With the very first TREK MASTERS of the extended inaugural season just around the corner at the Grand Prix in Celle Germany this October, it's about time to talk about some of the kit we are introducing for this new series of special events.
TREK MASTERS Foils
First off, let me introduce to you the three TREK MASTERS foils, exclusive to the TREK MASTERS events. Each of these will be distributed in limited quantities to ensure rarity and exclusivity to the top ranked players at the event.
TREK MASTERS Buttons and Forum Badges
What would a special Continuing Committee event be without badges? TREK MASTERS will see a pair of all-new metal buttons players will be in the running for:
The gold Command star will be awarded to the winner, and the silver Staff star will be awarded to all players who participate in the event.
There will also be forum badges, which also reflect the same theme as the buttons:
The gold Command star forum badge will be awarded to the winner and the silver Staff star forum badge will be awarded to the runner-up.
TREK MASTERS Winners Playmat
Next up, we've got a brand new playmat. Exclusively branded for the TREK MASTERS winner, these trophies will identify TREK MASTERS at future events they play in, striking fear into the hearts of all who oppose them!
As you may have noticed from the art above, they all incorporate familiar shades of blue. Just as our championships are based on uniforms, TREK MASTERS will incorporate affiliation-based motifs, and the theme for this TREK MASTERS season is Federation.
MASTERS POINTS
With the introduction of TREK MASTERS, the Department of Organized Play have a unique opportunity to trial new ideas in a brand new tournament environment. One such idea came up early on in the development of the TREK MASTERS: the return of a system known already to many players under the name "Premier Points". The idea is that players earn points based on their placing at TREK MASTERS tournaments throughout the season. Hence, "MASTERS Points" were born.
MASTERS Points are earned simply through attendance at TREK MASTERS events. The higher you place and the more players that are in attendance, the more points you earn. The following table outlines how many points players earn based on their placing and the number of players in the tournament.
MASTERS POINTS | PLACE | ||||||
1st | 2nd | 3rd-4th | 5th-8th | 9th-16th | 17th-32nd | ||
NUMBER |
4-5 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | ||
6-7 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | |||
8-9 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | ||
10-11 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 10 | ||
12-13 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 14 | ||
14-15 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 22 | 18 | ||
16-19 | 36 | 32 | 28 | 26 | 22 | 18 | |
20-23 | 40 | 36 | 32 | 30 | 26 | 22 | |
24-27 | 44 | 40 | 36 | 34 | 30 | 26 | |
28-31 | 48 | 44 | 40 | 38 | 34 | 30 | |
32+ | 52 | 48 | 44 | 42 | 38 | 34 |
Inherited from the tried-and-tested WCT League points matrix that players are already familiar with, MASTERS Points are accumulated throughout the season, as well as lifetime points tracking, just as they are in the WCT League.
For the 2014-2015 TREK MASTERS extended inaugrual season, if you accumulate 60 MP or more from First Edition or Second Edition events, you will earn yourself both a 2016 World Championships R1 bye AND a 2016 Continental Championships R1 bye for that Edition! |
If the threshold is met for Tribbles CCG, you will earn an 100,000 head start instead at both the 2016 World Championships and the 2016 Continental Championships.
Note that Continental Championship byes may be redeemed on the player's home continent only. Points are to be tracked individually for each of the three games and byes awarded based on the totals for each game individually. Byes earned from meeting the MP threshold do not "pass down" if you have an equivalent bye already.
ANY OTHER WAY TO EARN MASTERS POINTS?
Sure is! From 2015 onwards, ALL National Championships will award MP to players, which in 2015 will be pooled with a player's MP from the 2014-2015 TREK MASTERS season.
THE FUTURE OF MASTERS POINTS...
We are really excited about the potential of MASTERS Points. There are plans on expanding the MASTERS Points system further, both in breadth and reach across our Organized Play programs. It is a scalable system with a lot of room for growth and development over time. We are treating this as a pilot program to see how the system goes in the wild over this inaugural season.
The OP Team will be closely following the proliferation of MP throughout 2015, and will consider any changes prior to the commencement of the following season, beginning 1st January 2016.
Stay tuned for more big announcements about upcoming TREK MASTERS in Maryland, San Diego, Sydney Australia, and more US events later in the year!
As always, if you have any questions regarding the content of this article, please send me a message.
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