Schedule/Format
1. TwitchCon EU Panel
Couriway will be sitting down with our team to discuss the future of Gridlock, as well as the process behind creating an event like Gridlock. You can check it out in person live at the Minecraft Arena, or live on Twitch. During the presentation, we'll be opening signups for Gridlock Season 1!
You can find the full panel VOD on YouTube!
2. Signup Window
During this period, you can sign up on our website and get set up with your duo ahead of the Open Qualifiers.
You won't be able to register for this season after the signup window ends, so make sure to do this in time!
3. Practice Weekend
In an optional weekend simulating a real day of matches, you'll get the chance to practice Gridlock, get to know the map and its mechanics, and try out strategies ahead of the Open Qualifiers. You can compete in as many matches as you want over the 8 hours, which won't count towards your competitive standing in the final circuit - this is a completely optional event! The match schedule follows the same format as in the Open Qualification period.
4. Open Qualifiers
Over three weekends (EU playing Saturdays, NA playing Sundays), duos will compete in 7 matches in an 8 hour period.
- After Weekend 1, the top 256 alliances (based on the below metrics) will advance to Weekend 2
- After Weekend 2, the top 64 alliances (based on the below metrics) will advance to Weekend 3
- After Weekend 3, the top 16 alliances (based on the below metrics) will advance to the Bracket Stage
Ranking Metrics: The metrics used to determine the top duos at the end of each weekend are (in order) are as follows:
- Win Count
- Matches Played
- Average Win Count of all opponents faced (excluding one with the lowest win count)
- Average Proportional Point Differential in matches won
- Calculated by taking away the losing alliance's score by the winning alliance's score.
- If an alliance has 0 wins, this metric will be 0
- Random Choice
Ranking Metrics are not carried over from previous weekends. They may be evaluated throughout the session, but only the ranking that is calculated after all matches are complete will be final.
Matches that start before the 8 hour session concludes, but continue after it has ended, will be allowed to complete.
5. Bracket Stage
EU Start Times: 8AM ET (5am PT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST) on Saturdays
NA Start Times: 12PM ET (9am PT / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST) on Sundays
The bracket stage is a partial double elimination bracket, that will cut the number of teams in each region in half, from 16 down to just 8. It will be played over two weekends, with half the teams play in the first weekend, and the other half play in the second.
All bracket stage matches are BO3, and teams will need to win two matches to move on, while teams that lose two will be eliminated.
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The teams are seeded based on their placement in the Weekend 3 rankings
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First-round match-ups follow the seeding as closely as possible:
- 1st/2nd vs 15th/16th;
- 3rd/4th vs 13th/14th; and so on
- When deciding between equivalent seeds (i.e. 1st vs 2nd or 15th vs 16th), scheduling constraints are considered first.
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The top four teams from each regional bracket qualify for the official circuit.
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Each 8-team double elimination bracket is completed in a single day.
6. The Circuit
Weekend 1: Round-Robin Format
- The 8 teams will all compete in a Round Robin format
- All teams will player their matches at once in a BO1
- The top 4 teams from the Round Robin will advance to the next weekend, while the bottom 4 will be eliminated for that month.
- Tiebreakers will be determined through a hierarchy of 4 factors:
- 1st Tiebreaker: Head to Head (whichever team won out of the tied ones)
- 2nd Tiebreaker: Quest Objectives Completed
- 3rd Tiebreaker: Average Proportional Point Differential in matches won (Same Point Differential as Open Qualifiers)
- 4th Tiebreaker: Random Chance
- Tiebreakers will be determined through a hierarchy of 4 factors:
Weekend 2: Bracket Format
- The bracket will be 4 team single elimination with matches based on the Round Robin rankings
- Matches are a BO3
- Matchups will be based on Seeds from Round Robin Weekend:
- 1st Place will play 4th
- 2nd Place will play 3rd
- Matches will be sequential (matches will not be played at the same time), and subsequent matches will be on a rolling schedule
- Rankings will be based on matches won
- Tiebreakers will be determined through a hierarchy of 3 factors:
- 1st Tiebreaker: Quest Objectives Completed
- 2nd Tiebreaker: Average Proportional Point Differential in matches won (Same Point Differential as Open Qualifiers)
- 3rd Tiebreaker: Random Chance
- Tiebreakers will be determined through a hierarchy of 3 factors:
Prizing
- Monthly Prizing
- Decided via Bracket Rankings
- 1st place - $2,000
- 2nd place - $1,000
- 3rd + 4th place - $500
- Decided via Round Robin Rankings
- 5th + 6th place - $300
- 7th + 8th place - $200
- Decided via Bracket Rankings
Subs
The below information is a detailed explanation of the substitution system for the Circuit Stage. For the Finals, these rules may differ.
General
- The substitute player system is intended as a way for teams to continue to compete even if one player absolutely is not able to play in a session
- On the Monday before each circuit weekend, gridlock staff with post a signup form for players willing to substitute
- The only players eligible to sign up to substitute will be players that were eliminated in bracket, and have not participated in any internal tests
- If there are not enough subs, more players may be made eligible
- On the following Thursday, substitute signups will close, and the list of eligible subs for each region will be posted to all players
- Substitute players will be randomly assigned to teams in need shortly before the session
For Teams
- Teams that require a sub must inform gridlock staff at least 12 hours before their session is scheduled to start
- By Friday for EU, and by Saturday for NA
- All matches played by a team in a given session (day) must be played by the same two players
- This means that, if a team uses a sub, that sub must play all the matches in a session
- Teams may only use one sub. if neither original player on a team is able to play in a session, they will be considered to have forfeited all their matches in that session
For Subs
- Substitute players that sign up for a given session must be able to be available for the entire duration of the session
- Subs must make an honest attempt to perform their best
- Subs can sign up for one or both regions, regardless of their original region
Prizing
- Each Circuit month, prize money earnings are split evenly between all members of the team. Substitute players are considered full team members for the purposes of earnings within a given month.
- For example, if a sub plays for a team for the first weekend of the September Circuit, both original team members play for the second weekend, and the team ends up placing 1st and earning $2000 total, each of the three players will earn $666.66.
- If a team calls in a sub on both weekends of a Circuit month, each player (the two original players on the team and the two subs) will earn one fourth of the total team earnings.
7. The Finals
- The top 4 teams from each region group will qualify to play in a 2 weekend finale event
- This will be seeded based on a combination of all 3 Circuit Round Robin rankings, where all stats will be combined
- For the first weekend, each team will play a BO3 against each other, with the seeding for the final bracket determined by the results.
- For the second weekend, it will be BO3 for the semifinals, and BO5 for the finals with a break after game 2.
Prizing
- 1st place - $3,500
- 2nd place - $2,000
- 3rd + 4th place - $1,000