The finals of a huge tournament
thousands of dollars on the line
the last round of the set
both at their last stock
player one trips!
player 2 downsmashes!
player 2 just got 2,000 more dollars than player 1
makes sense!
good game!
Yeah...there's a reason why I don't play Brawl. That's it--well, that and many other reasons.
But I totally agree with something like 60/30/10. Or even 60/25/15, if you want third place to get a little more. That's why competition is there. By your split, you're only getting 4% more for first place. That means, out of a $400, first place is going to take $148, and second place is going to take $132--that's a difference of how much? $16. Big whoop.
But let's change this up. Let's say you're using the first model I had. That means first place is taking $240, and second place is taking $120. Yeah, you're going to be playing a lot harder to win that match.
And you can't say money isn't a factor in how hard you play. Tell me: If you're in a tournament, are you going to play just as hard if you're only going to get $16 more rather than $120? Or let's raise the stakes even. Are you going to play just as hard if you're going to get $16 more, or if you're either getting $1,000,000 if you win, and nothing if you lose.
Money is a factor. That's why it raises the stakes. It
does make matches more epic.
And plus: Even though money's a factor, it's just money. It's not like we need to even the playing field here. No one's going to die if they don't end up winning some cash at a Melee tournament. If they've had the time to put into getting good at Melee, chances are they're fine financially (or at least to the degree that winning a tournament wouldn't really help them much).
Furthermore, we're not children here. We can handle the idea of loss. If five-year olds were entering and the difference was between 5 pieces of candy and 3, sure--even it out and give them four each or whatever. But that's not the case here, we're not kids who need a handicap. Honestly, I'd either be insulted if someone asked me to split the pool (if they're trying to 'cut me a break') or I'd either think they're just scared and know I'll take first anyway. The thing is, it's only when stakes are raised high that people play from their hearts.
Here's an example: My friend and I will play Melee a ton together--we just do friendlies. We go almost even with each other (I'm a little better), but for some reason he'll win a bit more of the matches than me. Why? There are no stakes. I'm not losing anything by losing to him. I don't really care--I just use it as practice and to have fun. So I SD all I want and try the most ridiculous things. But at the end of the night we tend to do a best 3 out of 5. Almost every time I absolutely wreck him (it's not his fault, I just play with better people--he doesn't have anyone near him
). Why? Because I started caring--the stakes were raised. To me, that said who was the better player. We both try much harder--and this is without money involved, mind you.
See, if the players at the finals weren't
really losing anything--or even if you decreased the stakes at all, they're not going to play as hard. And if you don't believe that stakes determine how hard you play, think about this: Would you play the same way in a friendly as you would if you were playing to save your life?
High stakes=Epic matches.
And plus, this is competition, right? If you're entering, you'd better be prepared for the possibility of losing.
