Pooka
Master Trainer
UPDATE: Matches from the tournament have been uploaded!
Round 1 - David Cohen vs. Tom Dolezal
Round 2 - David Cohen vs. Tsuguyoshi Yamato
Round 3 - Esa Juntunen vs. John Roberts II
Top 4 - Tsuguyoshi Yamato vs. Yuta Komatsuda
Finals - Tsuguyoshi Yamato vs. David Cohen
When more matches are posted, I'll update the original post. Thank you for a great event, everyone!
____________________________________________________________________________________
Hello, everyone! Last year we were privileged to be able to host the first Top Cut Invitational, which featured eight of the game's best players squaring off to see who would come out on top. When all was said and done, the winner ended up being the most successful player in Pokémon TCG history, Jason "Ness" Klaczynski. Now that another year has passed, we are looking to invite some new players to clash with the veterans. Without further adieu, here are the players that we plan to invite to this year's tournament!
Jason Klaczynski (Confirmed)
Tsuguyoshi Yamato (Confirmed)
Sami Sekkoum (Confirmed)
Yuta Komatsuda (Confirmed)
John Roberts II (Confirmed)
David Cohen (Confirmed)
Esa Juntunen (Confirmed)
Tom Dolezal (Confirmed)
Due to time constraints, we were able to invite only eight players. While there were many more that we considered, eventually we decided on these players for various reasons. I know people are going to be upset that some of their favorites or friends were excluded, but I think we all can agree that this is an intriguing mix of some of the best the game has to offer. Also, we would love to invite the World Champion, but it's not practical; the player will want to celebrate their win instead of playing more. Ultimately, we are looking for a tournament that showcases the highest caliber of play and exciting stories with players from all sorts of backgrounds.
So, why am I posting about this here? Well, the point of the tournament is to give more exposure to these players and show them for the stars that they are. Although the tournament itself is important, the goal is to give everyone an in-depth look at what makes each of these players special. Of course, this means videos of every match and interview will be posted online for everyone to watch! If the Internet connection exists, we will stream as well, but there is no guarantee of that. Since we feel like the future of the game involves video coverage, the emphasis will be on capturing every one of these players in detail.
For the tournament itself, we tried to pick a format that gives the best opportunity for players to be showcased. Here are the details for everything the event entails.
Date and Time
The tournament will take place in the open play area after the World Championship ceremony concludes. Right now the approximate time is Sunday, August 12th at 6 PM HAST (Kona's time zone), but it is subject to change.
Format and Structure
If you've ever watched Starcraft 2's GSL, you'll be familiar with the tournament structure. On the day of the event, the players will be placed into two groups of four randomly. Two players from each group will advance to the Top 4. Here is how things will look.
Round 1
Player 1 vs. Player 2
Player 3 vs. Player 4
Round 2
Winners play each other; winners advance
Losers play each other; losers eliminated
Round 3
Both 1-1 players play each other; winners advance, losers eliminated
Basically you must win two games to advance, and you are eliminated if you lose two games; it's pretty straightforward. The games for the group stage will be 30 minutes + 3 turns. Then we will move onto the Top 4. The undefeated player from Group A will face the 2-1 player from Group B and vice versa. All top cut matches will be 90 minutes Best 2-of-3. The purpose of this is to have legitimate series that aren't hindered by time limits. In addition, we may see more diverse decks with the longer time limits! Of course, this will be run with the current HS-DEX format.
Tournament Rules
For any ruling disputes, we will be using standard P!P rules to resolve the issues. Penalties will be the same. We may need some people to help judge the event.
Prizes
Right now we don't have anything set, but there will be a trophy and booster boxes among other merchandise as prizes. If you would like to donate some prizes for the players, please contact me here or at [email protected]!
Now that we have a year of experience under our belts, we're going to make a ton of improvements that will make this a more enjoyable event for everyone involved. When it comes down to it, this is a spectator event. We want the community to be able to watch the best players in the world face off to show what the Pokémon TCG is all about! If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to post here or contact me however you feel fit. Thank you!
-Pooka
Round 1 - David Cohen vs. Tom Dolezal
Round 2 - David Cohen vs. Tsuguyoshi Yamato
Round 3 - Esa Juntunen vs. John Roberts II
Top 4 - Tsuguyoshi Yamato vs. Yuta Komatsuda
Finals - Tsuguyoshi Yamato vs. David Cohen
When more matches are posted, I'll update the original post. Thank you for a great event, everyone!
____________________________________________________________________________________
Hello, everyone! Last year we were privileged to be able to host the first Top Cut Invitational, which featured eight of the game's best players squaring off to see who would come out on top. When all was said and done, the winner ended up being the most successful player in Pokémon TCG history, Jason "Ness" Klaczynski. Now that another year has passed, we are looking to invite some new players to clash with the veterans. Without further adieu, here are the players that we plan to invite to this year's tournament!
Jason Klaczynski (Confirmed)
Tsuguyoshi Yamato (Confirmed)
Sami Sekkoum (Confirmed)
Yuta Komatsuda (Confirmed)
John Roberts II (Confirmed)
David Cohen (Confirmed)
Esa Juntunen (Confirmed)
Tom Dolezal (Confirmed)
Due to time constraints, we were able to invite only eight players. While there were many more that we considered, eventually we decided on these players for various reasons. I know people are going to be upset that some of their favorites or friends were excluded, but I think we all can agree that this is an intriguing mix of some of the best the game has to offer. Also, we would love to invite the World Champion, but it's not practical; the player will want to celebrate their win instead of playing more. Ultimately, we are looking for a tournament that showcases the highest caliber of play and exciting stories with players from all sorts of backgrounds.
So, why am I posting about this here? Well, the point of the tournament is to give more exposure to these players and show them for the stars that they are. Although the tournament itself is important, the goal is to give everyone an in-depth look at what makes each of these players special. Of course, this means videos of every match and interview will be posted online for everyone to watch! If the Internet connection exists, we will stream as well, but there is no guarantee of that. Since we feel like the future of the game involves video coverage, the emphasis will be on capturing every one of these players in detail.
For the tournament itself, we tried to pick a format that gives the best opportunity for players to be showcased. Here are the details for everything the event entails.
Date and Time
The tournament will take place in the open play area after the World Championship ceremony concludes. Right now the approximate time is Sunday, August 12th at 6 PM HAST (Kona's time zone), but it is subject to change.
Format and Structure
If you've ever watched Starcraft 2's GSL, you'll be familiar with the tournament structure. On the day of the event, the players will be placed into two groups of four randomly. Two players from each group will advance to the Top 4. Here is how things will look.
Round 1
Player 1 vs. Player 2
Player 3 vs. Player 4
Round 2
Winners play each other; winners advance
Losers play each other; losers eliminated
Round 3
Both 1-1 players play each other; winners advance, losers eliminated
Basically you must win two games to advance, and you are eliminated if you lose two games; it's pretty straightforward. The games for the group stage will be 30 minutes + 3 turns. Then we will move onto the Top 4. The undefeated player from Group A will face the 2-1 player from Group B and vice versa. All top cut matches will be 90 minutes Best 2-of-3. The purpose of this is to have legitimate series that aren't hindered by time limits. In addition, we may see more diverse decks with the longer time limits! Of course, this will be run with the current HS-DEX format.
Tournament Rules
For any ruling disputes, we will be using standard P!P rules to resolve the issues. Penalties will be the same. We may need some people to help judge the event.
Prizes
Right now we don't have anything set, but there will be a trophy and booster boxes among other merchandise as prizes. If you would like to donate some prizes for the players, please contact me here or at [email protected]!
Now that we have a year of experience under our belts, we're going to make a ton of improvements that will make this a more enjoyable event for everyone involved. When it comes down to it, this is a spectator event. We want the community to be able to watch the best players in the world face off to show what the Pokémon TCG is all about! If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to post here or contact me however you feel fit. Thank you!
-Pooka
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