SCL wrap up

This weekend saw the first (mostly) player run Eve Online tournament, the first month of the SCL. I did a little coverage on this event as it started up on Saturday, but honestly I wasn't expecting such a quality event.

Sure the commentators weren't 100% every time, but then I don't expect them to be. Yes, there were delays, both on the stream, the 7 second UI delay for one, or cutting to the repetitive ads before commentators finished talking, a by-product of clicking the "advert" button without accounting for the lag. Here's a tip for the SCL guys, three seconds of dead time allows all commentary to finish around the worth, but you press that "start adverts" button and that happens instantly. Sorry side tracked by the small things...

Yes there were scheduling delays in the macro sense, ie the hour long delay the start of the second day along with matches being delayed while things were worked out.

All that crap, forgotten. The quality of the event not only showed that the idea of competitive play in Eve is possible, it works great. Let me cover the winning formula.

1. Great teams of competitors. Pulling from the best in Eve, I'm sure there are other great competitors out there, but the ones that were present were showing off the skill of flying in a match as well as the meta surrounding practicing, fits and counter fits.
2. Knowledgeable staff, in both the Eve knowledgeable sense, but also technically savvy, experienced in streaming, experienced with the tourney.
3. Huge, amazing, stunning support from CCP Fozzie (more on this later).
4. Solid backing, in this case done by Eve-Bet, Monocle Madness and Somer Blink.
5. Good prize pool, contributed by the above sponsors for the players
6. Great in-event competitions for the watchers, both in the Eve chat channels, the SCL stream chat and other venues, like the Monocle Madness in game chat, and probably others, I'm sure the eve bet channel and the Somer channels were just as active as the MM channel.
7. Interim music - Even the music was good. Sure it wasn't exactly what I would have chosen to pass the time, as I was trying to solo pvp during the breaks, but still good stuff. Thanks to Pretty Lights for the music!
8. Three match format, forcing more than just a single win to determine the course of the tourney. Adds to the enjoyment, even adds to the drama. Reduces the chances of a miraculous finish like the Thorax rush, or the Rote Kapelle win against PL, but I think the trade off is worth it.

If you missed any of the action the replays are all parsed out, and up for review on twitch here.

My favorite matches :

• The marathon of matches for Insurance Fraud, Match 11 round 1 through Match 12 round 3. Some crazy back and forth matches there, just amazing that IF was able to come back after matches of that calibre again and again. Impressive stamina.
• Just about all of the Exodunks. matches - Match 3 Match 6 Match 7 Match 13 and Match 14
• Matches by Warlords were just an effort in dominance. Very impressive.

Congrats to Warlords of the Deep, winners of month 1 of the SCL! exciting to the last drop.

Now here are a few things I would suggest to make the event better in March.

1. More commentators. By the final matches the few that were available were burnt out, hoarse, and emotionally drained. They did great, but more "talent" in the pool would only help the situation.
2. More resources behind the scenes. Both for the AMAZING CCP Fozzie who not only worked a weekend without pay, BUT ALSO worked the event through the night, while sick (uphill both ways, naked, while in a white out blizzard). No shit, this guy is amazing. I know he reads this blog occasionally, Fozzie, you seriously blow my mind with this kind of work. Even if nobody else realizes it your dedication to events like this is why Eve and esports will only get better. Thank you! If you didn't know, you are my favorite Dev, SORRY PUNK!
3. Player resources behind the scene for SCL, in the form of guys on Twitter, taking over when the matches end to update the site and do some number crunching, update the site in more real-time.
4. Better community interaction. By better I just mean more-of. More interviews, more fansite/blog previews of the teams. Getting community buy in on the teams is super important, but unfortunately it isn's something that a small 300 word blurb about each team can do. I'm talking about a web-page for each team, dedicated coverage, interviews of key members, or strong performers.
5. Choosing a match MVP, especially for the finals, and single this person out for an after-match interview over skype, or perhaps a little after match gift, of isk or PLEX? Who knows, but individual acknowledgement is always good. And it doesn't have to be the team Captains every time, but they'd be a good start!
6. More post-match review. Including the tipping point and strategies used. Especially when people show up with non-standard fits that people not in-the-know can understand what those fits could have been useful for.
7. Mid-month review of the previous month's action. Like a one to two hour show detailing the action of the previous month, having the talking-heads, as it were, speak to the tactics and strategies used and ships used. Talk about the winning team and the tournament in general.

All in all, an amazing first showing, so much better than I was expecting. So much good PvP, great bets (even if I lost all my iskies). Bacchanalian posted up a great summary on the Eve forums from his perspective, that is well worth the read as well, and can be found here...

Great show guys. I look forward to next month! I will post dates and times as soon as I know them.

AT X - Group stages weekend 1 recap

Another Weekend in the books, filled with many more great and face-palming moments, but beyond the fights, there's a whole new level. That is, how are the groups panning out. Don't worry, we'll get there.

Highlights(lots)/Lowlights(not many)

Day 5

• HUN throw down with some Vargur love, teasing people with a Vargur shield tank, letting it drop armor before kicking it into overdrive and going 125 - 0!
• Agony Empire delivered a bore fest of a total win. Sucks that the Rook based setups seem to be doing so well this year. Really hate the monotony of the ECM dominated fights, not a lot of damage out there, makes for boring watching, still a very solid win.
• TEST drives the WINDICATOR , and wins.
• Two "underdog" wins in a row by FEARLESS and Cap. pun. that were good matches.
• Dead Terrorists and Heretics had an amazing back and forth match that went to time. DT 55 points, Heretics 76.25 points.
• Shout out to Exodus for putting together a solid team and taking some by surprise. Nice Flagship.
• Lots of pretty explosions (and fast) in this match. Once again showing that armor tanks can easily be overwhelmed by high (enough) DPS. We thank Suddenly Spaceships. and Shadow Cartel for their efforts in lighting up the screen.
• Rote "No boundaries" Kapelle decided discretion was the better part of valor when facing a tough RvB team that can only be taken as serious contenders, and attempted to run away. RvB wouldn't let us go without a fight, and quickly removed our pilots from their ships for daring to show their face on the field. (they weren't very nice!) I missed the match but got to watch twitter explode after RvB won. Didn't know that Jester was such a polarizing figure.

My predictions, well, they were pretty bad for the first day of group stages : 6/16. Ewww, that's 37.5% Let's see how well I did on Day 6.

Day 6

• Raivi's doubt single handedly allows Black Legion. to advance. He did do a good job on explaining why bringing fewer ships to a match is a bad idea. I appreciated it <3
• HUN show that their Vargur setup isn't just a fluke, and steamrolls again.
• Agony gives more proof that Vindi's are better, hull for hull than pairs of Talos' Stream failures messed up this match pretty bad, but not Agony.
• FA after being so good in the initial matches make everyone wonder wtf is happening, in particular watch for the scimi reps... on things that aren't taking any damage. n1
• "no boundaries" TEST beat out the Rote record and drive 4 ships out of bounds, making a certain Dev's day as he gets to press his kill button some more. Somehow they manage to win... making me head-scratch the rest of the day. Proving that they are the better violators.
• FEARLESS. redeem their terrible Vindicator use in the qualifiers, pushing down hard on Capital Punishment. and coming away with a win.
• Heritic Nation provided a nice counter to the Vindicator, killing off a strong Gorgon Empire team featuring two Vindi's, and a disconnected Bhaalgorn that cost GE the match.
• In a Match of rock vs paper, or I guess I should say ROOK(Dead Terrorists) vs paper(Exodus), the paper wrapped up those rooks, deploying a mass of drones to avoid those pesky jams. In Bolton's word, out of context, "ownzoned"
• Shadow Cartel has a slugging match with PZZA and barely lose. Great match to watch.
• Another flagship down when Suddenly Spaceships attack!
• RvB shows up for a win again, successfully trouncing Kill it With Fire.
• Probably the match of the tourney happens when PL vs Rote heats up. PL brought a gutsy setup, complete with two Bhaalgorns, including their flagship Bhaalgorn, for posterity, everything on that Bhaalgorn that CAN be pimped legally according to the AT rules, is. Then on top of their already 20BIL isk Bhaalgorn they brought in four AT9 tournament prizes, the Malice, who's hulls are likely 30 bil alone! Rote brings a Sleipnir setup, that's 8 points under, to help drive up their points total if they win, and dives into the 160bil PL setup like their hair is on fire. I've seen the fight about 10 times now, and each time it's amazing. If you watch nothing else, watch this fight, full screen, lights off, sound up. "The most tense I've been in a long time..." Just so you know, the odds against Rote were 3:1 on Monocle Madness and 11:1 in some other places. DAMN IT!

Somehow, as if pre-inspired by the Rote win, my predictions managed to recover, going from crap to savant in just one 24 hour period.  It makes sense that I had no chance to run any bets on Sunday, and lost most of my bets on Saturday. Still 13/16 correct is 81.25%!

Giving me a combined two day average of 19/32 or 59.3%. Steps in the right direction I tell you!

Upcoming : Predictions for the last day of the group stages and likely FINALS PREDICTIONS (in b4 I predict rote to win it all.)

Exclusive Interview with the Mind behind the Syndicate Regional Alliance Tournament

Today I am lucky to have with me Apathetic Brent, Pilot of STIMULUS and Rote Kapelle, organizer of the first Syndicate Regional Alliance Tournament(SRAT). A 'respected' poster on FHC, Brent decided to take his love for the Alliance tournament a step further and organize a multi-alliance, multi-standings, neutral ground, brawl to the death. The double elimination tourney began to take shape, with various Syndicate regional Alliances and near-by neighbors looking to enter the contest

On the weekends of the fourth and Fifth of February the first four matches of the SRAT took place, their outcomes linked here. And last weekend the final matches took place, crowning the first regional Champion, Rote Kapelle. Before we dive into those results, a look at the capsuleer and the struggle of the organization of the first Syndicate Regional Alliance Tournament.

Welcome to Eve-Opportunist Brent, it is a pleasure to have you.

Thank you


What experience do you have in Eve? Give me a bit of a run-down of your eve-history and your AT history.

I started playing EVE in 07 as a carebear.  The bear corp i was in was wardecd by a group and I lost a few ships.  I asked the guy who killed me what to do to start pvping.  He told me to hop in a caracal and sit in a belt in passari.  I think we all know how that story ends.  From there I gained a little bit of experience in a low sec corp before leaving the game for a year.

When I came back, FW was out and I joined that and got my first 500 kills.  Cut my teeth in fcing, which basically just amounted to what not to primary.  I didn’t start learning about the intricacies of FCing until later on in my eve career when I flew under Garmon, Gobbins, and FMercury.  A bunch of us caldari FW guys made an alliance and we were about 100-150 strong.  We moved to Syndicate and started pewing.  The alliance started failing and some of us merged in to Important Internet Spaceship League.  This was before all they cared about was sov.  This was back when they were still decent.  I participated in every aspect of planning, practicing, and piloting in that years alliance tournament (2010?).

Once BDEAL moved to a sov holding entity me and some friends created our own corp and left bdeal.  We were true small gang.  Our normal activity was 2-8 pilots.  We had some really good pilots, and had a great time.  Most of us lost our will to play eve and started playing LoL.  After about a year I got the itch again and started playing EVE.   After I came back I joined Rote Kapelle, but too late to participate in last years AT.


So let's dive right into the tourney, When did you first have the idea for Syndicate Regional Alliance Tournament (SRAT)?

Well I'm all about making people in to better pilots.  I don't want anyone in Rote Kapelle to be an F1 pusher.  Things like the tournament force people to think on an individual level.  Getting some extra practice for the real alliance tournament didn't hurt either.

What was your first step to seeing if it was possible, and who were the first people you contacted, what was the general response?

The first thing I did was talk to my CEO, Cassius Longinus, and see what he thought about it.  He told me it was a great idea, and would speak volumes if I was able to pull it off.  From there I went to Failheap and posted in the Syndicate section of warfare and politics about it.  I was just trying to see if anyone else would be interested in participating.  At first everyone was saying it would be awesome.  But then when sign ups came, people rolled in rather slowly.  I came up with eight different alliances that were interested and decided to go with it.

When did you start fully organizing the event?

January third is when I had Entrox set up a sub forum on FHC for team captains to discuss rules.

How many hours/days/weeks did it take to come together?

Brent : After the forum was set up I spent 2-3 hours a night for about two weeks doing one thing or another related to organization of the event.  The biggest hurdle we ran in to was that I made rule making a democracy.  I wanted to get everyone's opinion on something before we made it an official rule.  We DID steal the point scheme from the normal Alliance Tournament, so other than Tier 3 bcs that part of it was rather smooth sailing.

Did you want to give the tourney up at any point?

Heh.  A hundred times.  Until we got to the "shootin people" part of it, there was a lot of effort for what felt like very little return, this compounded by that fact that our original eight teams dropped to five for various reasons.

Was there much friction working with groups that are otherwise unfriendly towards each other and our Alliance, Rote Kapelle?

Surprisingly, no.  We all behaved ourselves.  I was one guy on the forums, or talking in private convos to people.  In local or on public forums I was the same old guy calling everyone a faggot.  Everyone involved did a good job of keeping eve politics separate from the tournament.

How did you overcome friction if there was any?

Lubrication

Who were the participants, were there any alliances that were asked to take part but declined or Alliances that wanted to take part but unable to field a team?

The original participants were:
Rote Kapelle
Agony Empire
I-Red
Sedition
Flatline
Flying Dangerous
Clockwork Pineapple
Narwhals

Sedition, I-Red, and Agony did not end up participating.  Agony ended up not being able to field a full ten man team and elected to provide refs instead, which ended up being invaluable.  I don't know why I-Red didn't participate.  It was a bit irritating that John Revenent wouldn't even talk to me and explain why.  Sedition had its tournament captain leave the alliance half way through the planning stages and they pretty much dropped out at that point.

Was it originally intended as srs tourney like it turned out, or was that a later development and it was just going to be a troll or trap for epic kills?

It was always meant to be a serious tournament.  Some of it was hard to keep that way because of a lack of defined structure and protocols, but we made it work.

You are also one of the team captains for the (champion) Rote Kapelle team, was RK supportive of your efforts to organize the tourney or was it an uphill fight there as well?

I wish I could say that it was all roses and cherries, but it wasn't.  Isk wise everything was a breeze.  One person gave me the entry fee and the other gave me a large chunk for ship/implant costs.  It's hard for us to get twenty people to participate in practices for CCP's alliance tournament, and much harder yet for something smaller scale.  I kept my staff of advisers small, and they were all very helpful.  In the end we had to practice with another team in the tournament to get practices going.

Will there be another SRAT in the future?

I plan on running another one down the road.  As to when: who knows.  Once the bitter has worn off a bit

Will that be easier to manage in the second round?

Much easier.  Now that we have a set of rules in place and we know what we'll be facing in the future it won’t be such an ominous task.

Will you look for better promotion of the event next time or keep it fairly low-key. Like possibly a buy-in from CCP or promotions from BLINK lotteries or EOH?

Yes. This was fairly low dollar on the individual alliance level, and I'd like to keep it that way so it's still easy for smaller entities to participate.  We did some live streaming for this tournament, and that went well.  Our biggest issue is not being able to tell the whole story via live stream.  We don't have a nice interface like CCP does to show 20 ships at once.  Next time we'll probably get on board with EOH and/or Blink so we can get better prizepools.

What were the prizes for placing in the tourney?

We did a 1B isk buy in for each team, winner take all.  Rote put in an extra plex on top of that, but we won vOv.

Besides you as the main organizer, were there any other main contributors or people you would like to thank?

I'm sure every team captain has people on their end that they would like to thanks, but as far as tournament setup and organization is concerned I'd like to thank Crazy Vania of Agony Empire.  He was slated to be agony's team captain, but had to drop out because he didn't have enough pilots in the time zone to participate.  Instead, he was a referee for us for all of the matches.  He did his job very well, and made my job much easier.  Aside from that, I'd just like to thank all of the teams that participated.  This went smoother than I could have imagined and I owe it to all of the teams showing amazing sportsmanship.


Will Rote Kapelle repeat [as champions] next time?

Absolutely.

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With Brent at the helm of the Rote team, the future looks bright . Of course a little bit of practice for the upcoming CCP sponsored Alliance tournament didn't hurt either.