Multiplayer 2v2 League: Are you the "Best Blasting Duo"?

Hello! With the recent advent of Marble Blast Multiplayer, and my own personal background from League of Legends and Starcraft, I have noticed a high potential for competitive play in the new scene. Individual play is all well and good (and I do have plans to host an individual tournament after the release of RC1) but currently I am starting a league for teams of two to compete and earn the title of "Best Blasting Duo."

Here's how it works:

1. Grab a friend, come up with a team name, and begin some practice with your teammate! Sign up for the league with the form below.
2. Get the season's match list after sign ups close on May 9th.
3. Organize times to play your matches with your opponents. Play all of your matches before May 30th.
4. Get the playoffs bracket and play each round's matches by the end of the week.
5. Enjoy the break until the next season of play!

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SIGNUPS CLOSED

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Rules and Terms

1. Client Specifications

All games must be played on Windows client (Crossover, etc. obviously also acceptable.) Unfortunately for Mac-only players, we cannot support Mac games due to incompatibility issues.

2. Playing, Reporting, Making up, and Scoring Matches

a. A match is won when a team wins 3 individual games on team mode. The home team chooses the first map and map preference switches between the teams until one team accumulates 3 wins (ties are ignored and the map choice and hosting privileges go to the other team).

• Players must utilize the Tsuf Dedicated Server if possible
• If players cannot use the Dedicated server, the hosting privileges switch from game to game with map preference.

b. The season's match list will be posted on May 10th. Teams can play their games at any time and may use this thread to discuss availability and planning. It is suggested that each team posts their regular availability so match making can be easily planned. Game times are not enforced by league officials.

c. 3 points are awarded to the winning team, 1 for the losing team. If a game is not completed, no team will be awarded points. A forefeited match due to availability issues will grant 2 points to the winning team. If a team forfeits a match but the match has already started, the standard 3 points will be awarded to the winning team and the losing team will still be granted 1 point.

4. Match results must be submitted by a member of each team on a specialized form. Failure to submit a form for each game before May 30th may result in deduction of points.

5. If all matches are not complete by May 30th, the season deadline, teams will be asked to report for match makeups on May 31st @ 12:00 PM [Noon] EST. If an uncompleted match is still not completed by 2:00 PM EST on May 31st, teams not online will be forced to forfeit. Any uncompleted matches without forfeits will be discounted.

3. Playoffs

a. The playoff bracket will be a single elimination bracket with seeding determined from league points. The higher seeded team in each match will act as the home team.

b. All games will be "First to 3" until the finals which is a "First to 5" series. The finals will be specially scheduled to be streamed and casted.

c. Playoff rounds must be completed by the end of the week. If a game is not completed by Saturday of the week, teams must report on Sunday @ 12:00 PM [Noon] EST to complete the match. If an uncompleted match is still not completed by 2:00 PM EST on Sunday, teams not online will be forced to forfeit. If neither team can report on Sunday, the higher seed will continue.

d. For Season 1, there is no award for any place in the finals. A 3rd place match will be scheduled along side the finals and will be first to 3.

4. In Game Rules

a. A team will be forced to forfeit a game if they are deemed to be unsportsmanlike by league officials. Teams can report abuse or cheating by emailing ianvalentino@gmail.com

b. Use of any outside programs, glitch abuse, or hacking is strictly prohibited.

Note by Moderators:

Hacking, abusing glitches, or using outside programs will disqualify you from the competition as well as being reprimanded from using the leaderboards service. Don't attempt to do this, play fairly. Nobody likes cheaters.

Teams

Team Name	Player 1	Player 2	Wins	Losses	Points
Frostcage	Rollcage [RC]	Frostfire	3	1	10
/v2	dushine	Nihahhat	3	0	9
GOTO 10	Jeff	Ian Cordle	2	3	9
Royal Flush	Kwill	Regislian	2	2	8
SwegMasters	RDs.empire	Uil	1	3	6
Penguin	kennysnowball	andybook	0	1	1
Blue Miners	Krishiv	Lee Zi Xian	0	1	1

Game Grid

We have decided on a Round Robin Format! This grid shows all possible matchups, and all teams will play once against all other teams. Green spots are wins for the team on the left hand side, and the letter [H or A] indicates if the team on the left side is the home team or not.

v Start Here v	Royal Flush	Frostcage	GOTO 10	Blue Miners	. . /v2 . .	Penguin	SwegMasters
Royal Flush	---	L 0-3	W 3-1-1	NP	L 1-3	NP	W 3-0
Frostcage	W 3-0	---	W 3-0	NP	L 2-3	NP	W 3-0
GOTO 10	L 1-3-1	L 0-3	---	NP	L 0-3	W 3-0	W 3-0
Blue Miners	NP	NP	NP	---	NP	NP	L 0-3
/v2	W 3-1	W 3-2	W 3-0	NP	---	NP	NP
Penguin	NP	NP	L 0-3	NP	NP	---	H
SwegMasters	L 0-3	L 0-3	L 0-3	W 3-0	NP	NP	---

All matches must get reported from both teams, CLICK HERE TO REPORT A MATCH.

Regular Season Rules and Regulations

Match Rules

• A match is won when a team wins 3 games.
• The home team picks the first map. The map choice alternates between teams until a team meets the victory requirements. Maps cannot repeat.
• Players must use the Tsuf Dedicated server unless it is dysfunctional. Hosting privileges alternate with map choice if the dedicated server does not work.
• Matches must be played in Team Mode
• Matches must be reported by both teams to gain league points.

Scheduling

Use the forum post to schedule matches with other teams at any time AND/OR all teams should make an attempt to be online during the following match times:

• Fridays @ 12 PM EST [5 PM GMT]
• Saturdays @ 10 AM EST [3 PM GMT]

If any matches are uncompleted by May 30th, teams must report for makeups on May 31st @ 12 PM EST [5 PM GMT]. Any teams who do not report by 1 PM EST [6 PM GMT] will be forced to forfeit their remaining matches. The season will end at the end of the day on May 31st.

Regular Season Final Standings
The Blue Miners / Penguin tie breaker was broken by the date their respective games were played. GOTO 10 and /v2 was broken with their head to head record.

1. Frostcage [3-1]
2. /v2 [3-0]
3. GOTO 10 [2-3]
4. Royal Flush [2-2]
5. SwegMasters [1-3]
6. Penguin [0-1]
7. Blue Miners [0-1]

VIEW THE PLAYOFF BRACKET HERE

Playoffs Rules and Regulations

First Round Match Rules

• A match is won when a team wins 3 games.
• The higher seeded team picks the first map. The map choice alternates between teams until a team meets the victory requirements. Maps cannot repeat.
• Players must use the Tsuf Dedicated server unless it is dysfunctional. Hosting privileges alternate with map choice if the dedicated server does not work.
• Matches must be played in Team Mode.
• Matches must be reported by both teams.
• First round matches must be completed by 12 PM EST on June 14th. If not, teams must report at that time to either play or determine forfeits.

Second Round+ Match Rules

• A match is won when a team wins 5 games.
• The higher seeded team picks the first map. The map choice alternates between teams until a team meets the victory requirements. Maps cannot repeat.
• Players must use the Tsuf Dedicated server unless it is dysfunctional. Hosting privileges alternate with map choice if the dedicated server does not work.
• Matches must be played in Team Mode.
• Matches will be scheduled for casting - teams will agree on a time and date to play the match. A team that does not show up at the correct time/date will forfeit unless the opposing team wishes to reschedule.

hey ian,i am sorry if my friend loque said i could make it,but i dont get on the computer every day.i dont know if i have to,but if i do,i cant join.Thank you!

What happens if the number of teams that sign up is not a power of 2? That would mess up the playoff bracket.

I'm guessing that only the top 'power of 2' teams make it. If 12 teams sign up the best 8 make playoffs.

Or you can fix a bracket with odd seedings. If 12 teams sign up then
5 seed plays 12 seed, winner plays 1 seed
6 seed plays 11 seed, winner plays 2 seed
7 seed plays 10 seed, winner plays 3 seed
8 seed plays 9 seed, winner plays 4 seed.

This is very commonly fixed with byes. If there are, say 13 teams signed up, the top 3 will get byes, and then the remaining 10 play round one matchups to fill the other 5 spots.

Example: www.printyourbrackets.com/thumbs/13-team-tournament-bracket.gif

EDIT: To clarify, all teams will be in the playoffs.

I can supply league winning achievements for when the time comes (will show up in RC1+)

Suggestion: why not use Tsuf Mk 1 as the host server for multiplayer matches, especially playoffs. This way everyone lags instead of someone having a "host" advantage. Example: HiGuy and I have 400ms ping to each other, yet to Tsuf he has 100ms and I have 200ms, making games more fair.

(That said 4 players do lag me regardless and as I'm leaving to Israel I'll have to forfeit from playing, though I know I'd have loved to -- bet I could win by myself )

I am in with Lzx(online on Fridays)

I got a vacation.


EDIT:Changed the team name to Blue Miners, Don't select the 'BLLAASSSTTT' one
I am usually online on 10:30 am(GMT) (8:30 am on Fridays)
And Lzx is online till (10:30am)

Also I practised today and got

Approx 200 pts(round of to tens)

This is an ingenious idea, with a good structure and potential to be great! I was about to make the suggest of making the dedicated server a "neutral" ground. 400 ms between you? Crazily bad...

And I hope I can join the competition...but those top 2 teams are frightening...

I did respond to the lag issue in full in the rules. The host of the game switches between teams each match. For the finals, at the very least, we will have one host. That will be determined at a later date. This first league really is testing the waters for future competition, so not everything will be perfect. I hope to learn as much as possible from this one before our Beta World Championships (individual tournament).

EDIT: I did not know about the dedicated server. If it is stable enough when we reach the playoffs, the dedicated Tsuf server will be used for all Playoffs matches.

I would really like if some youtubers could record their matches so I could watch them.

im with legenda1236 and our team name is UnknownVoid

Hey Ian, is there any way you could do a tournament for Mac users?

He say cant play with mac users ( if you have crossover you can play )

There are not enough Mac players to support a 2v2 Mac based tournament, no.

Officially changing the rules to prioritize using the dedicated server whenever possible for the most accurate and fair experience. Players still may host if the dedicated server crashes or causes issues.

Ian, I believe Nihahhat and Dushine would like their team name to be the multiplayer taunt /v2. 'gassshhfoahdsgoe.ccewno' or whatever it is. Not 100% sure but you should probably confirm with them.

I know that's what they want it to be, but I'm not allowing the name for casting purposes. They have to settle with "slash v2" and people will understand the reference.

24 hours left to sign up! Looking for at least one more team to make my goal number, but I'm already happy with the results. Match list posted on Saturday.

Sheesh, we are ok with the /v2 Though such a short name...

Glad to see even more people signed up and why is Higuy not on the list? He is not escaping it that easy

Can I request small name edit from Swag to SwegMasters. Thank you!
Looking forward to event.

All taken care of. Signups will end a bit early this evening so I can prepare the season's match list.

EDIT: Signups have closed, thank you for letting us hit our goal of 8 teams! Season's match list will be posted this evening.

Wasn't able to sign up because everyone that I tried to partner with had already partnered up with someone (usually 30 minutes before I asked), or were using mac only and couldn't join.

The matches and official season rules and regulations have been posted as an edit to the second post. Please read the rules thoroughly.

Happy Blasting, have a good season!

Ian Cordle wrote: Teams Use the forum post to schedule matches with other teams at any time AND/OR all teams should make an attempt to be online during the following match times:

• Fridays @ 12 PM EST [5 PM GMT]
• Saturdays @ 10 AM EST [3 PM GMT]

It seems to me that a lot of people are online on Friday and Saturday late afternoons/early evenings at around 5:00 EST too.

EDIT: Are we allowed to spectate other team's matches? If it causes unnecesary lag for them, I don't want to do it, but if it doesn't hurt the connection it would be fun.

Spectating other teams matches is up to the consensus of the players involved.

I chose those times listed because they allow for the European teams and the NA teams to be online at the same time.

If you can get on tonight then do it, we should be able to get a few matches in

I'll be doing some summaries of important and interesting matches as the season goes on, here's my first edition:

Power Rankings

Power rankings are created by game analyst Ian Cordle to see what teams are favored before you watch every match.

1. Frostcage - Although it's a close race for first, I think that RC and Frostfire have a better team synergy with playstyle, allowing them to pick up wins on almost any map that they choose.
2. /v2 - Really fantastic team who has the potential to take first. Really might come down to dushine's latency.
3. Royal Flush - They looked pretty comfortable in 3rd, but after a close win against GOTO 10, they might have a tight fight ahead of them.
4. GOTO 10 - Ian is a rising player who has a lot of work to do and Jeff has been a steady player on weird maps. They're the dark horse for the top 3.
5. Blue Miners - Krishiv's rating speaks for itself and Lee Zi Xian puts in enough effort to make a run against lower teams.
6. SwegMasters - Not as much is known about the other 3 teams, I'm just favoring experience over youth for these guys.
7. Penguin - Bottom two is a mystery to me.
8. UnknownVoid - Again, very mysterious. They could pull out a good finish, we just haven't seen them play enough.

Royal Flush Beats GOTO 10 in 5 Close Games

Today, in the first match of the season, Royal Flush took on GOTO 10. Royal Flush was the home team and started off with a pick of Eye of the Storm. This proved to backfire as they were down in points for almost the entire game only managing to force a tie in the remaining seconds. Ian was just getting warmed up, it was his first game of the evening and he and Jeff showed their stuff in game two with a steady lead on Ramp Matrix. It started going downhill after that for GOTO 10, but they tried to claw their way into it the entire time. Basic Agility Course was a clear favorite for Kwill and Regi as they claimed many blue steals and numerous spawn dominations. The final score was only a 9 point differential, however, as Jeff and Ian closed the gap as time ticked down. GOTO 10 picked Horizon for their last choice, leading them into a close battle all the way through. Ian led the game in individual points with Kwill and Regi close behind, leading to a win for Royal Flush. Royal Flush finished out the round with a pick up on Epicenter. Regisilan has proved time and time again that he is very proficient on the map and he took the individual lead. Ian managed to take second individual but couldn't grab the win from Regi as they take the game 3-1-1 for Royal Flush.

Watch from Ian's perspective here!