Concept
The Promotion/Relegation League is a seasonal group of round-robin Warlight tournaments, always on the classic “strategic middle earth” map and settings. Players are grouped into small groups (6 on average). At the end of each season, the top players of each group are promoted to the next group above. Bottom players are relegated to the next group below. Middle players remain in the same group.
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 (currently Chokecherry) with an attempt to consider input of league players.
Currently, the model is to typically have the top two promote and the bottom two relegate but there are exceptions. 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. Where this happens in several groups there can be a lot of shuffling. The principle, though, is to usually have at least one player from each group relegated. Several retirements mean fewer relegations and more super-promotions to keep the groups filled.
Any player inactive in the last three games of any tournament is deemed to be out of the league and can only return as a new player in an expansion or bottom group.
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. Where a tie-breaking tournament would delay the league too much, average turn-speed is rewarded to resolve such ties.
Anyone can join the league, members and non-members alike, simply by request in the most recent “Promotion/Relegation League” forum thread. New players begin in the bottom group or in an expansion group. Promotions from expansion groups depend on numbers within the new groups.
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.
The history of the last season can be reviewed from links in the season 6 thread:
http://warlight.net/Forum/Thread?ThreadID=4945
