:
Red Division Prize Match: Champion Wauhti ROSE (10-2) vs. #3 SabishiiRyuu VEGA (10-1)
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
As mentioned above, one member has been banned from the league for violating the Honor System of the SFCCL. Specifically, he lied about his match results given all the information available. The Honor System is a code all members in this league must follow, including myself. It specifically pertains to how you conduct yourself within the SFCCL community. However, most importantly, it deals directly with reporting the results of your match, win or lose.
When I first came up with the idea of starting this league on the PSN, my biggest concern would be members not telling the truth as to who won and who lost a match. The only two people who knew for sure were the two members directly involved in the match. If no one played with any Honor, then the system and league would fail. Each of us want to win every match we play whether they are league or random online matches. However, for the purposes of this league, each member must abide by the Honor System, which is to accept your defeat with class and honesty. In the 22-month history of the SFCCL, only 4 times has a member been kicked out and banned from the league for lying about their results. Twice in season one, and now twice in season two.
With Super Street Fighter IV, two new additions to online play enabled us to have additional ways to solve these types of problems. First, the ability to have more than 2 people watch a match. This would allow us to actually hold live viewings of a match, and therefore, have more witnesses to a match. Secondly, and more importantly, we now have the ability to save our matches online to our hard drive on the PS3. I strongly encourage all members of the league to save their replays of league matches just in case an issue arises when the results of a match are in dispute. These videos are the best evidence a member can present to prove he won (or lost) a league match. The system is not perfect, but it is a great tool to have available for the league.
The Honor System is still the most important rule of the league. For this league to continue to have integrity and member's respect, every member must abide by the Honor System. Furthermore, a member caught lying will be immediately banned from the league and his spot given to the next player on the Waiting List. It is a harsh punishment, especially for a member who has been in the league for a long time. However, it is necessary to maintain that level of respect and integrity the league demands. Ask yourself this - would you want to play a member who has lied about their results in the past? Why would you commit yourself to a match and then have to present your 'evidence' to prove you won that match? Why would you spend the time to contact your opponent and then setup a time to play when your results would then be questioned? Why even play in this league if your results are not honored by a fellow member? We might as well all play random ranked matches online where the results don't really matter and you forget whom you played 2 minutes later. This league stand for more than that. This league represents a group of players wanting more out of their online experience. This league represents a level respect for the game and your opponent. This league plays by an honor code that isn't asked for anyone playing random matches. It is a higher level of playing and maturity. With all the time that we, and I especially, put into this league, any member that does not play by his Honor System disrespects me, all other members, and this league. That one member can spoil the experience for everyone else. As the caretaker of this league, I need to separate my role as just another member and always act in the best interest of the league. I owe that to everyone else who has signed up for the league. And for that reason, any member found violating this sacred Honor System will be banned from the league.
This latest decision was the most difficult to make since it involved a respected member. The other cases involved either new members to the league or someone that was already quitting the league. Before making this decision, I took my time reading the comments from both members, watching the crucial video replays of the match while contrasting their comments to what I saw, and I also reached out to two members that I deeply respect. I contacted them to get their feedback after my 'investigation' and gave them my thoughts on the situation. Both members replied back with thoughtful and insightful analysis of the situation. And both agreed that the member should be banned based on the information we had. Therefore, the decision was made.
I intentionally did not divulge any details here as it is never my intention to publicly embarrass any current or former member with this blog. My hope is that this is the last time this matter is discussed, and all parties can move on.
DEADLINE FOR WEEK 14
Deadline for Week 14 matches is Sunday, January 16th, 2011.
Good luck to all members this week!