Thanx again for everyone's continued excitement and committment. This league is a big success solely for those reasons, and I am very appreciative.
WEEK 3 RECAP
Week 3 results were not as good as the previous week. In Week 3, 42 of the 48 (88%) matches were completed by members, either played out or voluntary forfeits. This high completion rate is still much better than the average for last season. The other 6 matches resulted in 'decisions' being made to determine a winner, if possible. Four of those matches were automatic forfeits as a result of members not playing either of their 2 matches this week. Two matches ended in a "Draw" as both members played their other match, but couldn't play each other. This should be the last week member CIIGLOMAN will have to forfeit his matches as he should be returning to action from a holiday. I have agreed to keep him in the league, with the understanding that he will forfeit all matches until he returns. I am happy to make this arrangement with any member of the league providing they keep me updated to their status.
Completed matches: 42 out 48 (88%)
Forfeited matches: 4 out of 48 (8%)
Draw matches: 2 out of 48 (4%)
Double Forfeit matches: 0 out of 48 (0%)
OLD & NEW MEMBERS
Week 3 also marks the first time that no member is leaving the league, either by their own decision or by lack of activity. This would have resulted in a very easy re-ranking of all fighters due to their winning or losing last week. However, with the new European divisions being setup, auto-promotions because necessary to fill in the spots left by the departing Euro members.
As a result of the new Euro divisions, 11 new members joined the Americas Region and 5 new members joined the new European Region.
New Members for the Americas Region: Cry1ng_W01f_, Ever_So_Black, FADC_Mabans, Galstafflol, Guurenlagen, JamusAeons, Johnjpzx, King-Sun, OceanicMidnight, Raziel_Sinister, and former member OsiSii.
The 11 members were invited to join the active roster from the Waiting List. A PSN message was sent on Sunday, August 8th, asking all Waiting List members if they were ready to join. The first 11 that replied were accepted.
New Members for the European Region: Shoorykenn, Sk8dragon, Tatsumaki_12, Wauhti, and former member Shindubhe.
Similar to the Americas Region, the first 5 members to reply to a PSN message asking if they were ready to join the new Euro divisions were accepted.
The following openings were as a result of the new Euro divisions being created, and thus, the number of Auto-Promotions possible in each division. 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.
GOLD Division: 1 spot
SILVER Division: 3 spots
BRONZE Division: 5 spots
A Division: 10 spots
B Division: 15 spots
C Division: 22 spots
Two members changed one of their fighters, which results in their new fighter dropping a division and beginning at #15 (Zti890 JURI in the Silver Division and xxUltimaCloudxx RYU in the Bronze Division). Reminder, any member 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
As mentioned above, there are now two Waiting Lists going forward. Each region will maintain their own list for possible new members. To be considered for an opening in the league, all players on the Waiting List must keep me on their Friends List (SFCCL-SALonghorn). This makes it easy for me to contact you if your name comes up for a formal invite. Removal of my name will result in your name being removed from the Waiting List in turn. Also, being on my Friends List allows me to invite you to any casual SFCCL events online. The players removed from the list are free to signup again if they choose to, but they will go to the bottom of the List.
At this time, there are no plans for another Free-For-All event. And I am very content with having 8 total divisions in the league going forward. It will setup perfectly the year-end SUPER BRAWL tournament.
MATCH OF THE WEEK:
With the WAR GAMES Prize Matches being exercised this week, we have a couple of matches for this week's Match of the Week.
1st Place WAR GAMES Prize Match: Champion ElGeneral GUILE (3-0-0) vs. #5 Skrface13 BLANKA(2-1-0)
2nd Place WAR GAMES Prize Match: #1 Contender Fran_Gil BALROG (2-1-0) vs. #11 Haduken3 RUFUS (1-2-0)
Skrface13 and Haduken3 each earned their Prize Match for placing at the WAR GAMES on July 31st. Skrface13, who won 6 matches in a row, earned the 1st Place Prize Match which entitles him to challenge any fighter in the league with one of his fighters for their ranking. Skrface13 has chosen to challenge ElGeneral's Guile with his Blanka, following his defeat last week for the Grand Championship of the SFCCL. The first match was epic as the video showed Skrface pushing ElGeneral to the brink by winning the first two rounds and forcing ElGeneral to win the next 3 rounds in each match. And he did just that. Twice. Now the rematch...
Haduken3, who one 5 matches in a row, earned the 2nd Place Prize Match which entitles him to challenge any fighter in the same or next highest division with one of his fighters for their ranking. Haduken3 has chosen to challenge Fran_Gil's Balrog for the #1 Contender ranking in the Gold Division. The winner of this match will then challenge the winner of the ElGeneral/Skrface rematch for the Gold Championship.
In essence, the Grand Championship is up for grabs in a mini 4-fighter tournament. Stay tuned...
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
WAR GAMES was a smashing success even with the small turnout. All 7 participants were able to join the same lobby and fight each other until all 3 Prizes were awarded. Each member had a chance to win 1 of the 3 prizes, and also stop any other member from winning. HOME also provided a great way to 'get together' in a virtual sense. It was kind of cool to see everyone chatting and exploring the Gamer's Lounge, the SFCCL Clubhouse, and my personal space, the Waterfall Apartment. I plan to use HOME again for future official events. Next event......Survivor Series in September 2010.
As mentioned earlier, this week brings the first-ever European-only divisions. The idea has been bounced around for many months, even dating back to season 1. In the end, the Euro members always voted to stay with the majority of North American members. However, as the number of European vs. American matches increased this season, more and more Euro members found it difficult to meet their opponents online at strange times and the ever problem of lag. Not all members experienced lag in their international matches, but it is more common when playing someone overseas. Therefore, a final vote was taken by the Euro members. 18 votes were sent out. 14 of them returned, and 13 were in favor of creating the Euro-only divisions.
These new Euro divisions will play themselves only. Their rankings will work the same as any other division, but their highest division will be the Red Division followed by the Blue Division. I chose these colors to easily distinguish between the Americas Region divisions and the new European Region divisions. There will be only two occasions where an Americas member will play a European member. One will be the final event of the season, SUPER BRAWL II, in which all members of the league fight in a grand elimination tournament to crown the final Grand Champion of the season.
The other time Euros and Americans will clash is in the Ryder Cup competition. Now, I'm not 100% committed to that name, Ryder Cup. It comes from the PGA golf event played every four years between American and European golfers. For our purposes, every 3 months we will have a Ryder Cup competition. The top 4 rankings fighters from the Gold and Red divisions will fight in an elimination-style tournament that determines where the Grand Champion is crowned. If the Americas region fighters defeat the Euro fighters, the Americas Region will retain the title of Grand Champion for the Gold Division champ. If the Euro fighters win, then they will take that title to the Red Division. The 4 fighters from each region will be matched up and the winners advance until all fighters from one region are eliminated. To participate in this intercontinental event, your fighter must occupy one of the top 4 spots in either the Gold or Red division. The first-ever Ryder Cup competition will take place in October 2010. More details at that time.
The website has been updated for Week 3, including updating the SFCCL global maps to include the newest 8 members. I do need to update the Player and Battle Points tables, however. I will usually update these numbers every 2 weeks, or unless we have any new members. The PP and BP tables should be updated by tomorrow.
DEADLINE FOR WEEK 4
Deadline for all Week 4 matches is Sunday, August 22nd.
Good luck to all members in Week 3.