Feature
Gamemaker’s Corner
An in-depth informational analysis of US Quidditch Cup 9 gameplay.
It all started with college basketball; that’s where my love for gameplay was born. March still remains my favorite month of the year for the madness that it brings. In fact, as I write this article (Happy Ides of March, watch out Caesar!) we are in the midst of my favorite week of the year: from the Friday of Conference Tournament week, past Selection Sunday, and through the following Friday and the end of the First Round of the NCAA Men’s Championship tournament. The week brings the predictions and potential matchups, the drama and upsets, the vindication of victory and despair of defeat . . . there’s nothing that excites me more.
I remember meticulously drawing my own brackets by hand with paper and pencil. Sure I could have just printed one out, but that wasn’t good enough for me; it wasn’t . . . real enough. As March drew ever nearer, I would spend all my free time measuring and drawing each line down to the millimeter, and tearing up each sheet which held even one mistake. It sometimes took weeks to create the perfect bracket. And while I no longer draw my own brackets (in fact, I no longer even fill one out --I would much rather fully enjoy the drama of a close game and/or upset), my work as a Gameplay Coordinator in the Events Department has only magnified my passion. I’m able to conduct my own mini-March Madness tournament each time I’m on staff at an event.
Gameplay Format
Throughout the year, the Gameplay Coordinators have been hard at work making sure that all USQ events are run efficiently, smoothly, and fairly. A year of dedication ultimately culminates in US Quidditch Cup 9, which sees a switch back to the tried-and-tested Pool Play format over the SWISS-style format used last year. Though many have argued for and against this change (personally I think both have their own strengths and weaknesses), that debate is irrelevant here and will not be spoken of beyond this sentence.
For this year’s Cup, 60 teams have proven themselves above their competitors and qualified for the national championship. This in itself is no small feat, and is something that I believe should be more celebrated within the community (especially for first time qualifiers). Based on the number of teams, USQC9 will have 12 Pools of five teams each. From the these Pools, the top three of each (or 36 total teams) will qualify for the single-elimination championship bracket. The announcement of the Pools will take place via Youtube livestream on Sunday, April 3rd at 8:30 PM Eastern time (information and link to come a few days prior!). For those unfamiliar with the process, here’s a brief description of the draw procedure below:
Draw Procedure:
The 60 teams are divided into five Pods based on their final rank in the USQ standings. The top 12 teams will reside within Pod A, the next 12 in Pod B, the following 12 in Pod C, etc down to Pool E. The Final Draw begins in Pod A, with one team being randomly selected and assigned to Pool 1. Another team is selected at random and assigned to Pool 2. This continues until all teams in Pod A have been assigned a Pool. The Draw then continues with Pod E, and the process is repeated as it was done in Pod A. Once Pod E is complete, the Pods B, D, and C follow suit. Computer randomization ensures that no regional overlap occurs.
All Pool Play games will take place on Saturday, and all Bracket Play games on Sunday. After all of the Pool Play games have been completed, the seeding list of the Bracket Play qualified teams will be compiled. These 36 teams will be placed into the bracket according to their place within their Pool (Pool Winner, Pool Runner-Up, or Pool Third Place) and ranked amongst other teams within said category based on USQ tiebreakers. Because of the number of teams, the bottom eight Pool Third Place teams will be required to win a Play-In Game to reach the Round of 32.
Gameplay Schedule
When making a schedule for a large scale event like this, my biggest concern is fairness. I try to ensure that teams are always on a level playing field (pun definitely intended) in terms of the things I can control so that playing skill is what truly determines the better team. While some things are within my control (making sure that each Pool has one team from each Pod), other factors are not. In the latter category, as a former player two things always mattered to me on a psychological level: the pitch assignments and the amount of rest we had. If we were about to play on a pitch that we previously were victorious on, the assignment provided a small boost to the confidence level. Similarly, if we played two games in a short span of time while our opponent had more time to rest, it worked both physically and psychologically against us. While some may think these concerns small or insignificant (and they are not the only ones), to me they are crucial to my earlier point: the skill levels between the two teams should be the only factor that determines winner from loser.
So to combat these problems, I created the schedule to ensure high fairness in these types of areas: No team will play on a pitch more than once on Day 1, and on Day 2 no team will play back-to-back on the same pitch until the Final Four. Where breaks and rest time are concerned, on Day 1 each team has at least two game-slots (one hour and twenty minutes) scheduled between all games. On Day 2, opponents are given equal rest time when possible, or at least one game slot between scheduled matches.
Why does any of this matter?
Even with these concessions, each schedule has its own nuances and quirks. And teams will always try to find some edge, even if it’s just a fraction of an inch. So the bigger question, then, is beyond the teams within a given Pool, ‘how can the Pool and Bracket structure work for my team’? Or ‘how can my team get one small step ahead’ as it were? Well, here are a few things to hope for:
The Draw/Pool Play
- Each team is different; some prefer their Pool Play games to finish early, leaving time to relax and recuperate before Bracket Play begins. Others like to ride momentum from games late on Day 1 into good performances on Day 2. Each pool has a different schedule in terms of game-times and order of games. Depending on the draw, some teams could be more excited about the schedule of their weekend than others based on preference.
- In relation to the first point, West Coast teams can attest how the change in time zones can be brutal. A 6AM wake up call in South Carolina feels like 3AM to the body. In this regard, a later start to the first game could be a benefit to West Coast teams. Due to the circular nature of the schedule, some teams do not have their first game until 11:40 AM local time. Depending on Pod/Pool placement, a West Coast team could get a small break on Day 1.
- Pitch 1 has been determined the Livestream Pitch for USQC9. Some teams or players could be affected to play their absolute best knowing that people from across the world will be watching, while others could suffer from stage--or, erm--streamfright.
Bracket Play
- It’s no secret that, barring major upsets in other parts of the bracket, higher seeds mean the potential of an easier path to the Final Four and Championship match. The first four seeds not only get to play their first game against a team who must survive a Play-In Game beforehand, but they are also the only teams that are guaranteed to NOT play against another Pool Winner in the Sweet 16 (1 v 16, 2 v 15, 3 v. 14, 4 v. 13). Getting a top four seed could substantially help a team’s path to the title.
- Past that point, things have the potential to get dicey. The Pool Winners not mentioned above play each other in the Sweet 16 (including the infamous 5 v. 12 and 7 v. 10 matchups from the NCAA tournament). Tiebreakers and Pool strength could play a large part in determining these crucial matchups.
- Moving past the high seeds, there are some matchup scenarios that could be beneficial to be a lower-seeded team. For example, a “middle of the pack” Pool Runner-Up has the potential to be seeded from 15-18, and thus likely to play someone very near their own skill level in the first game (15 v. 18 and 16 v. 17). However, as previously mentioned, in the next Round they would likely play either the #1 or #2 Seed in the tournament.
Comparatively, a lower seeded Pool Runner-Up or higher seeded Pool Third Place team is likely to be seeded 23-26, and would play a “better” team in the Round of 32 (10 v. 23 or 9 v. 24 for example). However, if the lower seeded team were to pull the upset, they would then play a team with a comparable skill level to the opponent they just defeated if the scenario plays out correctly (7 v. 23 or 8 v. 24). In fact, it was this very layout that helped propel Ohio State’s run to the Elite Eight at WC VII (and a scenario that I pointed out to the captains before bracket play began as a member of their tournament staff).
At the end of the day, none of it really matters. There are best-case scenarios and lucky hands, but it’s never guaranteed. One key phrase in the above paragraph says it all: “if the scenario plays out correctly”. Look at Bowling Green State University’s run to the Final Four at WCVI; to be the best, you have to beat the best, the saying goes. You can’t control who places into your path within the bracket. Your ultimate destiny is up to you.
Josh Maher, Gameplay Coordinator in the Events Department, will be in charge of gameplay at US Quidditch Cup 9. He spent two years playing for The Ohio State University, attending World Cup V and World Cup VI. He has been with USQ Gameplay since 2013, running gameplay at a total of four regionals and World Cup 8. In addition, he will be in charge of all gameplay for the International Quidditch Association's World Cup this summer in Frankfurt, Germany.
