Tournament: Raid Group Ember Cup

And of course, the reason why I had to cover this month's themed cup for Silph Arena right away is because my raid group has started to concoct its assortment of tournaments for this new individual competitive season, appropriately beginning with that themed cup. It is to serve as a "launching pad" for group members, as well as others of adjacent communities if possible, to gain rank in the competitive season; that too has always been the case, both in the past prior to the current conditions and in the present competition.

Still, that's just the theory; in practice, no one from outside my raid group signed up by the time it came to hold the tournament today, and the participants were meager as well, almost prompting the tournament to be postponed. However, I suggested that the system of the tournament be changed to one that is more accommodating in order to allow it to go on, and the organizer in my group agreed. Taking my suggestion, the system was changed, and it went on as scheduled for today. This change is another hallmark of what this current Silph Arena season accommodates, for even groups with minor interest.

Usually, tournaments in the Silph Arena are held with the Swiss system, which should be familiar for anyone who deals with competitive play for Pokémon games (and certain other games). However, Factions is an exception, as it uses a "round robin" system (everyone plays against each other) for many of its teams; the same system is in fact also available for use in Silph Arena tournaments for individual Trainers that are held in person and has four to eight participants, less than the "quota" of nine for the Swiss system. This one "checks off all the boxes", so to speak, and so it was the case that the system was changed to that.

This current tournament ended up having just five Trainers, including me, which with the round robin system meant four rounds against the other four Trainers and an extra "bye" round for all (the one Trainer that did not get matched with anyone while the other four battled). By the constraints of the system, it is also in person, and the choice was to hold it in the local park that also hosted some previous editions of Community Day while it is unavailable for such due to the risk of inclement weather. However, since the tournament was scheduled for the late morning, it had to be perfectly fine, and it was.

Regarding results, they weren't too shabby either; in fact, they were very interesting and very good. This is the first Silph Arena tournament where the victory went to... me! Actually, there were three Trainers who won the same number of rounds (three, excluding the bye round), but considering the number of battles won as a tiebreaker, I effectively came out on top with 10 battles won in total: I swept all the battles in the rounds where I won, and in the one I didn't win, I "stole" an extra win. Interestingly, the head-to-head results showed that those top Trainers won and lost against one of the other each. I actually had resigned myself to fate by the last round (specifically after my second round loss) when I was told that if I won the last round, the above results could occur... and it did, and I won the last round outright.

The proud five (and an even prouder middle person).

Following the tournament, we gathered at a local coffee shop and had drinks and talks, as well as a PvP "clinic" of sorts where we discussed its associated theories and practices, and then applied them as a couple of us battled in the Go Battle League in the current available formats. As well, we discussed a few things about the Silph Arena... and established a matter of interest related to its tournaments, which I can't bring up at the moment, but all will become clear in due time. It is something that I will have to keep tabs on - literally.

Years of participation in Pokémon game tournaments have finally produced quite favorable results for me in this particular one, even if the tournament itself was of a limited capacity and almost fell through. Though the circumstances may be different, there is a sense that the effort is still the same. That's something to be maintained in the case that I participate in further tournaments, and that's not "if" but "when", as the Silph Arena season has only started. The efforts have to continue as the tournaments themselves also do so.

One year ago: Quickies: Clapping with Pokémon

Two years ago: The Syntax of Pokémon Names

Three years ago: Locks on Shiny Forms

Four years ago: A Pokémon Case Analytic Scenario

Five years ago: The Three-Count

Six years ago: On the Subject of Go