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.

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

Matches that start before the 8 hour session concludes, but continue after it has ended, will be allowed to complete.

5. Bracket Stage

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 best of three, and teams will need to win two matches to move on, while teams that lose two will be eliminated.

• The teams are seeded based on their placement in the Weekend 3 rankings

• 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.

• The top four teams from each regional bracket qualify for the official circuit.

• 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 best-of-one
• The top 4 teams from the Round Robin will advance to the next weekend, while the bottom 4 will be eliminated for that month.

Weekend 2: Bracket Format

• The bracket will be 4 team single elimination with matches based on the Round Robin rankings
• 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

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

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 best of 5 for the finals with a break after game 2.

Prizing

• 1st place - $3,500
• 2nd place - $2,000
• 3rd + 4th place - $1,000