 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
All Categories • Continuing Committee • Organized Play • Rules Committee • Deck Designs • Virtual Expansions
Card Extras • Special Events • Tournament Reports • Everything Else • Spotlight Series • Contests
Strategy Articles
Announcing Officially Sanctioned Online Play
by James Hoskin, Director of Organized Play
16th September 2011
Online play has come a long way since the first Continuing Committee-era online tournaments were held back in March 2009. Tournaments have been organized online almost every month since, but the Continuing Committee has declined to offer "official" tournaments in that time. We have been watching those tournaments and listening to players though, and feel that now is the time to trial officially sanctioned online play.
Today, we are excited to announce an online league will become the 26th league to participate in this season of WCT League play.
Each half of the WCT League season will feature two tournaments for each of the three games the Continuing Committee supports - First Edition, Second Edition and Tribbles. The top eight players from each half will then qualify for the playoffs, comprising one tournament for each game, to determine the winner of the inaugural WCT online league. The complete schedule is as follows:
| First Half (Anyone may play. Top eight players qualify for the playoffs) | ||||
| Game | Format | Start Date | End Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Edition | OTF | Monday, September 26th | Monday, October 24th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. *runs concurrently with the Second Edition tournament. |
| Second Edition | Standard | Monday, September 26th | Monday, October 24th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. *runs concurrently with the First Edition tournament. |
| Tribbles | Standard | Sunday, October 2nd (find out when) | pre-register here 10 rounds. Players switch seats/tables after 5 rounds. | |
| Tribbles | Standard | Sunday, October 30th (find out when) | pre-register here 10 rounds. Players switch seats/tables after 5 rounds. | |
| First Edition | OTF | Monday, October 31st | Monday, November 28th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. *runs concurrently with the Second Edition tournament. |
| Second Edition | Standard | Monday, October 31st | Monday, November 28th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. *runs concurrently with the First Edition tournament. |
| Second Half (Anyone may play. Top eight players qualify for the playoffs) | ||||
| Game | Format | Start Date | End Date | Notes |
| First Edition | OTF | Monday, December 12th | Monday, January 23rd | pre-register here Rounds 1, 3 and 4 last one week. Round 2 lasts three weeks due to the holidays. *runs concurrently with the Second Edition tournament. |
| Second Edition | Standard | Monday, December 12th | Monday, January 23rd | pre-register here Rounds 1, 3 and 4 last one week. Round 2 lasts three weeks due to the holidays. *runs concurrently with the First Edition tournament. |
| Tribbles | Standard | Sunday, January 29th (find out when) | pre-register here 10 rounds. Players switch seats/tables after 5 rounds. | |
| First Edition | OTF | Monday, January 30th | Monday, February 27th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. *runs concurrently with the Second Edition tournament. |
| Second Edition | Standard | Monday, January 30th | Monday, February 27th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. *runs concurrently with the First Edition tournament. |
| Tribbles | Standard | Sunday, February 19th (find out when) | pre-register here 10 rounds. Players switch seats/tables after 5 rounds. | |
| Playoffs (Anyone may play. Only those qualified from the first half and the second half are eligible to become the league champion) | ||||
| Game | Format | Start Date | End Date | Notes |
| Tribbles | Standard | Sunday, March 4th (find out when) | pre-register here 10 rounds. Players switch seats/tables after 5 rounds. | |
| First Edition | OTF | Monday, March 5th | Monday, April 2nd | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. |
| Second Edition | Standard | Monday, April 2nd | Monday, April 30th | pre-register here 4 rounds. Each round lasts one week. |
These tournaments can also be found in the WCT Online league listings. The same page will also display the league standings once results are entered.
Each tournament will be run using LackeyCCG, and we require that players use Skype for voice communications. Both downloads are free:
• Instructions and download: LackeyCCG for First Edition.
• Instructions and download: LackeyCCG for Second Edition.
• Instructions and download: LackeyCCG for Tribbles.
• Download: Skype.
We recommend that players use LackeyCCG in a trial game before the first round of the tournament so they can familiarise themselves with the controls. The Chat Room is a good place to find players for test games.
Players may participate in as many or as few online league events as they wish. Registering for one tournament does not force you to play in every tournament.
As mentioned previously, this online league will serve as a trial for officially sanctioned online play. Rules specific to each tournament will be posted in the tournament listings and may evolve as the tournaments progress throughout the year. If you have suggestions or comments about online play; please contact me, James Hoskin (PM: RedDwarf), with them.
Pre-registration is now open for all tournaments. The first round pairings will be announced for the first two tournaments in just over one week. Make sure you are included by pre-registering now!
Have an opinion about this article? Post it here, or contact the author!
Back to Archive index