Announcing the $3000 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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United States of America Cometk
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Announcing the $3000 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by Cometk »

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>> Tournament Rules <<
>> New Player Guide <<


Winter is Coming...
That's right ladies and gentlemen, the next major Age of Empires 3 event is on its way. Open to anyone, the ESOC Winter Championship 2020 marks our most ambitious effort yet, with the introduction of the division system and over 20 paid places for the tournament's top performers.

It's been over a year since the last ESOC Major Tournament's Grand Finals, where we saw a nail-bitingly close series between @koenigerik1 and @Kynesie for the $1600 prize pool of the ESOC Autumn Championship 2018. I'm proud to announce that we will be topping that this year with the $3000 ESOC Winter Championship 2020 — likely to be the most prestigious ESOC-hosted tournament to date.

Open to anyone with an ESO account and the ESOC Patch, you can register for the tournament in your MyESOC Panel. New to AoE3? Don't sweat it - take a look at the ESOC New Player's Guide. This year's major tournament is one that will be very friendly to beginning players!

The first round of the tournament is set to begin on Monday, January 6th, 2020, so mark your calendars and start getting some practice in!

A Place For Everyone - The Division System

The most important feature of the ESOC Winter Championship 2020 is the introduction of the division system. Based on Elo rating, players will be divided up into 1 of 4 different divisions - the Pro Division, Advanced Division, Intermediate Division, or the Beginner Division. The first week of the tournament will hold a qualifiers round for placement in each division - losing your qualifiers match will simply mean that you drop down one division. For example, if you are playing in the Advanced Division Qualifiers and lose, you will be dropped into the Intermediate Division Round of 32.

What this means is that the competition should be much more balanced for all skill levels. Our hope with this system is that each player's individual tournament experience is one that is more unique, dynamic, and full of depth than those of previous Major tournaments.

All divisions will run concurrently beginning on January 6th, 2020. The Pro Division is slated to last around 5 weeks, ending on February 9th. The Advanced and Intermediate Divisions will last one additional week, ending around February 16th. And finally the Beginner Division, with the largest representation of players, is set to end some time in late February / early March. Here is where you can find more information on the tournament schedule.

Tournament Rules

The ESOC Winter Championship 2020 will use the same civilization rules as the New World Championship 2019 Qualifiers.  This means that after you have won with a civilization you can no longer play it in a series, and the winner of the previous game locks his civilization first going into the next game of a series.

To be eligible to participate in the tournament, a prospective player must have played at least 5 online rated games on the ESOC Patch. If you are in need of a partner to play some games with on the EP, try using the #find-a-match channel on the ESOC Discord server or check out the Active EP players page to find other players at your skill level. You can view your overall match history and Elo rating on the ESOC Ladder.

The tournament map pool will feature 9 maps in total. Additionally, all tournament maps will contain Trading Posts to varying degrees. 

The tournament map pool is as follows:
Mendocino / New England / Bonnie Springs / Arizona / Florida /
Arkansas / Colorado / Hudson Bay Summer / Manchac
ESOC Patch Version 7.0

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The long-awaited next iteration of the ESOC Patch is coming to a launcher near you. After months of development, and even some testing, the release of EP7 is here and just in time for ladder season this December.

ESOC Patch Version 7.0 includes
  1. – Buffs to weaker civilizations (e.g. Aztecs, Spanish) and nerfs to stronger ones (e.g. Germans, Iroquois)
    – Improved viability of many basic features, including buffs to underused units and minor natives as well as Trading Post-reliant civilizations on maps that do not include Trading Posts
    – Superior treasure balance
    – Tons of bug fixes, including hero cover-mode bug, Explorer crack-shot bug, and the Heal Dance War Chief bug
Casting on ESOCTV - Recruiting New Talent

With so many divisions and players from all kinds of skill levels, it's no surprise we'd like to have as many games as possible streamed. For this reason, ESOC is looking to recruit talented casters into our ranks. This is your chance to grow your casting skills and to provide entertainment to hundreds of people all over the world. This tournament is the perfect opportunity for you to develop yourself, as new casters will be given the chance to stream games from the lower divisions on ESOCTV. Being an ESOC caster has many perks and is a voluntary position.

If you are interested in joining the team, please shoot a message to @Mr_Bramboy or @Cometk!
Thanks everyone, and lets have a great event!
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Norway spanky4ever
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by spanky4ever »

I am really glad that esoc has the economy to host this game. It makes me relieved tbh. Go Headkiller, your such a good guy :) And in the games, may there be fair rules, and fair games, so the best player win :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers:
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by The_Lastsamurai »

iwillspankyou wrote:I am really glad that esoc has the economy to host this game. It makes me relieved tbh. Go Headkiller, your such a good guy :) And in the games, may there be fair rules, and fair games, so the best player win :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers:
yeah me too at least they wont have someone dictating what they should and shouldn't ESOC always hosts good tournaments well done guys
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by dicktator_ »

It's probably too late now but I wonder if this would've been a good time to push for only EP QS games being rated for 1v1. With seeding arguably mattering in this tournament more than any other (correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is that if you are not top 24 in seeding you do not get a chance to play in the pro division) and the increase in players from pr25-top level playing on EP (I assume this is also why a tournament that needs a relatively large amount of signups to work is being hosted) it seems like it would be logical. Regardless ESOC continues to impress me with its fun and interesting formats.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by gibson »

So will there be a prize pool for the advanced division
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by Riotcoke »

gibson wrote:So will there be a prize pool for the advanced division
Yes,

Pro $1800
Advanced $480
Intermediate $120
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by Cometk »

gibson wrote:So will there be a prize pool for the advanced division
Yes, here you can find the full breakdown of the tournament prize pool.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by Lukas_L99 »

Pretty sick idea tbh. But I still have some questions:
-How is the prize distributed? I can imagine some players losing on purpose in the qualifiers to get easier prize money.
-Is there any way to detect smurfs who sign up just to win money in the lower divisions?

Edit: Ah, Mr CometKay already answered my first question I guess.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by gibson »

What the rank cap for advanced?
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by Riotcoke »

dicktator_ wrote:It's probably too late now but I wonder if this would've been a good time to push for only EP QS games being rated for 1v1. With seeding arguably mattering in this tournament more than any other (correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is that if you are not top 24 in seeding you do not get a chance to play in the pro division) and the increase in players from pr25-top level playing on EP (I assume this is also why a tournament that needs a relatively large amount of signups to work is being hosted) it seems like it would be logical. Regardless ESOC continues to impress me with its fun and interesting formats.
Problem with this is if you QS at like pr25-30 on EP you'll just get dicked over 24/7 by better players who can still sap you for ELO. It'll just be incredibly demotivating. Basically people know who the good players are and who should be in the top 25, and it's not hard to quickly check someone's account to see if they're doing an UMEU.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by lemmings121 »

Wait winter? but its almost 40ºC. Seasonal tourneys always confuse me...
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by Riotcoke »

gibson wrote:What the rank cap for advanced?
There isn't one, if you lose in the pro division qualifiers you go down to the advanced division.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by gibson »

Riotcoke wrote:
gibson wrote:What the rank cap for advanced?
There isn't one, if you lose in the pro division you go down to the advanced division.
Can you please explain how it works since I am too lazy to read the rules? Ranking system in particular?
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by Riotcoke »

Basically you get grouped with your ELO, then have a qualifier to determine if you slot into that division. If you win you go to the assigned division, if you lose you go into the one below it. So if you get assigned the advanced division and lose you drop down to the roX of the intermediate division.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by Cometk »

gibson wrote:
Riotcoke wrote:
gibson wrote:What the rank cap for advanced?
There isn't one, if you lose in the pro division you go down to the advanced division.
Can you please explain how it works since I am too lazy to read the rules? Ranking system in particular?
By Elo, seeds # 25-40 will play a Best-of-5 Qualifiers series for placement in the Advanced Division. The 8 winners of those Advanced Qualifiers games will play 8 losers from the Pro Division Qualifiers in the next round.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by knusch »

gibson wrote:So will there be a prize pool for the advanced division
pretty confident that the chance of winning a training session with a pro will motivate u to sign up
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by gibson »

knusch wrote:
gibson wrote:So will there be a prize pool for the advanced division
pretty confident that the chance of winning a training session with a pro will motivate u to sign up
I'm the pro whos doing the training, I can give u lessons if u need to help to beat GUA
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by j_t_kirk »

HYPE
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by princeofcarthage »

Wouldn't have hurt to throw in a 100 $ prizepool for beginner as well tbh, just so that they also have some financial motivation to play the series.
Fine line to something great is a strange change.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by knusch »

gibson wrote:
knusch wrote:
gibson wrote:So will there be a prize pool for the advanced division
pretty confident that the chance of winning a training session with a pro will motivate u to sign up
I'm the pro whos doing the training, I can give u lessons if u need to help to beat GUA
do you have a youtube channel or stream by any chance that i can watch to get better?
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by gibson »

knusch wrote:
gibson wrote:
Show hidden quotes
I'm the pro whos doing the training, I can give u lessons if u need to help to beat GUA
do you have a youtube channel or stream by any chance that i can watch to get better?
twitch.tv/sirmusket
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by Mr_Bramboy »

Lukas_L99 wrote:-Is there any way to detect smurfs who sign up just to win money in the lower divisions?
We hope to deincentivize this behavior due to the way the prize pools are designed. In any case, we'll be vigilantly watching for smurfs. I think we've established a precedent for cheaters by now, so I advise anyone planning on winning some easy money in a lower division to think twice.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

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Post by Interjection »

This is fantastic! Really like the decision to pick TP only maps
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by [Armag] diarouga »

I am tempted to play but EP 7.0 is too much for me. I might sign up and free lose to win the advanced league though.
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Re: Announcing the $2500 ESOC Winter Championship 2020!

Post by deleted_user0 »

Holy shit 2.5k

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