Modifications Made to 2009 Pro Circuit Format
By Anakin | Published: February 6, 2009 11:36pm EST
Modifications Made to 2009 Pro Circuit FormatMLG Commissioner John Nelson addresses community concernsWe’re excited about the upcoming season and the opportunities to recognize great players, meet exciting new talent, and continue to grow our sport. One of the most important foundations of MLG has been the ability for unknown great players to break into the pro rankings. Every sport has established stars, a group of pros that represent the very peak of achievement and skill, and breakthrough rookies that energize the sport year in and year out. In the 2008 Season, we had an amazing example with Classic placing 2nd in the Meadowlands. The players on that team and their performance throughout the season helped make 2008 one of the most exciting seasons in MLG history. Recognizing amateurs and giving new players and teams the opportunity to succeed WILL ALWAYS be a critical part of MLG, but make no mistake: achieving pro status should be very difficult. This is part of what makes it meaningful to actually be a pro. The MLG community has been very vocal about the changes to the Rolling Rank Points system and Championship Bracket format. We have heard you and have worked through some changes that we think address some of your concerns, while still enacting key changes that will enable the league to continue to grow and reward more and more of the best players. The Rolling Rank Points system rewards consistent excellence in the pro ranks while still leaving room for breakout amateur performances.Why was the Rolling Rank Points system adopted?The Rolling Rank Points system rewards the teams that have already proven they can perform at a consistently high level. Teams with little or no points coming into the 2009 Season must show a similar level of consistency in order to earn Pro Status. That being said, it is possible for a Team with 0 Rank Points from 2008 to earn Pro Status after the 2009 Meadowlands Competition with a truly breakout performance. If such a Team were to finish in the Top 4 at the 2009 Meadowlands Competition, they would almost surely earn Pro Status. If such a Team were to finish in the Top 8, it is very possible that they would earn Pro Status.We have modified the Rolling Rank Points system.Instead of Rank Points from the 2008 Toronto and Dallas Competitions being combined and set to expire after the 4th 2009 Competition, Rank Points from the 2008 Meadowlands and San Diego Competitions will be combined and expire after the 2009 Meadowlands Competition. This means that roughly twice as many 2008 Rank Points will expire after first 2009 Competition, in effect lessening the divide between the teams with Rolling Rank Points and those without.The Championship Bracket modifications allow us to showcase more pro matches which greatly enhances the fan experience at our events.Why was the Championship Bracket modified?The new Championship Bracket provides spectators with three days of top-flight competition. Also, the new Championship Bracket has a more natural progression of Teams through the Losers Bracket, which should lead to more accurate placings from 1st through 32nd. If a Team succeeds in reaching the Championship Bracket, but lost a Match early in the Open Bracket, it must defeat another Team that lost a Match early in the Open Bracket in order to finish in the Top 28. If that Team is to reach the Top 24, it must defeat a Team that lost a Match in the final Round of the Open Bracket’s Winners Bracket. If that Team is to reach the Top 20, it must defeat a Team that lost in Placement Round 3. If that Team is to reach the Top 16, it must defeat a Team that won in Placement Round 3. If that Team is to reach the Top 12, it must defeat a Team that lost in Placement Round 2. If that Team is to reach the Top 8, it must defeat a Team that won in Placement Round 2.We have further modified the Championship BracketInstead of Top 16 seeded Teams being guaranteed Top 20 prior to the start of a Regular Season Championship Bracket, those Teams are now only guaranteed Top 24. We have added a 3rd Placement Round in which losers of Placement Round 1 will play the Teams that didn’t lose a Match in the Open Bracket. The winners of those Matches will start in Losers Bracket Round 4 and the losers of those Matches will start in Losers Bracket Round 3.In addition, Teams advancing from the Open Bracket’s Winners Bracket now have essentially two shots to play against a Pro Team for Top 16. Undefeated Open Bracket Teams will be placed into the third Placement Round, where they'll take on Pro Teams who lost in both Winners Round 1 and Placement Round 1. The loser of this match will not be knocked out of the tournament, but will receive a less-desirable spot in the Losers Bracket. The loser of this match will be forced to play an Open Team for Top 20, before going up against a team that won in Placement Round 3 for Top 16. By winning in the 3rd Placement Round, a team will only need to defeat either an Open team, or a team who lost in the 3rd Placement Round to achieve Top 16. Now, more Open Bracket Teams can potentially finish in the Top 20 Before, only 4 Open Bracket Teams had the possibility of finishing in the Top 20 at a Regular Season Competition, but now 8 Open Bracket Teams have that possibility. If there are truly 8 Open Bracket teams that have the ability, there is now room in the bracket structure for them to finish anywhere in the Top 20. Check out the modified bracket Below are examples of some of the effects the new changes to the Rolling Rank Points System and Brackets will have: 1. Previously, the Top 16 Ranked 2008 Halo 3 Teams were losing an average of 19% of their Rolling Rank Points after the 2009 Meadowlands Competition. Now that the Rank Points from the 2008 Meadowlands and San Diego Competitions have been combined, the Top 16 Ranked 2008 Halo 3 Teams are losing an average of 38% of their Rolling Rank Points after the 2009 Meadowlands Competition. 2. When this combination is coupled with the possibility of a Top 16 Seeded Team finishing in 24th place, the #16 Ranked 2008 Halo 3 Pro Team's lowest possible post-Meadowlands total has been lowered from 2145 to 1387.5. It should be noted that this data is based on 2008 Teams. The numbers will differ somewhat after 2009 Meadowlands Rosters have been submitted. However, with the 8th place Team earning 2200 Pro Circuit Rank Points and the 12th place Team earning 1600 Pro Circuit Rank Points, it stands to reason that a Top 8 finish would’ve given your Team a great chance at Pro Status before. Now, since we have made this change, a Top 12 finish should give your Team a great chance at earning Pro Status after the 2009 Meadowlands Competition. 3. When this combination is coupled with the possibility of a Top 16 Seeded Team finishing in 24th place, the #16 Ranked 2008 Halo 3 Pro Team’s lowest possible post-Columbus total has been lowered from 2387.5 to 1537.5. It should be noted that this data is based on 2008 Teams. The numbers will differ somewhat after 2009 Meadowlands Rosters have been submitted. However, with the 16th place Team earning 1000 Pro Circuit Rank Points, it stands to reason that a 16th place finish at each of the first two 2009 Pro Circuit Competitions should give your Team a great chance at earning Pro Status after the 2009 Columbus Competition. We are going to reward Semi-Pro and Amateur Teams in their quest for Pro Status All Players on Halo 3 and GoW2 Teams that finish in the Top 16 of a Regular Season Competition will receive Free Entry into the next 2009 Competition. There is now more riding on Open Bracket performance In previous seasons, many Teams strived simply to reach the Championship Bracket. They would have liked to have done so without losing a Match, but the important thing was reaching the Championship Bracket and having a chance to win the title, win prize money, finish Top 8, 16, etc. Now, there is a significant advantage to finishing the Open Bracket without losing a Match. Those Teams are guaranteed Top 24 and are given the opportunity, at Regular Season Competitions, to play in a Placement Round that could guarantee them Top 20. Open Bracket Teams don’t play Pro Teams in the 1st Round of the Winners Bracket In previous seasons, Open Bracket Teams could find themselves playing a Pro Team in the 1st Round of the Losers Bracket. Sometimes the Open Bracket Team prevailed, but more often than not, it resulted in the elimination of that Open Bracket Team before they were able to achieve their true placing. In 2009, Open Bracket Teams don’t have to worry about playing a Top 16 Team until they have reached at least the Top 24. Other ConsiderationsThe wave of momentumIn previous years, Teams advancing from the Open Bracket were often handily defeated in the 1st Round of the Winners Bracket. Some couldn’t recover from this and quickly exited the Losers Bracket. In 2009, Open Bracket Teams can ride a wave of momentum toward Top 16 and beyond. Teams starting in Losers Bracket Round 2-6 may come into their Matches cold while their opponents could be riding a hot streak of up to 5 consecutive Championship Bracket Match wins. The reward for your hard work The Rolling Rank Points make achieving Pro Status a little more difficult for new Players or Players who underperformed in 2008. However, after a few quality performances, that same system will help those Players maintain the Ranking that they earn in 2009. Also, Pro Status Rankings after the 4th Regular Season Competition are based solely on 2009 performance. Rank Points vs. Skill Teams may be faced with deciding between an inferior Player with a lot of Rank Points and a superior Player with fewer Rank Points. Such Teams will have to ask themselves whether they want a chance at being a Pro Player after the Meadowlands Competition or a Pro Player in the middle or at the end of the season. If a Player with a lot of Rank Points is going to hurt a Team’s chances of finishing in the Top 16 then it might not make sense to play with them because their 2008 Rank Points will eventually expire. Pro Teams may be faced with deciding whether or not to add a breakout Player to their Team who doesn’t have a lot of Rank Points. Such Teams will have to ask themselves if taking a temporary hit to their Pro Status Ranking and Seed in Events is worth a shot at the 2009 National Championship title. The National Championship Competition will have Open Entry Registration The Halo 3 & GoW 2 2009 National Championship Events will have Open Entry Registration and an Open Bracket exactly like those in the Regular Season Events for those titles. All of the 2008 Rank Points will have expired by that time, so Seeds for those Events will be based solely on 2009 performance. To be clear, there will be five (5) open entry registration competitions in 2009, just like there were in 2008. For more information about MLG's 2009 Season, be sure to check out the latest edition of The Chairman's Office, in which MLG Chairman and Co-Founder Mike Sepso addresses the community's response to the recent announcements. Please read both this announcement and The Chairman's Office before posting comments. I look forward to seeing you all in April! Sincerely, John Nelson |
