Week 7 is now officially complete, which will not be soon forgotten thanks to the marathon event that the SURVIVOR SERIES tournament turned into. Week 8 will be another interesting week as the results in several key matchups this week will determine the automatic bids for the upcoming Ryder Cup competition beginning in Week 9. Specifically, the Gold and Red Division winners in specific matches (Champion vs. #1 Contender, #2 vs. #3, #4 vs. #5, and #8 vs. #9) will make up the Top 4 spots in each of the divisions in Week 9. As a result, those 4 fighters will be named Captains for each region going into the Ryder Cup competition. That is an important role since each Caption will then select a 2nd member/fighter to complete the 8-fighter team for each region. More details about this down below.
Week 7 was another successful week that saw the crowning of a brand new European Champion of the SFCCL, Shooryukenn's BLANKA. Overall, 80% of the scheduled matches were completed, which is unfortunately the 3rd worst percentage this season. I really hope this improves as I do not like having to 'decide' matches not played, not do I like spending the time doing that. Special thanx to the Euro Region division members as they completed 100% of their matches last week.
WEEK 7 RECAP
A total of 13 matches had to be decided to close Week 7. Six of those twelve matches were forfeits, which occurs when one member does not play their 2 matches. Four 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, three matches ended in a Double-Forfeit. Below are the final stats:
Completed matches: 51 out 64 (80%)
Forfeited matches: 6 out of 64 (9%)
Draw matches: 4 out of 64 (6%)
Double Forfeit matches: 3 out of 64 (5%)
OLD, NEW, & CHANGING MEMBERS
Three members left the Americas Region following Week 7. One member, FLUNGDUNGFAR from Nevada, voluntarily dropped out of the league. I thank him/her for their commitment to the league and for letting me know. Two members were kicked out of the league this week, CIIGLOMAN from Australia and DIONYSUS-X from California, due to not playing their matches for two weeks. Finally, one member that joined in Week 5 has fulfilled their 3-week probationary period, which means they have been successful in playing their matches the past three weeks. Now, they will be subject to the standard 2-weeks-of-no-shows rule before getting kicked out, but hopefully that won't happen. Welcome RYUKENISHIDA from Ohio.
As a result of the two vacancies, we have 3 new members/6 new fighters in the league (3 in the Americas Region, 0 in the Euro Region), including a former member from season 1:
New Members for the Americas Region:
CUBY (Florida)
MARCOPOLO177 (California)
Tokenluis (California)
New Members for the European Region:
N/A
All three new members were invited to join the active roster from the Waiting List after "Reserving" their spots. 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. Welcome to the SFCCL!
Members changing one of their fighters:
Wild_X_17 AKUMA to ZANGIEF
Manwithnoarms2 DUDLEY to DEE JAY
Never1Nothing DEE JAY to E. HONDA
MR_FLOWERS_- ROSE to JURI
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: 1 spot
SILVER Division: 2 spots
BRONZE Division: 2 spots
A Division: 5 spots
B Division: 6 spots
C Division: 7 spots
Red Division: 1 spot
Blue Division: 0 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.
THE WAITING LISTS
Going into Week 8, the Waiting List have a total of 38 players on them, with 1 "Reservation". My friends list is currently maxed out now at 100 friends total. Any new signups may not receive a FR until I can make some room. Thanx again for the support guys!
I did send out a message to all Waiting List members just to confirm they were still interested in joining, otherwise I would remove their name from the list and my Friend's 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.
Again, no plan for another Free-For-All event as I like the number of members and divisions currently.
MATCH OF THE WEEK:
Grand / Gold Championship
Champion ZTI890 CAMMY (6-1) vs. #7 Zabi- VIPER (6-1)
Winner vs. #1 Fran_Gil BALROG (6-2)
This week's Match Of The Week is actually two matches. The Grand / Gold Championship of the SFCCL will be fought in a triangle of matches. The first match is between current Champion Zti890 CAMMY (6-1) vs. #7 Zabi- VIPER (6-1). Zabi is exercising his 1st place Prize Match earned at the Survivor Series tournament to challenge the current Grand Champion from his #7 ranking. His 1st place finish earned him the right to challenge any fighter in the league for their ranking. This match is particularly interesting since Zabi had to defeat ZTI's team in the Survivor Series finale two times in a row since Zabi came from the loser's bracket. The winner of this match will then face #1 contender Fran_Gil BALROG (6-2). And to place only more importance on this Triangle MotW is that only one of these three great fighters will automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup competition. The loser of the first match (Zti vs. Zabi) will fall to the #7 ranking and can only go as high as #4 in the rankings by winning their weekly 6v7 match. The loser of the second mach verses Fran_Gil will fall to the #5 ranking next week. Only the top 4 rankings (Champion, #1, #2, and #3 fighters) will automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup. All other fighters will have to be invited to play. So heads up to all the Captains of the Americas Team......the two losing fighters on this week's Triangle MofW would be very worthy of an invite to represent the Americas Team.
Other notable matches:
Gold Division: #2 ElGeneral GUILE (7-1) vs. Zti890 JURI (3-1) (Prize Match)
Red Division: Champion Shooryukenn BLANKA (4-0) vs. #1 Wauhti ROSE (4-0)
Gold Division: #4 xxUltimaCloudxx RUFUS (5-2) vs. #5 Skrface13 BLANKA (5-3)
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thanx again for to the 16 members that participated in the SURVIVOR SERIES tournament. It proved to be the most successful and longest official event in league history. Congratulations Zabi-, Zti890, and Wild_X_187 for claiming the final three spots. Each is exercising their respective Prize Matches this week:
1st Place Prize Match: Gold Champion Zti890 CAMMY (6-1) vs. #7 Zabi- VIPER (6-1)
2nd Place Prize Match: Gold #2 ElGeneral GUILE (7-1) vs. Silver Champion Zti890 JURI (3-1)
3rd Place Prize Match: #4 ElGeneral BISON (3-4) vs. #9 Wild_X_187 ABEL (2-5)
The results of the following Gold & Red Division matchups will produce the Top 4 rankings for Week 9:
Champion vs. #1 Contender = winning fighter is Week 9 Division Champion
#2 Fighter vs. #3 Fighter = winning fighter is Week 9 #1 Contender
#4 Fighter vs. #5 Fighter = winning fighter is Week 9 #2 Ranked Fighter
#8 Fighter vs. #9 Fighter = winning fighter is Week 9 #3 Ranked Fighter
The specific matchups are as follow:
Gold Division:
Champion vs. #1 Contender = Zti890 CAMMY/Zabi- VIPER vs. Fran_Gil BALROG
#2 vs. #3 = ElGeneral GUILE/Zti890 JURI vs. Deltron2020 RYU
#4 vs. #5 = xxUltimaCloudxx RUFUS vs. Skrface13 BLANKA
#8 vs. #9 = Haduken3 RUFUS vs. Flashfan7 BLANKA
Red Division:
Champion vs. #1 Contender = Shooryukenn BLANKA vs. Wauhti ROSE
#2 vs. #3 = Hedr1984 VEGA vs. Sk8dragon GEN
#4 vs. #5 = Klesk_1 ZANGIEF vs. Orkanmuoh23 DHALSIM
#8 vs. #9 = Hedr184 BISON vs. Ryumanjisen ABEL
The winning fighters from the above matches will makeup the Top 4 ranked fighters in the Gold and Red Divisions. These 4 ranked fighters will also serve as Captains for each regions team. That is a noteworthy title since each Captain will invite an additional fighter each to round out the region's team of 8 fighters. The Captains are free to choose ANY fighter in the league (note - invite the fighter, not specifically the member). Only a fighter in the SFCCL rankings is eligible to play, meaning a fighter not listed in the rankings cannot play in the Ryder Cup. For example, I play as Ken and Bison. I can only play in the Ryder Cup as one of these two characters - nothing else.
Again, the Captains are free to invite any fighter in the rankings. They could invite the next highest ranked fighter. They could invite a friend to play. They could invite a member who is volunteering to play. They could invite a newer member with impressive Capcom stats. They could even invite their own 2nd fighter they use themselves in the rankings. The invite could also be a strategic invitation by inviting a member's fighter who will provide a difficult matchup for the opposing team. With 4 of the 8 fighters automatically qualifying, half of the roster will be known in advance.
Each team will be awarded 1 point for each victory. All matches will be best 2 out of 3 five-round sets, just like normal weekly matches. Once defeated, a fighter is eliminated from the Ryder Cup competition. The first team to eliminate all of the opposing region's fighters, and thus receive all 8 points, will be declared the winner of the Ryder Cup. The title of "Grand Champion of the SFCCL" will then be given to the region's top division champion, either the Gold or Red Champion. I will create a new, separate page for the Ryder Cup so that everyone can easily follow along. The score could be anywhere between 8 to 0 all the way up to 8 to 7. The more matches, the more points for each team.
The highest ranked fighter from each region will face the lowest ranked fighter each round. For example, if the lowest European fighter is ranked #15 in the Blue Division, then the Gold Champion will fight the #15 Blue fighter in the opening round, and so forth. The final match is the only match where the Gold Champion could fight the Red Champion.
I will coordinate with all fighters so they know their matchups. These Ryder Cup matches will be in substitution to the involved fighters weekly matches - meaning they will not have their standard weekly matches for a fighter involved in the Ryder Cup, so the members involved won't have to worry about playing their weekly match. All fighters will retain their Week 9 rankings going into Week 10. This competition is meant to have a sense of national pride in your team and region. So do your best for your fellow members & countrymen! Each of us want to be the top champion of our region. This is a way to guarantee the title of 'Grand Champion' remains at the top of your region's rankings. There is no time limit on this event since we are dealing with inter-continental matches. However, any not played matches by the end of Week 9 will have to be 'Decided' to keep the event moving which I estimate could last two league weeks. If the event is still going on into Week 10, then all remaining fighters will have to play their standard weekly matches in Week 10.
If you want to play in the Ryder Cup but won't automatically qualify, then feel free to contact the above fighters to volunteer your services. We could definitely use members that want to play & have flexible playing times due to the time zone differences. Each member will be responsible to set a time to play. As results start coming in, I will update the Ryder Cup page and let the winning fighters know their next opponent.
This is the first time ever we will be running the Ryder Cup Tournament, so I do expect some 'hiccups'. Hopefully all involved members can find times to meet up & play, and hopefully lag is not a major problem. Any feedback is strongly encouraged as I hope to have two more Ryder Cup Tournaments this season.
DEADLINE FOR WEEK 8
Deadline for all Week 8 matches is Sunday, October 17th, 2010.
Good luck to all members this week!