And so it begins…
I am pleased to announce that ‘Ladder Legend’ will be extended to all three board sizes next year.
Ladder Legend 9x9 - 2020
Ladder Legend 13x13 - 2020
Ladder Legend 19x19 - 2020
To have a chance of competing in one of these tournaments; you need to be in the top 30 of the Ladder on the 9th Jan 2020. To guarantee entry, you need to be in the top 8 (see below).
Format is eight-person single-elimination so like the game we love, there is little or no room for mistakes. Clock settings and rules are the same as for the site ladders.
To qualify as a spectator all you need is a love of Go.
The most unique aspect of these tournaments is the incremental invitational process. Enthusiastic participation made this process more successful and less effortful than I had feared so I am only tweaking the process slightly for next year:
Invitational Process for 'Ladder Legend' 2020
On the 9th of January 2020, I will take a snapshot of the ladder and send invitations to the top 8 players. Each day thereafter, I will send additional invitations equal to the number of vacancies+1 until the tournament is full, working down the snapshot-list no further than position 30.
If you receive an invitation, decide quickly. The top eight will get ~24hrs to decide but thereafter the additional invitees could miss out as those above make late acceptances.
Please note that if you close your invitation without accepting or declining, then a bug prevents me from reissuing it and you will need to pm me if you wish to join.
The essence of the system remains. The higher up the ladder you are, the better your chances are of being able to participate.
Request/Proposal:
@gamesorry, @anoek OGS, please consider recognising/adding ‘Ladder Legend’ to the official Title Tournaments.
Those members of OGS who maintain a strong position on the ladders are site benefactors. They receive repeated, unrelenting challenges from those below in a spirit of sportsmanlike generosity (often playing games out much quicker than required by the rules). That deserves some kind of recognition. I once joked with Vortex by comparing his position at the top to that of “The Gunfighter”(1950).
I feel greatly encouraged by the inaugural event. Participation has been more enthusiastic than I imagined and the first round has yielded exciting, quality games with no disqualifications or timeouts.
While the tournaments themselves are small, the use of the ladders for the preliminaries makes the effort of winning a ‘Ladder Legend’ comparable to existing Title Tournaments.
It is my firm belief that OGS can do more than provide banner-links to events elsewhere. As a community we can and do host, participate, commentate and spectate exciting quality events right here.
So I invite all the OGS community to consider this proposal and to contribute to its success in whatever ways appeal most to you.
For Your Consideration, Kosh
‘And so it begins’…(gratuitous 6sec Kosh voice)
[Edit] Please note that bots are ineligible for these tournaments.
