Hi bkerins - this was actually around a Brackelope double-elimination tournament I ran in November. Isaac / Brackelope support got back to me on the questions I had too.

I actually think Brackelope is fine, and the way it did final rankings was consistent with its ranking algorithm (no bugs), but a few of my players felt the results were unfair. The reason for this was the way byes were allocated and how the bracket had players match-up - we had some players that didn't win a single match (and received elimination round byes), that tied with a player who won his first match and lost his next two. The reason was that both were eliminated in the same elimination round, which is how you determine final rankings and split finishes in an elimination bracket.

I probably could have left it at that since the app was working properly, but I could see how the results were considered unfair (not something I want to have happen in a tournament I'm running), and I found something to do about it: another Pinsider, soren, wrote a paper with a way to adjust double-elim results to make them more fair (http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/double-elimination-with-byes-and-the-unfair-ranking), and I applied his technique to adjust the results to eliminate the impact of elimination-bracket byes.

The moral of this story is: pick your tournament format wisely! If the number of players in your tournament is not a power-of-two (2,4,8,16,32,64,128), an elimination bracket will have byes, which could generate a perception of unfairness for players who are trying to judge merit based on W/L record.

The Brackelope tool provides a different format, called Knockout (http://www.brackelope.com/app-support/), that actually gets around this problem fairly well. It will generate at maximum one bye per round, and checks to ensure that no player will receive a second bye before all other players in the tournament receive one. When we have an odd number of players that don't meet a power of two (I have no attendance guarantee each month), the Knockout format does a good job of meeting player expectations. We used this last month, and it went well.

The @Brackelope twitter feed has indicated that a new tournament format is being developed for Brackelope. I don't think the project is dead, but rather the author is busy working. I am reminded of this quote from a Parisian chef: "If you are made to wait, it is to your benefit." I also doubt Brackelope is his only source of income, either, and that its more of a side-project, which means updates will be less frequent.

There are some places where doing tournament payouts is illegal.

I'm pretty sure Milwaukee, WI is still that way, but I haven't done a whole lot research on it, but that's what I've heard from an operator or two. We found local businesses and breweries to sponsor us with prizes and beer. In WI, if a bottle after bottling doesn't have the amount of beer stated on the label, the brewer is not allowed to sell it by law, so we get 'shorts' from local brewers that they can't sell, and they make great prizes.

Even though I don't drink, many of our players do, our tournaments happen at local bars and usually the bar runs specials concurrently, so pinball tournaments could be pitched as a money-making opportunity for a bar, especially on slow nights like a Monday or Sunday night.

For me, and the players who show up at my tournaments, it isn't about the money. It's about Arcade Culture (http://insomnia.ac/commentary/arcade_culture/).

TomGWI - hope you do run one. I imagine there's a number of folks out your way that would enjoy a tournament. WI pinball is more than the Madison and Milwaukee communities.

jpolfer, your friendly WI SCS co-director here.

I am reminded of the words of a Parisian chef: "If you are made to wait, it is to your benefit." I am also reminded of the sage wisdom of my mother: "Cool your jets."

I received the address list this morning. I'll be able to start sending invitations tonight.

Feedback around games for the main tournament has been noted, and will be taken under consideration. One of my goals is not to saddle our gracious host with an excessive amount of machine prep, given his busy schedule and availability. Don't forget that side tournaments will be open to competitors as well, along with shooting the proverbial breeze.

Current plan is to have the main tournament use DMDs with SSs as backup.

Side tournaments will feature EMs.

For WI folks looking for specific info on the WI State Championship, feel free to ask them over here: http://wisconsinpinball.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=119

That will hopefully keep this thread more on track for USA-related comments and questions. I doubt too many people outside of the WI players are interested in the details of our state championship.

Round 3 losers go to a playoff to determine 3rd / 4th place. All other rankings are, as you suggest, based off of what round a player is eliminated in.

Side tournaments will be running concurrently to the main tournament - don't worry, there will be lots of stuff to do!

At the same time:

No one is perfect or untouchable. A ranking is a glimpse into a player's highlight reel and past, not a guarantee of future results.

Ask mattenno about his ball 3 on Creature from the Black Lagoon at the MRP2013 Side Tournament playoff, where he went from 4th to 1st. 3318 win vs players ranked 27, 103

I had a playoff match against Josh Henderson in a classics tournament in 2012. I buckled down and had a fantastic match game of Target Alpha - I rolled the machine even, and took 3rd ahead of Josh. 2156 win vs 16

Play your best and be positive. You might be surprised at the outcome and yourself.

Sportsmanship...

I am reminded of these words on sportsmanship by SF2 player and Evolution Fighting Series tournament founder, David Sirlin.

"Some ask why they should not scream racist or other offensive remarks, spit on the shoes of their opponents, beat their chests, or otherwise intimidate the enemy. After all, they say, the purpose is to win using any legal means, period. Isn’t that what I have said? First of all, some of these activities may not be legal in a tournament. Second, they violate the principle of goodwill that I described above. And third, I am not convinced they offer any real strategic advantage. They are more likely to make you look stupid, and create an air of negativity that will follow you.

That said, I do know of a few skilled players who use these tactics. There is usually leeway in a tournament to be physically intimidating and say mean and scary things just short of actually violating any rules. Trash talking before the event over the internet is pretty much always legal, too. Perhaps these players are playing to their own strengths by being bullies. This behavior does give them advantages over some opponents, but the costs seem too great overall for me to endorse this as a winning strategy." -- David Sirlin, Playing to Win (http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/sportsmanship.html)

As one of the WI tournament directors, I wish more of our players considered these aspects when they play. Poor sportsmanship directed at others will not be tolerated at the tournament, from anyone from any state.

To be completely honest here, I am annoyed that I even have to write the above. The worst offenders in this regard have been adults. My interactions with the 12-year-old who will be competing in our tournament have shown him to be an exemplar in his sportsmanship and attitude.

Bummer on that. Your state director has a lot cut out for him/her.

Current forecast is 30% chance for 1" to 3" at the WI championship location, starting in the afternoon.

Right now its still considered a go - I'll follow the weather as we get closer to Saturday.

If anyone has travel concerns they should contact me or Steve.

If there's going to be a reschedule or cancellation, we'll let everyone know Friday morning.

I didn't let anyone know, so it's on. Current forecast is 60% chance for 1" in the evening hours.