

Although it’s already been a year since the launch of Squidboards, there’s another anniversary steadily approaching over the horizon that surely many, if not all of you, are anticipating – the one-year anniversary of Splatoon! ​

That’s right, the very last weekend of May will mark a full year since Splatoon launched on Wii U. To celebrate, we want to crown a new Splatoon champion! ​

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Presents the... ​

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The Splatoon Anniversary Invitational (SAI) is an online team competition to be hosted on Saturday, May 28th via Squidboards and Discord servers.



This will be a sixteen (16) team, one stage, double-elimination bracket . All sets will be Best of 5, with the exception of Best of 7 sets for Winner's Finals, Loser's Finals, and Grand Finals.



To participate, you must enter the official qualifiers and acquire qualifying points. The top sixteen teams with the most qualifying points will be invited to play in the main event.





How To Qualify



To qualify for the main event, you must earn qualifying points. To earn qualifying points, you must play in the official qualifying events. Out of all the teams that earn points, only the top sixteen teams with the most points will be invited.



Your team can earn qualifying points by participating in the following online events:





Qualifier Point Distribution: ​

1st -- 40 pts

2nd -- 20 pts

3rd -- 15 pts

4th -- 12 pts

5th-8th -- 10 pts

9th-16th -- 5 pts

17th-32nd -- 2 pts

33rd... -- 0 pts



Official Leaderboard

(two qualifiers completed) ​ 0 pts



Head to each tournament’s event page to sign-up. If you do acquire any qualifying points, they’ll be tracked and featured on this thread.



Teams are allowed to enter as many qualifier events as they wish, but only their top two highest finishes will be used . Each team's two best finishes will be added together, and the top 16 teams with the most points at the end of all four qualifiers will be invited to the main event.

Each qualifier is an independently-run event/event series run by community tournament organizers working with Squidboards to put this Invitational together. Therefore, they may run rules and procedures differently than the main event. Be sure to read and review all the rules and regulations for each qualifier you sign-up for, as well as the Invitational itself.





Tournament Structure, Rules, and Info



Once all the qualifiers have been completed, the top sixteen teams will be notified of their invitation to the main event.



That same week, an official gametype list will be made available for all teams, outlining the gametypes that’ll be played in each round of the Invitational. Gametypes will be chosen "Halo-Style" at the discretion of the TOs prior to the event. Teams are encouraged to prepare based on this list. An official announcement will be made when the list is available.





Rules and Procedures ​



Date: Saturday, May 28th, 2016



Check-In Start: 9 AM PST | 12 PM EST | 5 PM BST | 6 PM CEST

Check-In End: 9:50 AM PST | 12:50 PM EST | 5:50 PM BST | 6:50 PM CEST



Start Time: 10 AM PST | 1 PM EST | 6 PM BST | 7 PM CEST





1. Registration and Seeding



A. Roster Requirements ​

I. A team must consist of at least 4 players, and may not exceed 8. ​

a. If a team begins the tournament with at least 4 playable members, but one or more become unavailable to the point where the team no longer meets the 4-player requirement, that team may be allowed to continue play with 3 or fewer players. ​

II. A player may not play on more than one team, even as a substitute. ​

a. If a player is caught playing on multiple teams during the tournament and/or any qualifier event, that player will be disqualified from the tournament and is subject to be banned from future ones. Both teams involved will also be subject to disqualification and banning, as the TOs see fit. ​

III. A team may only play in a game with the members that are on their roster.



IV. Players of teams that did not qualify are not allowed to play for teams that have qualified. ​





B. Roster Registration and Check-In



I. Each team must fill out the team registration form

a. This form will be used to keep track of relevant player information. You must include information for 8 players you may want to utilize. These 8 players must not have played for any teams that did not qualify. ​

b. The team registration form must be filled out before check-in on Saturday, the day of the main event. Once check-in begins, you may no longer make any roster changes. ​

c. If you’d like to make roster changes before check-in, you can contact tournament staff on the SAI Discord Server in the #helpdesk channel and make a request.

II. Each team must check-in during the allotted check-in time prior to event start. ​

a. Teams should confirm that all their players are ready and available before checking in. ​

b. To check-in, have 1 representative of the team, whoever that may be, to confirm their readiness in the #check-in channel. ​

c. Teams that do not check-in on time will be disqualified into loser’s bracket. Teams that do not check-in by the time their loser’s bracket match is ready will be disqualified out of the event. ​

III. Teams must be present, in some fashion, in the SAI discord server throughout the course of the event. ​

a. Teams are required to have at least 1 player in the discord server always available to communicate with staff if need be. ​

b. If a decision must be made involving team representatives, and one or neither team have at least one member active on Discord and communicating, the decision will be up entirely to the TOs’ discretion. ​

c. All teams are encouraged to have as many members of their team on the server as possible. ​

C. Seeding



I. Teams will be seeded based on qualifier points attained and TO discretion. ​

II. Ties in points acquired will be broken by the following criteria, in this order: ​

a. Strength of qualifiers entered by teams in question ​

i. Strength is determined by number of qualified teams that entered the event and total number of entered teams in that event. ​

b. Record against teams that are guaranteed to qualify. ​

c. Overall games won ​

d. Head-to-head record against other teams tied against. ​

e. If any number of teams are still tied after passing the above criteria, they will play a Best of 1 set to determine who advances. ​





2. Tournament Structure

A. Double-Elimination Bracket ​

I. All matches will be Best of 5 sets, with the exception of Winners Finals, Losers Finals, and Grand Finals, which will be a Best of 7. ​

II. Each Best of 5 set has a time limit of thirty-five (35) minutes. Each Best of 7 set has a time limit of forty-five (45) minutes. ​

a. Teams must accurately report the results of each set they play immediately following their conclusion. Results are to be reported in the #check-in channel. ​

b. Both must report the results of each match they play in. ​

c. For this tournament, strict time limits will be enforced to ensure that the tournament runs smoothly and without delays. If opponents take too long to respond, or matches continue on for longer than they should, the TOs reserve the right to offer penalties to the team(s) involved. ​

d. If neither team reports the result of their match, both teams will receive a loss. ​

III. Each round will have maps and game modes predetermined by the TOs. ​

a. All sets will play maps on Splat Zones, Tower Control, and Rainmaker. Turf War will not be used for play. ​

b. The official map list and game mode rotation will be made available in the week prior to the main event. This announcement will be made by staff and the lists will be made available on the main event page as well as the official SAI discord server. ​





3. Match Rules

A. Disconnections, Replays, and Substitutions ​

I. Substitutions may occur between games at any time, and may be done with as many team members as you’d like; however, for the sake of efficiency, please inform your opponents while organizing the private room that you will be subbing out players between matches, so that mistakes aren’t made in starting a game too early.



II. All teams are allowed ONE replay due to disconnection in the entire bracket. In exception, all teams are granted ONE replay in Grand Finals even if they already used a replay earlier in the bracket. ​

III. If one of your team members disconnects from a game during a match, you may ask for one mandatory replay. ​

a. This may ONLY be issued under ALL of the following conditions:

-The was the first replay you had requested in the tournament (except Grand Finals).



-The team member that disconnected had done so within the first two minutes of the match (the timer was at 3:00 or higher when the disconnect occurred).



-The team that experienced disconnection stopped playing immediately after noticing it. ​





b. If any of these conditions are not met, the opposing team may refuse to replay the match. ​

IV. The only other situations in which a replay must occur are the following: ​

a. The host of the private room disconnects, forcing everyone out of the game. ​

b. The game begins with a team missing players. ​

c. Both teams experience disconnections during the game. ​

V. In the case of a replay, both teams’ players must use the same weapons they had used previously in the game being replayed. If the disconnect resulted in a player being subbed out, the new player may use whichever weapon they’d like. ​





B. Lag Rules ​

I. If you deem that someone on the opponent’s team is lagging heavily, you may request a speed test from them. If they do not meet the minimum internet connection requirements of 0.8Mbps upload speed, 1.2Mbps download speed, and 100ms ping, the TOs reserve the right to remove them from their team’s roster for the duration of the tournament. ​

a. If requested for a speed test, your team may not refuse. If the player(s) in question are unable to complete a speed test and show the results to the TOs in a reasonable time frame, they may be asked to sit off the roster until they can, so as to not slow down the tournament. ​

b. If you have video evidence in which the opponent’s team is shown as lagging heavily, the TOs reserve the right to allow this video evidence to override the speed test. ​

II. If a removal occurs, and the team that experiences the removal now has less than 4 playable teammates as a result, they will be allowed to make an emergency roster addition. This can only be done with someone who was not previously on any of the other teams’ rosters. ​

a. Time limits are still taken into account during this process, and the team involved is still subject to disqualification or forfeit of a match if they take too long to complete their emergency roster addition. ​

Submit Team Registration for Invitational







Gametypes ​

Spoiler Winner's Round 1

1) Arowana Mall (Rainmaker)

2) Bluefin Depot (Tower Control)

3) Piranha Pit (Splat Zones)

4) Camp Triggerfish (TC)

5) Port Mackerel (SZ)



Winner's Round 2

1) Museum d’Alfonsino (TC)

2) Ancho-V Games (RM)

3) Bluefin Depot (SZ)

4) Mahi-Mahi Resort (SZ)

5) Kelp Dome (TC)



Winner's Round 3

1) Hammerhead Bridge (SZ)

2) Ancho-V Games (TC)

3) Urchin Underpass (RM)

4) Blackbelly Skatepark (TC)

5) Walleye Warehouse (RM)



Loser's Round 1

1) Ancho-V Games (SZ)

2) Flounder Heights (TC)

3) Mahi-Mahi Resort (RM)

4) Arowana Mall (SZ)

5) Saltspray Rig (TC)



Loser's Round 2

1) Moray Towers (RM)

2) Urchin Underpass (TC)

3) Museum d’Alfonsino (SZ)

4) Port Mackerel (TC)

5) Bluefin Depot (RM)



Loser's Round 3

1) Saltspray Rig (RM)

2) Moray Towers (TC)

3) Flounder Heights (SZ)

4) Camp Triggerfish (RM)

5) Blackbelly Skatepark (SZ)



Loser's Round 4

1) Mahi-Mahi Resort (TC)

2) Walleye Warehouse (RM)

3) Piranha Pit (SZ)

4) Port Mackerel (RM)

5) Camp Triggerfish (SZ)



Loser's Round 5

1) Blackbelly Skatepark (RM)

2) Moray Towers (SZ)

3) Kelp Dome (TC)

4) Hammerhead Bridge (RM)

5) Urchin Underpass (SZ)



Winner's Finals

1) Mahi-Mahi Resort (SZ)

2) Piranha Pit (RM)

3) Hammerhead Bridge (TC)

4) Flounder Heights (RM)

5) Arowana Mall (SZ)

6) Walleye Warehouse (TC)

7) Museum d’Alfonsino (RM)



Loser's Finals

1) Kelp Dome (SZ)

2) Urchin Underpass (RM)

3) Walleye Warehouse (SZ)

4) Bluefin Depot (TC)

5) Camp Triggerfish (SZ)

6) Blackbelly Skatepark (TC)

7) Hammerhead Bridge (RM)



Grand Finals

1) Saltspray Rig (SZ)

2) Moray Towers (TC)

3) Port Mackerel (RM)

4) Piranha Pit (SZ)

5) Camp Triggerfish (TC)

6) Flounder Heights (RM)

7) Bluefin Depot (SZ)



Grand Finals Set 2 (if necessary)

1) Urchin Underpass (TC)

2) Arowana Mall (SZ)

3) Walleye Warehouse (RM)

4) Blackbelly Skatepark (SZ)

5) Museum d’Alfonsino (TC)

6) Kelp Dome (RM)

7) Mahi-Mahi Resort (SZ)





Schedule



Spoiler Schedule will be available prior to the main event.







Stream



The main event stream will be provided by EGTV. More information on the event stream and schedule will be posted soon.





Staff



Please reach out to myself or any of the staff members involved if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the Invitational or qualifying events:



Tournament Organizers and Qualifier Hosts:

@Khraka

@Aweshucks

@Fightersword

@Kbot

@Njok



Tournament Staff:

@Burritoburger

@Trieste Sp



Head Tournament Organizer:

@TheRapture



Important Links/Info



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