But before we get there, we must first run the gauntlet that is SUPER BRAWL. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback about the final, grand tournament that will cap the SFCCL season. Basically, it’s a free-for-all where every member & fighter will have one last chance to prove they are the best in the SFCCL. The final Gold Champion.
The tournament will begin this Monday, March 8th. I wanted to take this opportunity to put forth the details of how the tournament will work, including unveiling the bracket for the first time. This will give everyone a general idea on how the tournament will flow. It is a single-elimination tournament with the standard SFCCL matches (best 2 out of 3 five-round matches). Every member & their fighter will be seeded in the tournament. Your final ranking/seeding will be determined and finalized at the end of Week 25, based on your final match results. Win, move up the rankings, and therefore, receive a higher seed. Lose, fall in the rankings, which results in a lower seed. The lowest ranked members/fighters will play in the 1st round (play-in) before advancing to the main bracket.
Here is the first picture of the complete bracket, beginning with the 2nd round of 128-fighters. My apologies if the pictures are not very clear - a consequence with the brackets being so big & attempting to fit the entire bracket on a single screen. As the tournament progresses, the information will be easier to read.
To compensate, I will be posting specific bracket pictures to better visualize each colored bracket (Red, Blue, Green, & Black). The colors are there only for easy reference. I will also list the matches like I usually do for the weekly matches to make it easier to understand who your opponent is. The brackets are a visual tool for those inclined to see who they will fight next.
To understand how the seeds from #1 to #136 will be derived, here is a sample. The Gold Champion (UltimaCloud’s Rufus) will be the #1 seed in the tournament, and this, will have the easiest path to the finals. This is a standard placing in any bracket, as can be seen in the NCAA basketball tournament as well as the NFL and NBA playoff brackets. The rest of the seeds will logically follow the division rankings. Specifically, the #2 seed will be the Gold Division #1 contender, the #3 seed will be the #2 Gold Division ranked fighter, and so forth.
Some may think that the Silver Division champion would be the #2 seed in the tournament. That is incorrect. All Gold fighters are considered to be ranked higher than the Silver Champion. All Silver fighters are considered ranked higher than the Bronze Champion. That is why every fighter moves up the rankings and into new higher divisions. Therefore, all Gold Division fighters will be seeded before any Silver Division fighters.
Below is a short listing of how the seeds relate to the division rankings:
2nd Round 128-fighter seeding
#2Seed=GoldDivision#1rankvs.#133/134Seed=EDivision#20/21rank
#3Seed=GoldDivision#2rankvs.#131/132Seed=EDivision#18/19rank
#4Seed=GoldDivision#3rankvs.#129/130Seed=EDivision#16/17rank
#5Seed=GoldDivision#4rankvs.#127/128Seed=EDivision#14/15rank
#6Seed=GoldDivision#5rankvs.#125/126Seed=EDivision#12/13rank
#7Seed=GoldDivision#6rankvs.#123/124Seed=EDivision#10/11rank
#8Seed=GoldDivision#7rankvs.#121/122Seed=EDivision#8/9rank
#9Seed=GoldDivision#8rankvs.#120Seed=EDivision#7rank
#10Seed=GoldDivision#9rankvs.#119Seed=EDivision#6rank
#11Seed=GoldDivision#10rankvs.#118Seed=EDivision#5rank
#12Seed=GoldDivision#11rankvs.#117Seed=EDivision#4rank
#13Seed=GoldDivision#12rankvs.#116Seed=EDivision#3rank
#14Seed=GoldDivision#13rankvs.#115Seed=EDivision#2rank
#15Seed=GoldDivision#14rankvs.#114Seed=EDivision#1rank
#16Seed=GoldDivision#15rankvs.#113Seed=EDivisionChampion
#17Seed=SilverDivisionChampionvs.#112Seed=DDivision#15rank
#18Seed=SilverDivision#1rankvs.#111Seed=DDivision#14rank
#19Seed=SilverDivision#2rankvs.#110Seed=DDivision#13rank
#20Seed=SilverDivision#3rankvs.#109Seed=DDivision#12rank
#21Seed=SilverDivision#4rankvs.#108Seed=DDivision#11rank
#22Seed=SilverDivision#5rankvs.#107Seed=DDivision#10rank
#23Seed=SilverDivision#6rankvs.#106Seed=DDivision#9rank
#24Seed=SilverDivision#7rankvs.#105Seed=DDivision#8rank
#25Seed=SilverDivision#8rankvs.#104Seed=DDivision#7rank
#26Seed=SilverDivision#9rankvs.#103Seed=DDivision#6rank
#27Seed=SilverDivision#10rankvs.#102Seed=DDivision#5rank
#28Seed=SilverDivision#11rankvs.#101Seed=DDivision#4rank
#29Seed=SilverDivision#12rankvs.#100Seed=DDivision#3rank
#30Seed=SilverDivision#13rankvs.#99Seed=DDivision#2rank
#31Seed=SilverDivision#14rankvs.#98Seed=DDivision#1rank
#32Seed=SilverDivision#15rankvs.#97Seed=DDivisionChampion
#33Seed=BronzeDivisionChampionvs.#96Seed=CDivision#15rank
#34Seed=BronzeDivision#1rankvs.#95Seed=CDivision#14rank
#35Seed=BronzeDivision#2rankvs.#94Seed=CDivision#13rank
#36Seed=BronzeDivision#3rankvs.#93Seed=CDivision#12rank
#37Seed=BronzeDivision#4rankvs.#92Seed=CDivision#11rank
#38Seed=BronzeDivision#5rankvs.#91Seed=CDivision#10rank
#39Seed=BronzeDivision#6rankvs.#90Seed=CDivision#9rank
#40Seed=BronzeDivision#7rankvs.#89Seed=CDivision#8rank
#41Seed=BronzeDivision#8rankvs.#88Seed=CDivision#7rank
#42Seed=BronzeDivision#9rankvs.#87Seed=CDivision#6rank
#43Seed=BronzeDivision#10rankvs.#86Seed=CDivision#5rank
#44Seed=BronzeDivision#11rankvs.#85Seed=CDivision#4rank
#45Seed=BronzeDivision#12rankvs.#84Seed=CDivision#3rank
#46Seed=BronzeDivision#13rankvs.#83Seed=CDivision#2rank
#47Seed=BronzeDivision#14rankvs.#82Seed=CDivision#1rank
#48Seed=BronzeDivision#15rankvs.#81Seed=CDivisionChampion
#49Seed=ADivisionChampionvs.#80Seed=BDivision#15rank
#50Seed=ADivision#1rankvs.#79Seed=BDivision#14rank
#51Seed=ADivision#2rankvs.#78Seed=BDivision#13rank
#52Seed=ADivision#3rankvs.#77Seed=BDivision#12rank
#53Seed=ADivision#4rankvs.#76Seed=BDivision#11rank
#54Seed=ADivision#5rankvs.#75Seed=BDivision#10rank
#55Seed=ADivision#6rankvs.#74Seed=BDivision#9rank
#56Seed=ADivision#7rankvs.#73Seed=BDivision#8rank
#57Seed=ADivision#8rankvs.#72Seed=BDivision#7rank
#58Seed=ADivision#9rankvs.#71Seed=BDivision#6rank
#59Seed=ADivision#10rankvs.#70Seed=BDivision#5rank
#60Seed=ADivision#11rankvs.#69Seed=BDivision#4rank
#61Seed=ADivision#12rankvs.#68Seed=BDivision#3rank
#62Seed=ADivision#13rankvs.#67Seed=BDivision#2rank
#63Seed=ADivision#14rankvs.#66Seed=BDivision#1rank
#64Seed=ADivision#15rankvs.#65Seed=BDivisionChampion
A word of caution. Don't look at your Week 25 ranking and then assume the seed above will be your seed for SUPER BRAWL. The rainkings will all change following the end of Week 25 based on the results of the matches. So your final ranking may be higher if you won your match this week, or lower if you lost.
You might notice that the bracket containing the #1 seed, Cloud’s Rufus, also contains the #17 seed (Silver Division champion) and the #33 seed (Bronze Division champion). Again, these seeds are considered lower than the Gold Division fighters. The same Red Bracket also the #8 and #9 seeds (Gold Division #9 and #10 ranked fighters), albeit on the other side of the Red Bracket. These are the actually the highest seeds in the Red Bracket after the #1 seed, and by tournament standards, are a bigger threat than the #17 and #33 seed fighters. Of course, the actual play will determine which fighters are better.
In an ideal League, where no one quits, gets kicked out, or joins late, the rankings become a better reflection of skill. That is something I am taking into consideration as I ponder a second season of the SFCCL on SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV. More details on that at a later date.
In order to have a balanced bracket, we need a perfect number of fighters. The closest perfect number to the total number of fighters we currently have (136 fighters) is 128. Why? For those mathematically challenged, 128 fighters becomes 64 becomes 32 becomes 16 becomes 8 becomes 4 becomes 2 becomes 1. A bracket of 128-fighters creates a balanced tournament where there are no byes or empty rounds. To compare, the NCAA basketball tournament has 64 teams. The SUPER BRAWL tournament is twice as big.
However, since we have 136 fighters to begin with, we need an opening, play-in round to cut that number down to 128. In summary, we have 8 fighters to many, which are mostly comprised of our newest members. To give them a fair shot, the bottom 8 fighters will challenge the next lowest 8 fighters in the 1st round of the tournament. The winners then move on to the full, 128-fighers bracket (2nd round) of the tournament. Below is a diagram of which seeds (rankings) will fight in the 1st round:
Some may be asking why I allow any new members this late into the season, just as we are beginning out end-of-the-season tournament. I’ve have always welcomed all players into the SFCCL. I am not going to stop doing that now just because we are at the end of the season. Furthermore, the more players we have in this tournament, the better it is in my opinion. Who doesn’t want the best challenge in this tournament? It’s quite possible that someone just joining is actually the best fighter in the League. To prove that, however, they will literally have to go through everybody else in the SFCCL. And I kind of like that. Plus, as a sort of ‘punishment’ for joining so late, they will have to play one extra match to join the main bracket.
Finally, it goes without saying, so of course, I have to say it. I will have very little patience for matches that are not played in this tournament. It’s a vile disease that has plagued this League all year long, and I have had just about enough of it. It’s one of the main reasons I look to revamp and possibly contract this League for next season, if there is a ‘next season’. Your past season of forfeits will come into play in determining who the winner is in an unplayed match. Other factors will also be weight-in (like completing your other match in the tournament - one for each fighters). Any forfeit is basically the end of your season. If you don’t play either of your matches, your season is over. Simple. Thanks for playing…or should I say ‘not-playing’.
Every round of the tournament will also have a deadline. The 1st round only has 8 matches (as of now). That will have a maximum 7-day window to play, but should end sooner. The 2nd round, which is the biggest round with 64 matches, will have the standard 2-week period to complete the matches. Every round following that will have less and less matches, so the deadline will become shorter and shorter. I expect those advancing in the tournament to become more motivated and interested in their progress that the percentage of completed matches will go higher and higher each round, until we are at 100% completion. The overall plan is to have this grand tournament complete by the time SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV is released in late April, if not much sooner. With the matches and brackets clearly posted, I don’t have a problem, in fact, I encourage winners to play their match in the next round if possible. The deadlines are simply the dates a round will be closed ensureing the tournament is consistently moving forward. Actual matches may be going on several rounds ahead if everyone completes their matches. Basically, the members of the SFCCL will dictate the speed of the tournament.
Sorry for the long blog. But I wanted all the details to be clearly laid out for everyone to see & read. This type of event isn't something that can be done without a lot of planning. And I wanted to be sure everyone knew the bracekts and rules going in, as I have never wanted to be accused of not being fair to every single member, including myelf.
Good luck. Get your matches done for Week 25. And be ready for something completely unique and perhaps historical on the PSN. Long live the SFCCL!