Announcing the ESOC Premier League Season 2!
Posted: 14 Mar 2020, 18:05
by Cometk
— Gameplay Rules — Event Discord — Tournament Schedule —
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the 2nd installment of the ESOC Premier League! Expanding on the success of its first iteration, ESOC's next big event will be the second season of the ESOC Premier League (EPL) - a team-based tournament where 6 Team Managers draft a squad from a pool of players and duke it out over the following 5 weeks round-robin style to make it to the playoffs, where the best 2 teams face off to determine this year's reigning champs. Each team must have a minimum of 6 players, with 5 players on the main roster and at least 1 substitute. Players will be drafted in a Live Auction Event, with Team Managers bidding on players using a limited amount of "duck coins". Each team is also granted one "champion", a player who is theirs for free and basically functions as the team's assistant manager. The ESOC Premier League is one of the most fun and engaging tournaments ESOC has to offer, so read on if you're interested!
The admins for the event this year will be @BrookG, @Mr_Bramboy, and myself, @Cometk.
With that said, I'd like to welcome our managers and their champions:
Mandarin Duck Squad - @Vinyanyérë + @Mitoe
The Nilla Ninjas - @Aizamk + @iamturk
Hudson Bay BIGs - @n0el + @samwise12
New World Challengers - @WickedCossack + @[Armag] diarouga
Somali Kabuli Gaming - @princeofkabul + @Hazza54321
Cuirassier Management Co. - @TheNameDaniel + @Kaiserklein
Player sign-ups are open now. You can sign up by making a post in the Sign-ups thread with your ESO username. Sign-ups will close Friday, March 27th at 23:59 GMT.
Keep in mind that signing up does not guarantee that you will be drafted - hop in the EPL discord and make sure to prove your skills to the team managers to ensure your place in the event!
General EPL Rules & Regulations
Description of the Team Manager
The Team Manager is essentially the boss of a team. The Team Manager has the final word in all decisions (barring the admins) regarding his team. The Team Manager decides which players are drafted onto the team and who is rostered from week to week. Managers also make sure that the team keeps running on a day to day basis. If a team fails to complete their matches by the end of the allotted time, the onus is on the manager to inform the admins as to what happened in case activity decisions need to be made.
Because of these responsibilities, The Team Manager is probably the most important part of the team. As such, the position of TM is not one to be taken lightly.
• Team Managers are not eligible to play in the ESOC Premier League. One can either play or manage, not both.
• Team Managers are chosen primarily on the subjective opinion of the admins as to who they believe would be fit for the position. Being fit for the position includes knowledge of players in the community and having above average activity on the forums and other AoE3 platforms.
Lastly, the Team Manager has the following duties:
• They will be present at the live auction, or appoint someone (preferably the champion) to participate in the live auction in their stead.
• They will arrange match pairings with the other team managers.
• They will ensure to the best of their abilities that their players complete their matches on time.
• In the event that a match fails to be completed, they will inform the hosts as to why the match failed to be completed, and what their player did in order to finish the match.
• They will communicate any grievances with the admins.
• They will oversee all trades the team makes.
To assist them in their duties, Team Managers are allowed one "champion", a player who is on the team for free and acts as adviser to the TM. Chosen before the EPL has officially begun, the champion plays in the league and offers advice to the Team Manager on bidding strategy. Champions may also be granted authority by the Team Manager to agree with other team managers on match pairings, make trades, and place bids in the Midseason Auction. However, the Team Manager holds the final word in all decisions regarding the team.
Because of these responsibilities, The Team Manager is probably the most important part of the team. As such, the position of TM is not one to be taken lightly.
• Team Managers are not eligible to play in the ESOC Premier League. One can either play or manage, not both.
• Team Managers are chosen primarily on the subjective opinion of the admins as to who they believe would be fit for the position. Being fit for the position includes knowledge of players in the community and having above average activity on the forums and other AoE3 platforms.
Lastly, the Team Manager has the following duties:
• They will be present at the live auction, or appoint someone (preferably the champion) to participate in the live auction in their stead.
• They will arrange match pairings with the other team managers.
• They will ensure to the best of their abilities that their players complete their matches on time.
• In the event that a match fails to be completed, they will inform the hosts as to why the match failed to be completed, and what their player did in order to finish the match.
• They will communicate any grievances with the admins.
• They will oversee all trades the team makes.
To assist them in their duties, Team Managers are allowed one "champion", a player who is on the team for free and acts as adviser to the TM. Chosen before the EPL has officially begun, the champion plays in the league and offers advice to the Team Manager on bidding strategy. Champions may also be granted authority by the Team Manager to agree with other team managers on match pairings, make trades, and place bids in the Midseason Auction. However, the Team Manager holds the final word in all decisions regarding the team.
Sign-ups Information
All players must sign up if they wish to play in the ESOC Premier League. It is important to note that the ESOC Premier League is a 7 week event and that the activity level of a player is important. Do not sign up to play for a team if you do not intend to see the tournament through to the end. This includes maintaining a competitive attitude if your team is already eliminated from playoff contention. You never know whether or not winning your end-of-season matches will make you a more valued player in future iterations of the EPL, so even if your team isn’t necessarily in the playoff picture anymore, there’s always value in playing your best. Failure to complete matches consistently may result in being barred from entrance in future ESOC tournaments.
Player sign-ups are open now. You can sign up by making a post in this thread with your ESO username. Sign-ups will close Friday, March 27th at 23:59 GMT.
If you are interested in playing, be aware that any team may buy you, and you are expected to play for them. If you were only considering playing for the team with your friends on it, please do the admins a favor and do not sign up. Messaging managers requesting that they not bid on you or refusing to play for a team after you are drafted for them or are both grounds for a tournament ban. For the integrity of the event, and with respect to everyone involved, one must have a competitive attitude no matter who they play for!
You are generally expected to participate in your team's Discord. While we understand that activity levels may vary, this is the core portion of the EPL, and what makes it fun. Your team's Discord server is where your team will hang out, discuss strategies, and have fun without worrying about the game. This is where teams come together (or fall apart), and likely the most integral part of the entire tournament.
Player sign-ups are open now. You can sign up by making a post in this thread with your ESO username. Sign-ups will close Friday, March 27th at 23:59 GMT.
If you are interested in playing, be aware that any team may buy you, and you are expected to play for them. If you were only considering playing for the team with your friends on it, please do the admins a favor and do not sign up. Messaging managers requesting that they not bid on you or refusing to play for a team after you are drafted for them or are both grounds for a tournament ban. For the integrity of the event, and with respect to everyone involved, one must have a competitive attitude no matter who they play for!
You are generally expected to participate in your team's Discord. While we understand that activity levels may vary, this is the core portion of the EPL, and what makes it fun. Your team's Discord server is where your team will hang out, discuss strategies, and have fun without worrying about the game. This is where teams come together (or fall apart), and likely the most integral part of the entire tournament.
Live Auction
Each Team Manager will start the bidding with 10,000 duck coins.
In the weeks preceding the live auction, a time will be chosen between the Team Managers and admins to meet and perform a live auction in order to choose players. Managers will be expected to remain at the auction for the entire duration, which should take approximately 2-3 hours. If a Team Manager cannot, for some reason, find a feasible time that he can attend a Live Auction, then his champion will be called upon to fill the spot. If neither the Team Manager nor the Champion are available for the Live Auction, then the admins will appoint someone to draft in their place.
At the time of the auction, all 6 managers and the admins will be present in the #auction channel of the EPL Discord server. Spectators are allowed to watch the live auction proceedings, but are not able to speak - discussion on the bidding at hand is relegated to the #general channel or any other appropriate outlet. The auction will also be streamed live on ESOCTV.
The Live Auction will be conducted using a discord chat program. The program will prompt a Team Manager to nominate a player using the !nominate command. Once a player is nominated, the program will give a 15 second countdown before the bidding begins. The auction will then open with the nominating team automatically placing the first bid of 500 duck coins. Team Managers will use a command to make an upbid, raising a minimum of 25 duck coins. Bids may only be made on intervals of 25 duck coins. If after 20 seconds there are no new bids, the player is sold to the highest bid in the channel. The program will provide 15, 10, and 5 second warnings before the bidding is closed on a player. Once a player is sold the admins will confirm the bid, after which the program will move on to the next Team Manager to nominate a player.
Team Managers will nominate in a repeating pattern. For example, if SKG nominates 1st, NN 2nd, and CMC 3rd, then SKG will also nominate 4th, NN 5th, and CMC 6th. The order of nominations this year will be MDS 1 / NN 2 / SKG 3 / CMC 4 / BIG 5 / NWC 6 / repeat. Managers are also granted the ability to skip their nomination phase once during the auction.
Managers are asked to have a predetermined list of players they intend to nominate as well as potential bid caps, in order to make the process go as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Here is a sample of how the live auction is expected to take place.
Following the auction will be a one week break for the teams to get to know each other and cement strategies for Week 1 of the event. During this time, Team Managers may also trade players with each other. In order to complete a trade, both managers involved must PM an admin detailing which player(s) on their team they are trading. Trades become finalized with admin approval. Trades may be conducted until the end of the Midseason Break Week (that is, just before beginning Week 4). After that, team rosters are finalized until the end of the event. Additionally, teams that are facing each other may not conduct a trade together during that week.
In the weeks preceding the live auction, a time will be chosen between the Team Managers and admins to meet and perform a live auction in order to choose players. Managers will be expected to remain at the auction for the entire duration, which should take approximately 2-3 hours. If a Team Manager cannot, for some reason, find a feasible time that he can attend a Live Auction, then his champion will be called upon to fill the spot. If neither the Team Manager nor the Champion are available for the Live Auction, then the admins will appoint someone to draft in their place.
At the time of the auction, all 6 managers and the admins will be present in the #auction channel of the EPL Discord server. Spectators are allowed to watch the live auction proceedings, but are not able to speak - discussion on the bidding at hand is relegated to the #general channel or any other appropriate outlet. The auction will also be streamed live on ESOCTV.
The Live Auction will be conducted using a discord chat program. The program will prompt a Team Manager to nominate a player using the !nominate command. Once a player is nominated, the program will give a 15 second countdown before the bidding begins. The auction will then open with the nominating team automatically placing the first bid of 500 duck coins. Team Managers will use a command to make an upbid, raising a minimum of 25 duck coins. Bids may only be made on intervals of 25 duck coins. If after 20 seconds there are no new bids, the player is sold to the highest bid in the channel. The program will provide 15, 10, and 5 second warnings before the bidding is closed on a player. Once a player is sold the admins will confirm the bid, after which the program will move on to the next Team Manager to nominate a player.
Team Managers will nominate in a repeating pattern. For example, if SKG nominates 1st, NN 2nd, and CMC 3rd, then SKG will also nominate 4th, NN 5th, and CMC 6th. The order of nominations this year will be MDS 1 / NN 2 / SKG 3 / CMC 4 / BIG 5 / NWC 6 / repeat. Managers are also granted the ability to skip their nomination phase once during the auction.
Managers are asked to have a predetermined list of players they intend to nominate as well as potential bid caps, in order to make the process go as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Here is a sample of how the live auction is expected to take place.
Managers: it is necessary for you to purchase at least 5 players during the auction, of which all must be paid at least 500 duck coins. This creates a soft cap of 8,000 duck coins on any particular bid - that is, the maximum amount of coins you can spend on any one player while still having enough funds to pay at least 500 duck coins on 4 more players. The maximum number of players a team is allowed to draft during the auction is 8.Stream Overlay BOT
:SKG: Somali Kabuli Gaming are up to nominate a player.
@Prinz type !nominate [player] to nominate the next player ().
Prinz
!nominate LordRaphael
Stream Overlay BOT
@Auction, player LORDRAPHAEL was nominated ! Get ready for the auction to begin.
Bidding has opened on player LORDRAPHAEL !
@Prinz bid for player LORDRAPHAEL in the amount of :duckcoin: 500.
Aiz
!525
Stream Overlay BOT
@Aiz bid for a player LORDRAPHAEL in the amount of :duckcoin: 525
nOeL
!550
Stream Overlay BOT
@nOeL bid for a player LORDRAPHAEL in the amount of :duckcoin: 550
15 seconds left.
10 seconds left.
Prinz
!600
Stream Overlay BOT
@Prinz bid for a player LORDRAPHAEL in the amount of :duckcoin: 600
15 seconds left.
10 seconds left.
5 seconds left.
Bidding has CLOSED! Awaiting confirmation of auction results.
Cometk
!confirm
Stream Overlay BOT
LORDRAPHAEL was sold to :SKG: Somali Kabuli Gaming for :duckcoin: 600 !
:NN: Nilla Ninjas are up to nominate a player.
@Aiz type !nominate [player] to nominate the next player ().
Following the auction will be a one week break for the teams to get to know each other and cement strategies for Week 1 of the event. During this time, Team Managers may also trade players with each other. In order to complete a trade, both managers involved must PM an admin detailing which player(s) on their team they are trading. Trades become finalized with admin approval. Trades may be conducted until the end of the Midseason Break Week (that is, just before beginning Week 4). After that, team rosters are finalized until the end of the event. Additionally, teams that are facing each other may not conduct a trade together during that week.
Week 1
It is at this time that the tournament will commence. The league stage consists of a Round Robin tournament. Each team will face every other team through 3 weeks of play. Team Managers competing against each other in the next week will agree on Match Pairings for their players and submit their starting roster to the admins no later than the deadline of the current week. In case two Team Managers cannot come to an agreement in regards to the Match Pairings, both managers will submit their rosters to an admin through PM and the admin will create the Match Pairings for the week.
When the week starts, players will face off against their respective opponent in a Play-all-5 series. This means all 5 games of a series will be played out, even if a player is ahead 3-0 in the match.
For example:
There are a few regulatory things during the league stages that need to be outlined.
1. Match Pairings - Match Pairings refer to who players play against during a given week. Match Pairings will be finalized between two Team Managers before a Week begins. Generally, the strongest player on one team will face the strongest player on the other team, the weakest player will face the other weakest player, etc. In case two Team Managers cannot come to an agreement on the Match Pairings, both managers will submit their rosters to an admin through PM and the admin will create the Match Pairings for the week.
2. Substitutes – At any point during the week, a team may make a substitution for an inactive player. In order to do this the Team Manager must PM an admin on the forums or discord saying which player is substituting out, and which player is substituting in. A substitution will be decided at admin discretion; for example, a request to substitute in a 2500 JP Elo player for a 2100 JP Elo player will NOT be accepted. For a substitution to be accepted, the involved players should be somewhat equal in skill level. A player that has been substituted out for a week cannot be substituted back in.
When the week starts, players will face off against their respective opponent in a Play-all-5 series. This means all 5 games of a series will be played out, even if a player is ahead 3-0 in the match.
For example:
Whichever team wins the most games will be declared the victor for the week. At the end of the round robin stage, the two teams with the highest number of game wins proceed to the playoffs.Maps: Map Pool 1 (Gran Chaco / Florida / Alaska / Mendocino / Arizona)
The Nilla Ninjas (11) vs Somali Kabuli Gaming (14)
diarouga (4) vs Hazza54321 (1)
Conquerer999 (1) vs SomppuKunkku (4)
Stanley_Winston (0) vs iamturk (5)
Chusik (3) vs Yurashic (2)
SirCallen (3) vs tedere12 (2)
The Nilla Ninjas would earn 11 game wins towards their season total, and Somali Kabuli Gaming would earn 14 game wins.
There are a few regulatory things during the league stages that need to be outlined.
1. Match Pairings - Match Pairings refer to who players play against during a given week. Match Pairings will be finalized between two Team Managers before a Week begins. Generally, the strongest player on one team will face the strongest player on the other team, the weakest player will face the other weakest player, etc. In case two Team Managers cannot come to an agreement on the Match Pairings, both managers will submit their rosters to an admin through PM and the admin will create the Match Pairings for the week.
2. Substitutes – At any point during the week, a team may make a substitution for an inactive player. In order to do this the Team Manager must PM an admin on the forums or discord saying which player is substituting out, and which player is substituting in. A substitution will be decided at admin discretion; for example, a request to substitute in a 2500 JP Elo player for a 2100 JP Elo player will NOT be accepted. For a substitution to be accepted, the involved players should be somewhat equal in skill level. A player that has been substituted out for a week cannot be substituted back in.
Midseason Auction
During Week 3, sign-ups will reopen. Players that signed up for the original auction and weren't drafted will be allowed to sign up for the Midseason Auction and a new free agent list will be made. Note: Even if you signed up the first time around, you must sign up again in order to get be included on the Midseason Auction list.
Instead of having another live auction, an auction will take place on the forums. A manager will post their bids, with other managers having up to 24 hours from the time of the post to make a higher bid on the player. After 24 hours, if the manager has not been outbid, the player will be sold to their team. The Midseason Auction will last for the entirety of the Midseason Break Week.
The players purchased during the Midseason Auction will be allowed to play beginning Week 4. There is no use for credits leftover after the Midseason Auction, so it is in every manager’s best interest to spend all of their remaining points at this time. No players may enter the EPL after the Midseason Auction, except in the case of a team falling below the minimum number of starters due to their players being tournament banned, in which case they'll be allowed to pick players from the undrafted pool until they reach the minimum threshold.
Instead of having another live auction, an auction will take place on the forums. A manager will post their bids, with other managers having up to 24 hours from the time of the post to make a higher bid on the player. After 24 hours, if the manager has not been outbid, the player will be sold to their team. The Midseason Auction will last for the entirety of the Midseason Break Week.
The players purchased during the Midseason Auction will be allowed to play beginning Week 4. There is no use for credits leftover after the Midseason Auction, so it is in every manager’s best interest to spend all of their remaining points at this time. No players may enter the EPL after the Midseason Auction, except in the case of a team falling below the minimum number of starters due to their players being tournament banned, in which case they'll be allowed to pick players from the undrafted pool until they reach the minimum threshold.
Trades
Beginning immediately after the conclusion of the Live Auction, team managers may trade players with each other. In order to complete a trade, both managers involved must PM an admin detailing which player(s) on their team they are trading. Trades become finalized with admin approval. Trades may be conducted until the end of the midseason break week (that is, just before beginning Week 4). After that, team rosters are finalized until the end of the event. Additionally, teams that are facing each other may not conduct a trade that week.
Trades may include 2-for-1 deals, certain amounts of duck coins, free players, or anything else under the sun. However, as mentioned previously, all trades are finalized with admin approval.
Trades may include 2-for-1 deals, certain amounts of duck coins, free players, or anything else under the sun. However, as mentioned previously, all trades are finalized with admin approval.
Week 6 - Playoffs
At the end of the league stages, there will be a playoffs involving the top 2 teams in Total Game Wins. In the event of a tie in the standings, the following criteria is used for breaking ties.
• # of Weeks Won >
• Result of the week where the two vying teams played against each other
Instead of Play-all-5 series', the playoffs will be constituted of Play-all-7 series'. Admins will create the final map pool just before the Playoffs begin.
• # of Weeks Won >
• Result of the week where the two vying teams played against each other
Instead of Play-all-5 series', the playoffs will be constituted of Play-all-7 series'. Admins will create the final map pool just before the Playoffs begin.
Prize Pool
The starting prize pool for the ESOC Premier League Season 2 is $1250 USD. In addition, 50% of donations received throughout the course of the event will go towards the tournament prize pool. Should there be any redundant games during the Playoffs stage (ie. games left to be played despite a team having already won), $25 will be injected into the prize pool for each redundant game completed.
The winning team of the playoffs will be declared the victors of the ESOC Premier League, and have the 67% of the tournament prize pool divided evenly among its members. All members will also receive the illustrious EPL Reigning Champs badge. The 2nd place team of the playoffs will have 33% of the prize pool divided among its members.
A side pot of $300 is reserved for the 3rd and 4th place teams in the standings, with $150 allocated towards each team in these positions.
The winning team of the playoffs will be declared the victors of the ESOC Premier League, and have the 67% of the tournament prize pool divided evenly among its members. All members will also receive the illustrious EPL Reigning Champs badge. The 2nd place team of the playoffs will have 33% of the prize pool divided among its members.
A side pot of $300 is reserved for the 3rd and 4th place teams in the standings, with $150 allocated towards each team in these positions.
Retainers
In the next season of the ESOC Premier League (EPL3), the champion system will be done away with. This means that:
1) All current champions are released and must be drafted at auction to play in the ESOC Premier League
2) A Team Manager must purchase at least 6 players for his team
3) Starting duck coins will go from 10,000 to 12,000
In addition, a new retainer system will be installed. A retainer is a player who is purchased pre-auction by the same team who drafted them in the last season of the EPL. The price of a retained player is the amount they went for in the last auction + 500 duck coins, so, for example, LordRaphael who cost 4000 duck coins in EPL1 would cost 4500 duck coins to be retained in EPL2.
More regulations on retainers:
- A player must consent to being retained.
- A player is only eligible to be retained by the team they were originally drafted by and only if they remained on the team until the end of the season (they were not traded away).
- Only 2 retentions are allowed per team per season.
1) All current champions are released and must be drafted at auction to play in the ESOC Premier League
2) A Team Manager must purchase at least 6 players for his team
3) Starting duck coins will go from 10,000 to 12,000
In addition, a new retainer system will be installed. A retainer is a player who is purchased pre-auction by the same team who drafted them in the last season of the EPL. The price of a retained player is the amount they went for in the last auction + 500 duck coins, so, for example, LordRaphael who cost 4000 duck coins in EPL1 would cost 4500 duck coins to be retained in EPL2.
More regulations on retainers:
- A player must consent to being retained.
- A player is only eligible to be retained by the team they were originally drafted by and only if they remained on the team until the end of the season (they were not traded away).
- Only 2 retentions are allowed per team per season.
This post marks the formal start to the ESOC Premier League Season 2. Managers may now hold official tryouts.
>> Sign-Ups <<
>> Gameplay Rules <<
>> Tournament Schedule <<
>> Tournament Discord <<
Any further questions, feel free to ask in this thread. Here's to a great event!