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Iron Bracket | Bronze Bracket | Silver Bracket | Gold Bracket
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MARCH 13, 2024 @ 23:59:59 PM UTC
DATES: MARCH 16, 2024 → APRIL 7, 2024
Note 1: Daylight Savings starts in the Americas on Sunday, March 10th. Daylight Savings does not start in Europe until Sunday, March 31st. Because of this, for two weeks (or more accurately, for the first five days of the tournament), the time difference between Eastern Daylight Time and Central European Time will only be five hours, so please keep that in mind when signing up for this tournament.
Note 2: Easter Sunday lands on March 31st this year. To avoid any and all complications that may arise from this holiday, there will be no matches on March 31st. As a consequence of this, the final weekend will now have matches on Saturday; matches that were originally scheduled during the third Sunday of the tournament (e.g. Day 6) will take place on this day (i.e. the Losers and Grand Finals for the Iron/Bronze Bracket, and the latter half of the Silver/Gold Brackets, including Placement Matches).
Introduction
The first team tournament of the year will be MKCentral Paradigm III! With all 96 tracks available at everyone's disposal, we feel that now is the perfect opportunity to run this tournament to its fullest potential and capabilities. Based on the feedback we have received, we will be making another format change to Stage 3, so please look out for details written in this color.
Lastly, we would like to remind everyone about the existence of the MKCentral 2024 Tournament Schedule. This resource can be viewed at any time to catch a glimpse at the tournament schedule for the near and far future. With regards to the upcoming future, Q2 2024 is insanely packed and we hope players are eagerly waiting for what we have in store.
Track Ban Etiquette
As a reminder, MKCentral Paradigm III utilizes track bans in order to spice up the competition. For every match, teams are allowed to ban five tracks from being selected while also being able to protect two tracks from being banned. Please follow along below as we go over the proper etiquette for banning and protecting tracks:
Step 1. Protecting Tracks
The first step of every match, teams will decide on which two tracks they wish to protect from being banned by the opposing team. The away/non-hosting team will go first, with the home/hosting team following suit.
Step 2. Banning Tracks
Next, teams will decide on which tracks they wish to ban. Teams will need to ban five tracks in total and must declare them to the opposing team all at once (i.e. in one message). Teams are unable to ban tracks that were protected by the opposing team. Unlike the previous step, the home/hosting team will go first, with the away/non-hosting team following suit.
Step 3. Playing the Match
Once teams complete these steps, the match may begin with a grand total of ten tracks being unable to be selected by either team. Teams who pick a banned track will receive a -40 point penalty. Additionally, while we strongly discourage teams from picking the random track option due to its unpredictable nature, there will be no penalty if the random roulette selects a banned track.
Now, there are 96 teams playing in this tournament, with an estimated 386 total matches to be played, so we want coordinating track bans between teams to be a relatively quick and painless process. To do this, we highly encourage teams to contact each other ahead of their scheduled match time and be clear and concise when declaring tracks to the opposing team. Additionally, when contacting other teams, please use Discord threads within the Frontier/Paradigm Discord server, instead of private DMs, so that staff can better regulate the tournament; a reminder to ping both your team's role and your opponent's team role so that all reps may be added into the thread.
Tournament Information — Format, Ruleset, & Schedule
Due to player feedback, we will once again be experimenting with a brand-new format for Stage 3. As a reminder, Stage 3 has previously 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. To accomplish this, we will once again 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 Swiss format matches, with teams playing against other teams based on their current win-loss record. Over the course of Days 2 and 3 in the tournament, teams will face off against four teams, with specific matchups beyond Round 1 being determined by a team's win-loss ratio. As Stage 3 progresses, teams will play against other teams with a similar skill level (e.g. both teams have the same win-loss ratio) to their own level. Performance here will affect how teams are seeded in the Gold Bracket; teams with a high score (W-D-L record) will have a higher seed for the Gold Bracket, while teams with a low score (W-D-L record) will have a lower seed for the Gold Bracket. Tiebreakers in Stage 3 will be determined by these three criteria, in decreasing priority:
1. Wins against tied opponents
2. The Median-Buchholz system (sums the number of points earned by the team's opponents, excluding the highest and lowest)
3. Point difference (+/-)
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 Paradigm III will utilize the exact same format and tournament structure as MKCentral Frontier V. For anyone who needs a recap of this format, please refer to the spoiler below for a summary.
MKCentral Paradigm 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 Swiss format matches, with teams playing against other teams based on their current win-loss record. Over the course of Days 2 and 3 in the tournament, teams will face off against four teams, with specific matchups beyond Round 1 being determined by a team's win-loss ratio. As Stage 3 progresses, teams will play against other teams with a similar skill level (e.g. both teams have the same win-loss ratio). Performance here will affect how teams are seeded in the Gold Bracket; teams with a high score (W-D-L record) will have a higher seed for the Gold Bracket, while teams with a low score (W-D-L record) will have a lower seed for the Gold Bracket. Tiebreakers in Stage 3 will be determined by these three criteria, in decreasing priority:
1. Wins against tied opponents
2. The Median-Buchholz system (sums the number of points earned by the team's opponents, excluding the highest and lowest)
3. Point difference (+/-)
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 Paradigm. 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 Swiss format matches, with teams playing against other teams based on their current win-loss record. Over the course of Days 2 and 3 in the tournament, teams will face off against four teams, with specific matchups beyond Round 1 being determined by a team's win-loss ratio. As Stage 3 progresses, teams will play against other teams with a similar skill level (e.g. both teams have the same win-loss ratio). Performance here will affect how teams are seeded in the Gold Bracket; teams with a high score (W-D-L record) will have a higher seed for the Gold Bracket, while teams with a low score (W-D-L record) will have a lower seed for the Gold Bracket. Tiebreakers in Stage 3 will be determined by these three criteria, in decreasing priority:
1. Wins against tied opponents
2. The Median-Buchholz system (sums the number of points earned by the team's opponents, excluding the highest and lowest)
3. Point difference (+/-)
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 Paradigm. 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 Paradigm III will utilize the MKCentral Universal Ruleset, which can be found here. You can also find it in Spanish, French, and German. Since this tournament features track bans, some modifications to the MKCentral Universal Ruleset are in order, which you can view below:
- For every match, each team is allowed to ban five tracks from being selected. Each team is also allowed to protect two tracks from being banned by the opposing team. In total, ten tracks will be unable to be selected by either team. As always, track bans and protects are reset after every match.
- Teams that accidentally pick a banned track will receive no penalty. However, If the track roulette lands on a banned track, the team that picked it will receive a -40 point penalty, instead of the usual -20 point penalty.
- If a team fails to provide the tracks they wish to ban and/or protect for a particular match, then that team will have no bans and/or protects for that match (i.e. no additional penalty).
- Teams must follow the proper order in which tracks are banned and protected.
- Away Team Protects
- Home Team Protects
- Home Team Bans
- Away Team Bans
- Teams are not allowed to change their list of banned tracks once their match begins.
MKCentral Paradigm III will begin on March 16, 2024 and will end on April 7, 2024.
TO SIGN UP FOR MKCENTRAL PARADIGM III, CLICK HERE
TO SIGN UP FOR MKCENTRAL PARADIGM III, CLICK HERE