Welcome to Promotion Relegation League Season 28! Congrats to Deadman for winning season 27 (his 3rd win and 2nd overall). Can anyone beat him this season!? Also congrats to Timinator for coming in 2nd last season.
Concept
The Promotion/Relegation League is a seasonal group of round-robin Warzone tournaments, always on the classic “strategic medium earth” map and settings with 0% weighted random luck. (This is not the same as the template currently used for the 1v1 ladder.) Players are grouped into 7 player groups, each group sorted into a tier. At the end of each season, the top players of each tier are promoted to the next tier above. Bottom players are relegated to the next tier below. Middle players remain in the same tier.
The league is meant to appeal to players who want to see, over the course of several seasons, where their natural level of competition might take them. For new, skilled participants, this means patience in getting to the levels where they will be challenged. Hopefully, that is part of the fun. The idea is to see how quickly you can progress, how long you can stay high, or how long it takes to stop a skid.
Rules
The league is run with a balance of predictability and flexibility. Final decisions are made by the league administrator with an attempt to consider input of league players.
For season 28, the following model is employed:
A (1 group): 2 demote
B (1 group): 2 promote, 3 demote
C (2 groups): 3 promote (1 each group plus 2nd place playoff between C1 and C2), 4 demote (2 each group)
D (2 groups): 4 promote (2 each group), 6 demote (3 each group)
E (3 groups): 6 promote (2 each group), 9 demote (3 each group)
F (5 groups): about 10 promote (2 each group)
Links to Tournaments
Group A
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30514Group B
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30515Group C1
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30516Group C2
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30517Group D1
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30518Group D2
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30519Group E1
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30520Group E2
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30521Group E3
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30522Group F1
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30523Group F2
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30524Group F3
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30525Group F4
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30526Group F5
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer/Tournament?ID=30527There are exceptions to this model. Where there is default – a player becoming inactive or asking to bow out of the league – there can be more promotions to fill in the vacancy. The principle, though, is to usually have at least one player from each group relegated. Several retirements mean fewer relegations and more promotions to keep the groups filled. There are usually a lot of dropouts every season, especially in the lower tiered groups. This means that players should always try to do the best that they can because 3rd place can sometimes mean a promotion and 2nd to last isn't always a relegation!
Any player inactive for more than 15 days at the beginning of a new season will be removed from the league (unless they are on vacation). This rule is intended to move the league along more quickly. Players must also join any tournament related to the league within 2 weeks or face removal (again players on vacation are excluded). The league administrator reserves the right to speed up the league by deciding games by turn speed to prevent players from stalling the league. Players intentionally stalling their games will forfeit their remaining games and be removed from the league.
Placements in a round-robin are determined by number of wins. In the event of a tie, placements are determined by head-to-head results among the tied. Occasionally, there are loops of ties that cannot be resolved by the head-to-head rule. A tie-breaking tournament then takes place unless all the players involved agree to otherwise settle the tie.
If players are still tied after the tiebreaker tournament, tiebreaker tournaments will continue to be created until the end of the season (minimum of 1 tiebreaker tournament) or until any player forfeits. If the end of the season is near, tiebreaker tournament boot times can be adjusted to 1 day 10 hours, or ratios of Fizzer's metric can be used to break the tie. Fizzer's metric is calculated in the final turn of the game, and is equal to a player's controlled armies plus income times two (A + 2*I). The ratio then is the metric for one player divided by the sum of metrics for both players. I will cap the metric to be a minimum of 0.51 for the winner and a maximum of 0.49 for the loser. The tie will then be broken according to the sum of ratios of Fizzer's metric among games involved in the tie. (If still tied, I will disregard the 0.51/0.49 limits)
Anyone can join the league, members and non-members alike, simply by request in the most recent “Promotion/Relegation League” forum thread. If you ask to join on a past P/R league thread, I will not see it and likely won't add you. New players begin in the bottom group or in an expansion group. Promotions from expansion groups depend on numbers within the new groups.
For players with multiple accounts, transferring your spot in the league to another account is allowed. You must send me the request from both the accounts involved in the transfer and both accounts must have the same flag (and state if applicable). This is an effort to prevent players from transferring their spot in the league with someone who hasn't earned that spot.
Before the beginning of each season, a summary of the movements will be announced to allow for questions or corrections. The league works most smoothly if those who wish to bow out of it let the administrator know before the new season begins instead of simply declining to play after the groups have been determined and tournaments begun.
Edited 8/29/2019 00:50:05
