Rank: Moderator
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Joined: 9/23/2008
Posts: 1,487
Location: Lower the Hutt, New Zealand
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After a year of planning, after a year of preparation, after a year of trash-talking and squad-planning, The First Ever New Zealand SWM Tournament is over!
Before we wrap-up this festival of miniature awesomeness, first let us congratulate: Graham/TheHutts! who yet again showed us his class and took out another major tournament without dropping a game. He is a student of the game in every possible way and his hard work has paid off. Kudos!
Anyhoo, here I want to take the chance to wrap up for you this first tournament: what happened, what went well, what might we do better…
The Build Up
This tournament did actually take a year to organise. There was a whole heap of prep-work, planning and trying to build excitement that happened behind the scenes. Add to this, there was a fantastic buzz that came from you guys, the players, and that made for an exciting time. I’ve never heard players say they were nervous before a tournament and heaps of you were!
I need to, at this time, thank some people for their hard work. UrbanJedi (Jason) from the US needs a round of applause and a medal of some kind for going out of his way to get us prize support from the States. Everyone from BlooMilk, SWMgamers, the SHNN and SWMiniverse for their support of our attempts to run this thing. Kav and the guys at Pulsar Max for accepting Vsets so readily and sending Stuart to compete. To Tim, Oli and Rich for coming so far. The Save11 guys for supporting me so much! Hamish for publishing our little SWM world to the region in the DomPost! And lastly, my wife Jo for putting up with me during all this.
The Tournament
I love the feeling when you first arrive at a venue and the people begin piling in. That first hour when you go from a 5-6 folk to 20 people and everyone laughing, shaking hands, excited chatter… it really is quite awesome. We started with a two round Epic Duos tournament – mainly to have a blast. After the two rounds we could squeeze in, Dave, Mike and Danny were the unbeaten three.
Anyhoo, 19 competitors got underway only 19 minutes after the proposed start time for 5 rounds of intense competition. 9 tables running with 1 bye each round and, towards the end of each hour, plenty of results coming in. Of the 45 Swiss games played, 21 of them were completed games, which given some of the newer players at the tournament was quite a good result.
The last round proved intense as no fewer than 6 tables had chances of sending someone into the semis. While Graham and Dave were no surprises to the top 4, Tim from Auckland – his first Tournament with us – and Robin leapt into the knockout phase with great aplomb. When Graham and Tim eventually squared off in the final, these were the two unbeaten players contesting the first national prize.
We finished the night with a Royal Rumble which ran alongside of the Semis and Finals. About 8 competitors battled it out with Oli winning the crucial init to best Aaron’s Mara Jade in the final round.
I’ll give a full list of results below!
Controversy!
What big tournament would be complete without a bit of controversy, eh? At the conclusion of Round 5, when all the results were in and I had put up the final listing of players places and announced the Top 4, some were a bit taken aback by the results and voiced some concern.
In particular, Mike took the opportunity to suggest that the final standings weren’t perhaps a fair reflection of the way the Swiss rounds went. His contention was that although he was listed as 5th, he felt that he had played a very hard stream of opponents and that it was unfair that he missed out on a Top 4 spot on the slimmest of margins. You see, where Tim and Graham had gone through unbeaten (which their points reflected this), there were a bunch of players on 9pts. Robin had three 3pt wins, Dave two and Mike one. This pushed Mike out to 5th and once we had taken some time to adjust to that decision, we moved on.
However. Yes, however. We live, we learn, and as I lay awake one morning a day or two after the event, I ran my head over it all. You see, taken purely at face value, no matter how hard their schedule, if you don’t have the 3pt wins, you miss out. But, what if the excel spreadsheet that calculated the final results was wrong on one calculation by, oh, let’s say, two decimals places? That is right, one of the calculations on the scoring sheet proved wrong. In actual fact, the spreadsheet was calculating 3pt wins ABOVE win percentage, which is incorrect. As it is supposed to be, after game points, win percentage is next and THEN 3pt wins. Mike did indeed have only 1 3pt win, but he also only lost one game, whereas Dave and Robin lost two. The proper results? Graham and Tim, 1 and 2, Mike 3rd, Robin 4th and Dave 5th.
Oh dear. Although the argument was not correct, the essence behind it was. Mike was actually cheated out of a semi-final spot. It should have been Mike vs. Tim and Graham vs. Robin. Well, it’s the putting right that counts and I have a plan which I’d like to enact to acknowledge everyone in this mistake of mine. Firstly, I have no intention of back-dating wins and results as they stand, we must honour the results on the night and take nothing away from the excellent efforts our final four, especially Tim and Graham’s track to the final. However, I do want to honour Mike and his efforts as well, so in order to do that, I would like to run the correct semi-final matchups as they should have been as a pseudo-second national championship. Basically, I’d like to give Mike a shot at winning it. If he does manage to best both Tim and Graham, the title won’t be stripped from Graham, but we will be able to acknowledge Mike’s efforts in some fashion.
I sincerely apologise to both Mike and to everyone else for this fracas of my own making. As the tournament judge and as Save11’s leader, I strive to make it as fair as possible for y’all and something like this is totally regrettable. This incorrect alignment of placings also occurs for 9th-11th place, where Bob actually leaps ahead of Bevan and Stuart respectively due to his win %.
The other interesting point on the night is that I got a ruling wrong. In the game between Mike and Bev, I ruled incorrectly that Mike could remove an enemy character during its simultaneous self-destruct and death shot and, thereby, shoot another player beyond it. This is not right, as removing the enemy character is a further step in the order of events. My apologies Bev and Mike!
Players: Lessons Learned
If we could take one lesson away as players in this tournament, as surely we must, it would be this: know your squad! Even our most seasoned campaigners found themselves making crucial mistakes all because they forgot one little ability, or forgot something key that they could do. Two examples: poor Aaron was left rueing a first round lost that he put down to forgetting that Plasma Eel was rangeless and Dan played the whole tournament not realising that Sora got Twin from Whorm!
Graham, in his infinite wisdom which surely cannot be questioned now, told us all that he slept with his squad underneath his bed. Maybe there is something in that…
Also, 3pt wins rule. 2pts wins not so much. I did hear from a couple of players that they found the pace of the odd game a bit too slow. If you ever find yourself in a game that is progressing too slowly, call the judge over! You’re not being an ass… you’re actually required to do your best to get games finished in time. The judge has the power to ensure that the result is the best one for the game and can even award 3pt victories if it is required. Don’t suffer in silence – call the judge! (We’re all learning and slowly getting better at our speed and this is how we learn.)
Organisers: Lessons Learned
Well, for me I’ve taken away a coupl’a things that are worthy of note.
The first is that I really, really need to test the scoring software. That one could’a saved a lot of bother. The second is to have a game clock somewhere – everyone had to rely on my own time keeping or their own. Thirdly, I allowed 15 minutes break inbetween games – 20 minutes would be about perfect – and our dinner break was moved to fit inbetween Rounds 4 and 5, which felt quite good. On the whole the timing of the event could be shuffled a little. Fourthly, I forgot to ask everyone what maps they played on… duh (expect an email asking you to recall that).
The Future of the New Zealand Tournament
So then, what is next for the NZ Tournament? Middle weekend of the school holidays worked well for me (and I assume others) so we’ll probably aim for that again. As for structure, I think it went pretty well. The venue question will be answered later, but we were very happy with New Zealand Art School.
That only leaves us with the contestants! We need more! Richie is growing his Hamilton group and Dave has some Auckland fellows he is working with. I have some people I am in contact with in both New Plymouth and Dunedin, and Bevan is actually working on more Hawera folk! Pulsar was well represented by Stuart and with a whole year to prepare, I can imagine we’ll see more from there.
Where does that leave us? Well, I absolutely know that we aren’t the only people in this country that play this game so we must find them. I have heard of playgroups in Hamilton and Auckland and I am convinced that the South Island must have players somehow. We must seek them out!
The End of the Season
And with that, the 2011-2012 season is over! Our season runs from mid-year to mid-year so this was an excellent codicil to what has been a great year of gaming. Here are our current Champions:
Minors
Hawera100: Bevan
Hutt100: Bevan
Regionals
Hawera Regional: Bevan
Hutt Regional: Graham
(Save11) Vassal Regional: Bobby
Overall Titles
Save11 Champion: Bevan
Save11 #1: Graham
Save11 Shield: Graham
Majors
HaweraCon: Graham
LowerHuttaCon: Graham
NZ SWM Champion: Graham
Perhaps it would have been faster to say what Graham hadn’t won…?
What’s Next
The first Save11 Major on the calendar is HaweraCon2012 – our 150-point tournament in, you guessed it, Hawera – is on Saturday, October 6th. We had 14 players last year so start planning your squad!
Plus we also start thinking about our regional leagues and the 100-point tournaments. Then in January-February, we will likely be having the first ever HamilCon! We’ve talked about it for a while, but with the growth of the Auckland-Napier-Hamilton groups, it’s now a reality. We’ll have more info as we get closer, and it’ll probably be something like 150 plus a die roll. Watch this space!
…And We Out!
That, then, is it. It has been an awesome event to put together and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. A big thank you to everyone who has supported me, this event, and this game. You rule. No save required.
Kez
Mauri ora, mauri mate!
Results
Here then are the results of the night! First, the prizes:
NZ Champion: Graham
Second Place: Tim
Semi-Finalists: Dave and Robin
5th Place: Mike
Headhunter (most wins against Save11 Champions): Mike
Never Tell Me the Odds (most fun squad): Glyn for the Rookie Wookies
Epic Duos: Danny, Mike and Dave
Royal Rumble Survivor: Oli
The final placings (modified as per discussion above):
1 Graham 13pts (5-0)
2 Tim 10pts (5-0)
3 Mike 9pts (3-1) 1 bye
4 Robin 9pts (3-2)
5 Dave 9pts (3-2)
6 Oli 8pts (3-2)
7 Aaron 8pts (3-2)
8 Hawera Dave 8pts (3-2)
9 Bobby 7pts (3-2)
10 Bevan 7pts (2-3)
11 Stuart 7pts (2-3)
12 Paul 6pts (2-3)
13 Rich 6pts (2-3)
14 Glyn 6pts (1-3) 1 bye
15 Andrew 6pts (1-3) 1 bye
16 Danny 5pts (1-3) 1 bye
17 Ian 4pts (2-3)
18 Dan 3pts (0-4) 1 bye
19 Alan 2pts (1-4)
How it differs from the night is below:
3 Robin (3 3pt wins)
4 Dave (2 3pt wins)
5 Mike (1 3pt win)
9 Bevan (2 3pt wins)
10 Stuart (1 3pt win)
11 Bobby (no 3pt wins)
The Squads on that particular night were as follows:
· Graham (Rep): Mon Mothma, Panaka of Theed, Klaat. Capt., Queen Amidala, Mas, 8 Naboo Pilots, Yularen, R2 Astro and filler on Bothan Spynet
· Tim (Imp): Thrawn, Weir, Moff Nyna, 3 Storm Commandos, Lobot, Mas, Pellaeon, GM Tarkin and filler on Ruined Base
· Mike (Mandos): Jaster, Pre Visla, Quartermaster, Captain, 4 Saboteurs, and R4, 2 DW Mercs and Mousies on Cantina
· Robin (Sith): Krayt, Jaq, Lobot, Dash, GARY and a mouse on Hall of Judgement
· Dave (Rep): Mace LotLS, Yobuck, Lobot, Panaka, R2 Astro, Mas and filler on Throne Room
· Oli (Rep): Mace LotLS, Lobot, Darman, Foul, Tarpals, Evazan GC, Nadon and R2 Astro on Rhen Var
· Aaron (Vong): Tsavong Lah, Nen Yim, Yammosk, Quedmak, Jedi Hunter, Fanatic, AA Officer, R7, Workers and filler on Asteroid Base
· Hawera Dave (OR): Bastilla, Jaq, Carth, Seer, Battlemaster, Senator, Lobot and filler on Throne Room
· Bobby (OR): Bastilla, Jaq, Carth, Dash, Seer, Senator, Lobot and filler on Throne Room
· Bevan (Sep): Poggle, 10 Drones, Savage, Nightsister Mother, Sith Witch, Sidious, Lancer and filler on Jabba’s Palace
· Stuart (Reb): Han in STA, Dutch Vander, Klaat. Capt., 5 Red Squadron Aces, Rieekan, Juno, Dodonna and filler on Cantina
· Paul (Imp): Grand Admiral Thrawn, Tyber Zann, Weir, IG Tarkin, Moff Nyna, 2 Storm Commandos, Pellaeon, Mass and Uggies on Cantina
· Rich (Rep): Mace LotLS, GOWK, Ferus, Dash, R2 Astro, a Kel Dor BH, and an Uggie on Cantina
· Glyn (Rep): Merumeru, Atin, 4 Elite Wookie Warriors, 2 Gungan Shieldbearers, R2 Astro and filler on Cloud City
· Andrew (Sep): GGDAC, 2 B3’s, Assassin Droid, Lab Droid, a BDO, Clobot, Gha Nacht and filler on Throne Room
· Danny (Sith): Revan SL, Celeste, Lobot, Sith Wrangler, 2 Rakghouls and filler on Ruined Base
· Ian (NR): Corran JM, Dash, R2-P0, Klaat. Capt., TBSV, Chadra-Fan Pilot, Jag, Dodonna and filler on Asteroid Base
· Dan (Sep): WHorm, Sora, 2 Assassin Droids, 2 IG-86s, a Series II Destroyer, a BDO, Rune Haako and filler and Throne Room
· Alan (NR): Corran JM, Jacen JK, Vergere, Ganner, Wedge, Dodonna, Luke FS and Uggies on Rhen Var
The Results on the day were as follows:
Round 1
Graham beat Dan 203-23 (3-0)
Dave beat Glyn 207-57 (3-0)
Paul beat Andrew 200-28 (3-0)
Danny beat Alan 88-84 (2-0)
Tim beat Ian 127-42 (2-0)
Bevan beat Robin 205-96 (3-0)
Bobby beat Aaron 134-53 (2-0)
Hawera Dave beat Rich 150-40 (2-0)
Oli beat Stuart 204-56 (2-0)
Mike had the bye
Round Two
Graham beat Bevan 98-96 (2-0)
Tim beat Paul 77-43 (2-0)
Mike beat Bobby 85-66 (2-0)
Oli beat Dave 177-114 (2-1)
Aaron beat Robin 215-81 (3-0)
Hawera Dave beat Alan 220-62 (3-0)
Stuart beat Dan 200-73 (3-0)
Rich beat Glyn 200-22 (3-0)
Ian beat Andrew 112-17 (2-0)
Danny had the bye
Round Three
Graham beat Mike 183-98 (2-0)
Tim beat Dave ?-? (2-0)
Robin beat Glyn 205-85 (3-0)
Oli beat Hawera Dave 209-94 (3-0)
Aaron beat Stuart 200-181 (3-1)
Bobby beat Danny 75-5 (2-0)
Bevan beat Rich 200-62 (3-0)
Paul beat Dan 200-35 (3-0)
Ian beat Alan 90-29 (2-0)
Andrew had the bye
Round Four
Graham beat Oli 200-28 (3-0)
Tim beat Hawera Dave 120-54 (2-0)
Mike beat Paul 86-71 (2-0)
Robin beat Rich 201-129 (3-1)
Dave beat Stuart 160-123 (2-1)
Aaron beat Bevan 113-101 (2-1)
Bobby beat Ian 62-30 (2-0)
Andrew beat Danny 202-5 (3-0)
Alan beat Dan 196-20 (2-0)
Glyn had the bye
Round Five
Graham beat Aaron 200-93 (3-0)
Tim beat Oli 142-82 (2-0)
Mike beat Bevan 154-85 (2-0)
Robin beat Paul 200-38 (3-0)
Dave beat Andrew 211-18 (3-0)
Hawera Dave beat Bobby 202-132 (3-1)
Stuart beat Danny 85-77 (2-0)
Rich beat Ian 80-28 (2-0)
Glyn beat Alan 215-67 (3-0)
Dan had the bye
Semi-Finals
Graham beat Dave 200-83 (3-0)
Tim beat Robin 220-34 (3-0)
Final
Graham beat Tim ?-? (2-0)
The Final SWMGPA Rankings after the Tournament:
(and these are current world rankings, bearing in mind that we are waiting for other US Regional results to be entered)
1 TheHutts 239pts
2 Sharron 220pts
4 Bevan 190pts
5 Tim 186pts
6 Mike 167pts
8 Oli 160pts
9 Dr Daman 155pts
10 Robin 150pts
13 Stuart 140pts
14 doug*platypus 136pts
19 kfc's waiting for you 122pts
21 Paul 120pts
22 Rich 120pts
26 kezzamachine 95pts
27 Henko 93pts
34 Andrew 83pts
49 Ian 64pts
50 Glyn 60pts
51 Danny 57pts
53 d0bb0 56pts
57 kurtjohnson 40pts
67 Dan 0pts
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