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Iron Bracket | Bronze Bracket | Silver Bracket | Gold Bracket
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 8, 2023 @ 23:59:59 PM UTC
DATES: NOVEMBER 11, 2023 → DECEMBER 3, 2023
Introduction
The final tournament of 2023 will be a return to MKCentral Frontier! No track bans, no special gimmicks, just classic Mario Kart action to close out the year. We will be reusing the format introduced in MKCentral Paradigm II; namely, the updated Stage 1 format and the new Iron and Bronze brackets. We will also be making a format change to Stage 3, so please look out for details written in this color.
Additionally, this tournament will act as the final "qualifier" for Mario Kart Worlds 2023, happening this December. The two teams with the highest placement, excluding teams that have already been invited (e.g. High Definition, BRE, ze, Daybreak, Rozando la Katástrofe and Les Lions de l'Atlas), will be invited to partake in this prestigious tournament. Good luck to all teams competing for the final two spots!
Tournament Information — Format, Ruleset, & Schedule
New this time around will be a brand-new format for Stage 3. Previously, Stage 3 has doubled as the Gold Bracket, where the sixteen highest seeded teams were floated to Day 4 of the tournament, completely bypassing Stages 1 and 2. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, we feel that it is a bit unfair to make teams wait a few extra days before they can start playing. In addition, the current Stage 3 format goes against the spirit of the tournament, where teams can expect to have matches against opponents of similar skill throughout most of the tournament. Matches in the Gold Bracket, especially ones in the earlier rounds, can be quite unbalanced due to how the seeding system works; teams of similar skill may not even play against each other until the later rounds.
Henceforth, we will be creating a brand-new format for Stage 3, featuring only the sixteen highest seeded teams in the tournament. To accomplish this, we will be splitting off Stage 3 from the Gold Bracket. The format of the Gold Bracket will remain unchanged, but how teams will be initially seeded in the Gold Bracket will be modified.
The new format for Stage 3 will feature four Round Robin pools with four teams each. Compared to other Round Robin tournaments on MKCentral, which utilize snaking to create the pools, teams will be grouped by their seed. Specifically, Seeds 1 through 4 will be grouped together, Seeds 5 through 8 will be grouped together, Seeds 9 through 12 will be grouped together and Seeds 13 through 16 will be grouped together. Over the course of Days 2 and 3 in the tournament, teams will face off against the three other teams in their group. Performance here will affect how teams are seeded in the Gold Bracket; teams with a high group score (W-D-L record) will have a higher seed for the Gold Bracket, while teams with a low group score (W-D-L record) will have a lower seed for the Gold Bracket.
To clarify, this change in the Gold Bracket seeding method only affects Seeds 1 through 16. Seeds 17 through 32 of the Gold Bracket will still be determined by the sixteen teams who advance from Stage 2, utilizing the same seeding method as previous iterations of MKCentral Frontier and MKCentral Paradigm.
Beyond this change for Stage 3, MKCentral Frontier V will utilize the exact same format and tournament structure as MKCentral Paradigm II. For anyone who needs a recap of this format, please refer to the spoiler below for a summary.
MKCentral Frontier is a three-stage tournament, with teams starting in a different stage depending on their seed. The tournament will last for four weeks (seven days in total). However, most teams will end up playing for only two to three weeks, starting at different points depending on their seed. Below is a brief overview of the tournament structure. The tournament will be capped at 96 teams to allow the brackets to run smoothly.
STAGE 1 - 33rd-96th seeds start here - Starts on Day 1
Stage 1 will be four single-elimination pools with 16 teams each. This will take place on the first day of the tournament. The exact round in which teams start in will depend on their seeding. Seeds 65 through 96 will start in Round 1. Seeds 49 through 64 will start in Round 2. Seeds 33 through 48 will start in Round 3. To advance to Stage 2, teams must advance to Round 3. Teams that start in Round 1 must win twice without being eliminated, while teams that start in Round 2 must win only once without being eliminated. If teams start in or advance to Round 3, they will automatically advance to Stage 2, regardless if they win or lose in Round 3; Round 3 only serves as a match between teams to determine their seeding for Stage 2.
Teams that get eliminated in Round 1 will be relegated to the Iron Bracket, while teams that get eliminated in Round 2 will be relegated to the Bronze Bracket, as detailed in the example below:
IRON BRACKET - For teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 1
The Iron Bracket will be a 16 team double-elimination bracket consisting of the teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 1 of the tournament. It will start on the second day of the tournament, and will take two weeks (four days) to complete.
BRONZE BRACKET - For teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 2
The Bronze Bracket will be a 16 team double-elimination bracket consisting of the teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 2 of the tournament. It will start on the second day of the tournament, and will take two weeks (four days) to complete.
STAGE 2 - 17th-32nd seeds start here - Starts on Day 2
Stage 2 will be four double-elimination pools with 12 teams each. This will take place on the 2nd and 3rd days of the tournament. To advance to Stage 3, teams must win three matches before being eliminated (two matches if you're a 17-32 seed). Teams eliminated from Stage 2 will be relegated to the Silver Bracket.
SILVER BRACKET - For teams eliminated from Stage 2
The Silver Bracket will be a 32-team double-elimination bracket consisting of the teams eliminated from Stage 2 of the tournament. It will start on the fourth day of the tournament, and will take two weeks (four days) to complete.
STAGE 3 - 1st-16th seeds start here - Starts on Day 1
Stage 3 will be four Round Robin pools with four teams each. Compared to other Round Robin tournaments on MKCentral, which utilize snaking to create the pools, teams will be grouped by their seed. Specifically, Seeds 1 through 4 will be grouped together, Seeds 5 through 8 will be grouped together, Seeds 9 through 12 will be grouped together and Seeds 13 through 16 will be grouped together. Over the course of Days 2 and 3 in the tournament, teams will face off against the three other teams in their group. Performance here will affect how teams are seeded in the Gold Bracket; teams with a high group score (W-D-L record) will have a higher seed for the Gold Bracket, while teams with a low group score (W-D-L record) will have a lower seed for the Gold Bracket.
GOLD BRACKET
The highest stage of the tournament is the Gold Bracket, consisting of the top 16 seeds from Stage 3, as well as the 16 teams to advance from Stage 2. This is a 32-team double-elimination bracket. This stage is winner-take-all, and the winner of this bracket will be declared the winner of MKCentral Frontier. Like the Bronze and Silver brackets, this bracket will take two weeks (four days) to complete, starting on the fourth day of the tournament.
ABOUT PLACEMENT MATCHES
Once a team gets double-eliminated in either the Iron or Bronze brackets, they will then enter a small bracket of teams who lost in the same round as them. For example, here is what Losers Round 1 of these brackets would look like:
Four teams would normally lose this match and be eliminated from the tournament. However, instead of their tournament being over, they'll be entered into a placement bracket as shown below:
These brackets will look like the following for teams that get eliminated from the following losers rounds:
- For Losers Round 1 and Losers Round 2, the bracket will be similar to the image above (2 extra matches)
- For Losers Round 3 and Losers Quarters, only two teams get eliminated during each of these rounds, so they would just play each other (1 extra match)
Once a team gets double-eliminated in either the Silver or Gold brackets, they will then enter a small bracket of teams who lost in the same round as them. For example, here is what Losers Round 1 of each bracket would look like:
Eight teams would normally lose this match and be eliminated from the tournament. However, instead of their tournament being over, they'll be entered into a placement bracket as shown below:
These brackets will look like the following for teams that get eliminated from the following losers rounds:
- For Losers Round 1 and Losers Round 2, the bracket will be similar to the image above (3 extra matches)
- For Losers Round 3 and 4, only 4 teams get eliminated during each of these rounds (2 extra matches)
- For Losers Round 5 and Losers Quarters, only 2 teams get eliminated during each of these rounds, so they would just play each other (1 extra match)
STAGE 1 - 33rd-96th seeds start here - Starts on Day 1
Stage 1 will be four single-elimination pools with 16 teams each. This will take place on the first day of the tournament. The exact round in which teams start in will depend on their seeding. Seeds 65 through 96 will start in Round 1. Seeds 49 through 64 will start in Round 2. Seeds 33 through 48 will start in Round 3. To advance to Stage 2, teams must advance to Round 3. Teams that start in Round 1 must win twice without being eliminated, while teams that start in Round 2 must win only once without being eliminated. If teams start in or advance to Round 3, they will automatically advance to Stage 2, regardless if they win or lose in Round 3; Round 3 only serves as a match between teams to determine their seeding for Stage 2.
Teams that get eliminated in Round 1 will be relegated to the Iron Bracket, while teams that get eliminated in Round 2 will be relegated to the Bronze Bracket, as detailed in the example below:
IRON BRACKET - For teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 1
The Iron Bracket will be a 16 team double-elimination bracket consisting of the teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 1 of the tournament. It will start on the second day of the tournament, and will take two weeks (four days) to complete.
BRONZE BRACKET - For teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 2
The Bronze Bracket will be a 16 team double-elimination bracket consisting of the teams eliminated from Stage 1 - Round 2 of the tournament. It will start on the second day of the tournament, and will take two weeks (four days) to complete.
STAGE 2 - 17th-32nd seeds start here - Starts on Day 2
Stage 2 will be four double-elimination pools with 12 teams each. This will take place on the 2nd and 3rd days of the tournament. To advance to Stage 3, teams must win three matches before being eliminated (two matches if you're a 17-32 seed). Teams eliminated from Stage 2 will be relegated to the Silver Bracket.
SILVER BRACKET - For teams eliminated from Stage 2
The Silver Bracket will be a 32-team double-elimination bracket consisting of the teams eliminated from Stage 2 of the tournament. It will start on the fourth day of the tournament, and will take two weeks (four days) to complete.
STAGE 3 - 1st-16th seeds start here - Starts on Day 1
Stage 3 will be four Round Robin pools with four teams each. Compared to other Round Robin tournaments on MKCentral, which utilize snaking to create the pools, teams will be grouped by their seed. Specifically, Seeds 1 through 4 will be grouped together, Seeds 5 through 8 will be grouped together, Seeds 9 through 12 will be grouped together and Seeds 13 through 16 will be grouped together. Over the course of Days 2 and 3 in the tournament, teams will face off against the three other teams in their group. Performance here will affect how teams are seeded in the Gold Bracket; teams with a high group score (W-D-L record) will have a higher seed for the Gold Bracket, while teams with a low group score (W-D-L record) will have a lower seed for the Gold Bracket.
GOLD BRACKET
The highest stage of the tournament is the Gold Bracket, consisting of the top 16 seeds from Stage 3, as well as the 16 teams to advance from Stage 2. This is a 32-team double-elimination bracket. This stage is winner-take-all, and the winner of this bracket will be declared the winner of MKCentral Frontier. Like the Bronze and Silver brackets, this bracket will take two weeks (four days) to complete, starting on the fourth day of the tournament.
ABOUT PLACEMENT MATCHES
Once a team gets double-eliminated in either the Iron or Bronze brackets, they will then enter a small bracket of teams who lost in the same round as them. For example, here is what Losers Round 1 of these brackets would look like:
Four teams would normally lose this match and be eliminated from the tournament. However, instead of their tournament being over, they'll be entered into a placement bracket as shown below:
These brackets will look like the following for teams that get eliminated from the following losers rounds:
- For Losers Round 1 and Losers Round 2, the bracket will be similar to the image above (2 extra matches)
- For Losers Round 3 and Losers Quarters, only two teams get eliminated during each of these rounds, so they would just play each other (1 extra match)
Once a team gets double-eliminated in either the Silver or Gold brackets, they will then enter a small bracket of teams who lost in the same round as them. For example, here is what Losers Round 1 of each bracket would look like:
Eight teams would normally lose this match and be eliminated from the tournament. However, instead of their tournament being over, they'll be entered into a placement bracket as shown below:
These brackets will look like the following for teams that get eliminated from the following losers rounds:
- For Losers Round 1 and Losers Round 2, the bracket will be similar to the image above (3 extra matches)
- For Losers Round 3 and 4, only 4 teams get eliminated during each of these rounds (2 extra matches)
- For Losers Round 5 and Losers Quarters, only 2 teams get eliminated during each of these rounds, so they would just play each other (1 extra match)
Similar to all other tournaments hosted on MKCentral, MKCentral Frontier V will utilize the MKCentral Universal Ruleset, which can be found here. You can also find it in Spanish, French, and German.
Lastly, here is the schedule for MKCentral Frontier V.
MKCentral Frontier V will begin on November 11, 2023 and will end on December 3, 2023.
TO SIGN UP FOR MKCENTRAL FRONTIER V, CLICK HERE
TO SIGN UP FOR MKCENTRAL FRONTIER V, CLICK HERE