I obviously don't go to Regionals, but I agree with what Daniel posted on Gamers (I've copied it here):



So 2. I think it's clearly the fairest method - for example, it would be totally unfair for the top placed finisher to get a much tougher matchup in their semi-final because the 4th seed has pulled out and been replaced.

Another thing about moving someone up - the person who drops out of the playoffs should at WORST be the 4th/8th place finisher in the tourney.

If someone moves up to take their place, how does that affect the final standings? If I made it into the playoffs (LOL) but had to leave, I'd probably still want the bragging rights. It's kind of an asterisk in the record books situation...

I voted forfeit on the question of fairness, but I also very much agree with sentiments I've seen expressed emphasizing the importance of people getting to play as many games as they can. For the fun factor, as well as recognizing the time/cost involved in going to major tournaments.

It's messy, and fortunately a rare situation. I think markedman247's procedure is pretty good, the 2nd most fair way to handle it, so long as the person dropping out is doing so for legitimate reasons.

I clicked the wrong one, is there no way to change my vote?

Just say which one you clicked, and then tell us which you'd like. We'll take it into account

I think 3, more finalists would mean better rounds in the finals and more people

I'd go for option 4 or preferably offer of a draw/no contest/no result taken, as that seems fairest to all (no one moves, its scrubbed or moved to a new day), especially given that its outside of the top 4 players control that they have to leave...
(definitely penalize repeat offenders who abuse this at multiple events as a tactic)

Option 6, in the event of such a ludicrous situation where a member of the Top 4 has to suddenly leave the game venue for no reason... and option 2 cant be chosen, go to best of 3 scissors paper rock among the other members...

I agree. If it's all about match-ups, and it's luck of the draw, if there's a forfeit the benefit should go to the top player, not the player lucky enough to have his opponent drop out. The player who dropped out should be re-seeded as the 8-seed. Bump everyone else up.

+1 to this comment.


However, I differ on sthlrd's points about Option 4. It sounds good on paper. And in a small tournament that doesn't matter for anything, I wouldn't really have a problem with someone being bumped up. But if I'm in the playoffs of a significant tournament (Regionals, Championship) and this happens, I can guarantee that I will say no every time, if I will be the person who loses the free win. That's not to be mean or selfish or nasty, but it's a competition, and in a competition you don't take unnecessary risks.

So really, when it matters, Option 4 will always force one player to have to choose between these two unattractive options:
--his chances of winning and
--being the good guy or not pissing off someone (a friend, a non-friend, etc).

Nobody likes whistle-blowers, and nobody likes opportunity-killers. And yet Option 4 will inevitably force someone to either be the jerk or else take an unnecessary risk that potentially puts him out of the competition. I know that some people aren't afraid to be "the jerk" (not that they are jerks, but they aren't swayed by public opinion very much) and I also know that some people will absolutely choose to allow the new player in, even when they know they'll likely lose. That's fine if they don't mind losing...but if they actually want a chance at winning, then it's a miserable position to put them in. Therefore I think that Option 4 is a bad idea in a competitive tournament.

It wasn't exactly this position. It all happened so fast with little to no conversation. The judge was never involved. If we would have all been together and the judge said "look, here's the situation, here's the options, this is what I think." I would have very much been "The Jerk" and said ok give me the win, who am I facing in the finals. There was no system, no order, it was just all jumbled with no judge involvement.
If its Chaos around, then I choose friends first. Maybe that means that ill die in an apocalyptic world or a zombie invasion but so be it. To me it's about the order of things and how things are handled. I'm not a fighter that way. When people start arguing and chaos presumes, then I'm out, I don't need it. We are all adults and we should be able to be human and discuss things reasonably. If that happens then I will gladly state what I think should happen. I don't want to add another voice in a loud environment when everyone is yelling everything. Everyone at this tournament, I respect and like a great deal, we could have handled it better. With that, I said what I needed to say, if you don't agree, fine, but I'm out.

Idea: have the fifth place person play with the person's squad that left, then in the record books, write down (person that left)/(person that took over). For instance, if I was in 4th, but I dropped out, and knappskirata was in 5th, it would be written 501 Trooper/knappskirata. This way, It would keep the competition the same, without anyone getting a sort of by round, and would solve swinefelds issue of the record books.