As it is quite common for there to be enough players logged on at once for real-time tournaments to occur, but it is not necessarily feasible (yet) for weekly scheduled real-time tournaments, we have created a framework for unscheduled real-time tournaments to occur at any point where the right conditions are met.
The admins will hire and/or designate several "Tournament Moderators", who will be tasked with moderating real-time tournaments and ensuring that they occur when appropriate but are not abused. The admins themselves are automatically "Tournament Moderators" and are free to alter these rules in any way they feel like.
An official unscheduled real-time PvP tournament can occur at any point that there is at least one Tournament Moderator willing to moderate, and at least four participants willing to participate using the rules sanctioned by the Tournament Moderator.
Tournament Moderators may participate in tournaments they are moderating, but will be subject to a slightly different conflict resolution procedure. As such, the minimum number of people required for a tournament to occur are one Tournament Moderator and three others. It is
greatly preferable for a Tournament Moderator to not be a participant if there is more than one available. If an additional Tournament Moderator is present and not participating, but do not have time to act as full Moderator, they may (with agreement from the hosting Moderator) choose to act as Arbitrator in the event of a conflict (see conflict resolution rules).
Tournaments will be double elimination only at this time, though additional formats may become available in the future. Specific rules (i.e. unupped vs upped, speedbuilding, must use trios, etc) are determined by the Tournament Moderator hosting the tournament and must be agreed to by all participants. Tournament Moderators must be very specific with rules in order to make sure everyone understands and conflicts are not created. Tournament Moderators are encouraged to borrow rule sets from other tournaments.
Tournament Moderators are expected to exercise discretion and be reasonable in moderating tournaments, hosting tournaments, and selecting rules. Tournaments should not be
spammed, particularly if it's the same people participating, but there is not currently a minimum time between tournaments, and running tournaments back to back may be appropriate if different people or different rules are used. Moderators should use their judgement, or speak to an admin for clarification. This system will not continue with its current relative lack of rules and bureaucracy if judgement is not exercised.
As these are official tournaments (even though they are unscheduled), there will be prizes, but those prizes will not (at this time) include shiny nymphs or marks. Prizes are as follows:
Four to seven participants: 2000 (1st), 1500 (2nd), 1000 (3rd), 400 (all others)
Eight or more participants: 4000 (1st), 3000 (2nd), 2000 (3rd), 800 (all others)
Prizes will
not be given out at the time of the tournament. Admins will disseminate prizes from time to time. Note that prizes may come as a lump sum for a given time period (i.e. you may receive one code for $1200 rather than six different codes for $200).
Additionally, participation and results will be tracked, and there may be additional prizes of various sorts for participation and performance in many tournaments over a time period.
Tournament Moderators are required to promptly report the results of any tournament they host. Reports must include names and performance of all participants, any special rules used, and any conflicts or other items of note.
Conflict resolution:
Spoiler for Hidden:
Rule #1: Don't be a jerk.
Rule #2: Don't try to abuse the rules, and just have fun.
In the event that these two rules don't solve some problem, see below.
The Tournament Moderator is in charge. If there is a conflict of any sort that the Tournament Moderator is not directly involved in, what they say is what happens. If you feel they are ruling unfairly, you may appeal to the admins via PM, but do not do this frivolously.
If the Tournament Moderator is participating in a tournament and a conflict occurs, what the Tournament Moderator says is still the rule, but the bar for appeal is much lower. If another Tournament Moderator or admin is available in chat, they may choose to act as Arbitrator for the conflict, in which case, what the Arbitrator says is what happens. If no Arbitrator is available and you disagree with the ruling of a Tournament Moderator, feel free to appeal to the admins via PM.
admins
PvPOs
If there is regularly a time when someone on the above list isn't online when other enough people are online to warrant a tournament, one of those people should get in touch with me to get added to the list.