How much fun is double posting right?
Do you have friends or know people who are interested in coming to a tourney but they are not sure what to expect, well me and gords wrote up a new player primer for people who havent been to a tourney before, if people are interested in tourneys, show them this post (also gords plz quote in the OP ty ty)
Coming to your first tournament can sometimes seem like a daunting experience, so this guide is here to help you know what to expect.
TO's
Tournament Organizers:
Thomas Upfold
Tag: SummonerAU
Position: Event Manager, Head Tournament Organizer
Phone: 0478247873
Gordon Ranger
Tag: Gords
Position: Head Tournament Organizer, Finance and Scheduling Manager
phone: 0433671938
Nathaniel Coughran
Tag: EVAL
Position: Technology and Production Manager
Bryte Hagan
tag: Zxv
position: Assistant Tournament Organizer
Luke Atyeo
Tag: Ace
Position: Assistant Tournament organizer
Bring your own controller
Make sure you bring your own controller, occasionally people will have spares for you to borrow but this is usually pretty rare. If your controller option of choice uses batteries (eg wiimote, WiiU Pro controller, etc) make sure you have extra batteries, charging cables, etc since spares of these controllers and their charging equipment are practically non existent.
If you can, bring a setup
Bringing setups (Monitors for WiiU, CRT TVs, consoles with smash games, power boards, etc) is a community thing and we could always do with more setups, the more setups that are brought the better and faster the tournament will run, and the more likely we will get time for the extra fun stuff and friendlies. In general there is an attitude of "if you can bring a setup please do." For most peoples first tournament, if you feel uncomfortable bringing a setup you are by no means obligated or expected to bring one, I would recommend that you don't at first just to make things a bit easier and simpler for you.
LABEL EVERYTHING!
Sometimes pieces of equipment occasionally get confused if they are unmarked, or left behind (in which case if its unmarked we don't know who it belongs to). Labeling any and all of your belonging is a very good idea and will greatly reduce the likeliness that someone else mixes your things with theirs (and vice versa).
Making your controller look unique is a good way of making it identifiably yours, most people do this by putting a sticker of some kind (pokemon stickers are usually pretty common) on the controller so that they can identify it. Custom paint jobs are another idea.
If you do decide to bring a setup it is highly recommended that you mark that setup as being yours (usually people write their name on a piece of masking tape and tape it to the console/tv)
Try to be on time
Tournament organizers have to create pools and brackets which takes time, so if you aren't there on time chances are you will miss out on being entered. If you are running late by a little bit letting us know helps a lot as we can enter you into your desired games while we are creating the pools and/or brackets. The best people to contact are Gordon Ranger - (0433671938) or Thomas Upfold - (0478247873)
The Tournament Format
Tournaments here in Sydney usually have two stages:
Pools
The first stage is known as pools. This is where the entrants are separated into groups with approximately the same number of players. They are randomized and are also usually seeded, which means that the trending top players at the time all get a seed. These seeded players get separated which prevents stacked pools (that is pools that are unbalanced with too many top players in a single pool).
There are 2 different formats that pools can take.
Round Robin Pools - each player will play each other player in their pool and the results will be recorded and tallied. The players are then ranked within their pools by their Wins and losses. The advantage of this format is that everyone gets in a lot of games however the disadvantage is that it takes up a lot of time.
Bracket Pools - players in a pool get put into a small DE bracket (see below) which is played out except for grand finals of that bracket. Bracket pools is mainly a method of separating a large DE Bracket, that includes all entrants, into manageable chunks so that the event runs more smoothly and on time. The disadvantage with this format is that some players won't get much tournament matches in but since it saves a lot of time over Round Robin pools it is sometimes necessary for an event to finish on time.
The actual format used at any event changes depending on how much time we have and whether there is enough setups for number of entrants, but we will always confirm what format we are using at the start of the event.
The (DE) Bracket
Usually, only the top two placing players from each pool moves through to the second stage.
The second stage will be a Double Elimination (DE) Bracket, which is a bracket that has a winners bracket and a losers bracket in it. When you lose the first time you drop out of winners bracket and into losers bracket, if you lose again while in losers bracket you are out of the tournament. The winner of the winners bracket and the winner of the losers bracket go on to face each other in the grand finals, which means that if you are knocked into losers bracket, you still have a chance to win the entire tournament.
If you make it into bracket remember you need to lose twice before you are eliminated.
Here is an example of a double elimination bracket, the winners bracket is the right side whilst the losers bracket is on the left side.
How it works
Each pool will have a pool captain, this is somebody chosen on the day by the tournament organizers and is always someone who has been around a while and is familiar with how things work. When you get called out for your pool, you will be gathered with the other people in your pool and introduced to your pool captain and your pool will be assigned TVs to play on. The pool captain will be running your individual pool so stick by them and if you have any questions or are confused about anything don't hesitate to talk to them, they are there to help you out and help the tournament run smoothly for all. If you are unhappy with your pool captain's answer or decision, they disappear or anything else, don't hesitate to come talk to one of the TO's in the list above. Your pool captain will have a clipboard that has some quick rules and stage lists on it, so if you are unsure about stages etc, ask them if you can have a look at it, its also a good idea to have a quick looks as stage lists and such might change from time to time.
Each Bracket is usually run by one of the TOs listed above, with a Head TO overseeing the whole thing and how the brackets are interacting with each other and the live stream. If you make it into the bracket the TOs will let you know when and where to play your matches. Even if you know who you are to play against and they are free please don't just go ahead and play it but check with the TO first if it's ok. The TO may either need to use the available TV for someone else's Set or you and/or your opponent may be required to play a Set in a different game, both of which will likely need to be prioritized in order for the event to run smoothly.
Again, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask the TO in charge of your bracket
Some Etiquette
Most setups will be dedicated to tournament usage at the start of the day, which means little to no friendlies. If at anytime you are asked to stop playing so someone can play out their tournament match please do so immediately. Similarly, if you are asked to play a tournament match please stop your friendlies and do so immediately. This helps the tournament run to schedule and later in the day, when some players are knocked out, we will have more setups than needed so there will be plenty of time to play friendlies.
Remember to LEARN and most of all, have FUN
As a new player in this environment you should not expect to win right away, but you should learn from the experiences and grow as a player and community member. If you lose quickly at a tournament don't be discouraged, most players have been practicing hard and playing competitively for a while and have more experience, but if you stick around for a bit and practice you will find yourself catching up to their skill level pretty quickly.
Here is a message and some amazing advice from NAKAT (one of the top players in the world) to new players, that he made on stream.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHBuY5dsBpk
You are encouraged to play some friendlies (when available) to get some more practice and experience and to get to know people. You should introduce yourself to people rather than waiting for them to introduce themselves to you, people at tourneys are pretty nice and will be happy to meet you and play games with you, don't be shy!
Asking experienced players for tips or advice is never a bad thing, people will always be happy to share them with you.
Always remember that you having a great experience is important to us, so if you feel you are not having a great experience let us know and we'll work with you towards making each and every tournament as much fun as they can be for you and for all.
Get involved
After the tournament is finished, don't just wait for the next one. Get involved in the scene. If you haven't already, you should join Smashboards and the Sydney/ACT Smash Facebook group (links provided below), it's a great way to learn, ask questions, find people to play (either online or close to you) and make new friends. There are many more things happening than just tournaments and many community members have impromptu meets where they invite other smashers over to their places, most of which are posted on Facebook and smashboards.
The Smash Community can become one of the best communities you have been involved in and many members have formed close life-long friendships with other smashers, not only in Sydney but all throughout Australia and even overseas. So get involved, we would love to have you.
Sydney/ACT Super Smash Bros. Scene on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/145359035665748/
Australian Forums on Smashboards
http://smashboards.com/forums/australia.252/
Sydney Thread in the Australian forums on Smashboards
http://smashboards.com/threads/1525726481035745.366938/
