New League Play-offs

[Puzznic]

Hi all, I just wanted to give my opinion on the new playoffs announced between the top 4 players in each division. Sorry to be negative but I am against it in principle, why should the top 4 players in div 4 be invited to an event that excludes the player who came 5th in Div 1? etc. etc. Sorry but imho its simply not fair...I strongly believe that in BG as in life there are no shortcuts, if you want to compete against Div 1 players as an equal then you must get there first. Puzz :what:

[garp_02]

I agree with Puzz that if this new tournament is to decide "League Champion" for the month, then it is inherently unfair. The League Champion is the winner of Division 1, in my eyes, otherwise what is the point?

I do think however, that the idea of having this kind of tournament is good in that the current Top Dog and TOC tourneys are weighted towards those who play more tournaments as against those who do well in the League. Some kind of end-of-month tournament for those who do well in their respective divisions is welcome :)

Will

[KDP]

when i saw the announcement about the tourney i suspected the most whining and crying would come from div 1 players who somehow would lose face if they lost to a div 4 player in the playoff. while i agree that the main challenge is to move up in the leagues, you guys seem to be forgetting one important aspect.......... its just A GAME. lighten up. what about the strong player who just joined iba and hasnt played long enough to move up? what about former div 1 players who had one bad month and were moved down? all major sports have playoffs to determine the eventual champion. i remember the biggest push for expanded baseball playoffs were when the san fran giants won over 100 games and finished second to atlanta but sat home and had to watch it all on tv. the idea that the underdog or little guy can compete with the big boys is what competition is all about. i whole heartedly support the idea of a playoff, not because im currently in div 4 but it adds a exciting dimension to the iba. :battle:

kdp#1319

[Puzznic]

My Dear Mr KDP i was neither whining nor crying but simply expressing my opinion. And i resent your comment that i (we) are afraid of losing face, please dont be so naive, i play iba 3 point tourneys fairly regularly and given the luck factor in such a short format i lose a lot of matches, but you never here me complaining or announcing to my opponents their Snowie rating after i have analysed the match (as some do). However as you move up the divisions and the matches get longer it becomes more and more the case that players are there on merit not because they are lucky. Strong players just joining the league will quickly move up to the div they belong in, ..........oh and please dont be so condescending, i know its just a game and i dont need to lighten up and if you dont want to play this game seriously im sure your welcome to stay home and play with the family. Puzznic

[KDP]

for someone who isnt whining or crying you sure do seem to be making a lot of noise. (as well as taking my whole comment very close to heart) again you seemed to have missed the point, and that is that a playoff or tourney among all the division champs increases the competitive nature of the whole league. nothing more, nothing less. as for being condecending, your snide little remark about playing with my family tells me all i need to know about you. perhaps you should spend more time with yours and less playing a inconsequetional internet game. :tongue:

[Joy_IBADirector]

Now fellas ... let's not get personal. ;) Sharing opinions is a good thing. :thumb: You all make good points and I look forward to further discussion on this topic.

I can tell you that the reason that IBA made this change was based primarily on the free three month Playmaker membership we have been awarding to the League Champs. We felt a monthly league playoff for the league players would be fun for the league ... A chance for the lower Divisions to play all levels and put the prize membership up for grabs at the same time.

We also found that it is not unusual for the same Division 1 player to win the title of League Champ more than once. That leaves a very small group to participate in our end of the year Anniversary League Playoffs.

I have to confess that I didn't expect a reaction to also moving the title of League Champ to the monthly playoffs. *ducking* lol I was thinking that each division has it's champs and remember it being a true feeling of accomplishment no matter which level of the league I was playing. But then when I had time to play was a long time ago. lol There certainly weren't 15 divisions in those days. So by all means feel free to correct my perspective. ;)

I know! I'll start a new poll! :) Who should be the League Champ ... be sure to vote!

[swandog110]

I think the league champ should be decided by the the winner of Div 1,

The new playoffs you can give away what ever you want more points free membership & even $$$.

To get to div1 takes alot of hard work ,quite a long time, disapointment when you stay in the same div 2 months in a row, satisfaction when you move to the next div!!!!!!! should be left the way it was.
Everyone that is div 1 or ever was work to get there (at least I did...lol)
:pc:

You say the same players are in div 1, if they stay there then they deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:battle:

To make it in div 1 is an honor that 1 should have to work for.....

If the same player is league champ more than once it probably means that person is very good playing backgammon :thumb: suprise suprise

It has to be a long term goal ( at least it was for me)

If anyone thinks I am full of it, then lets here your side, or if any agrees with me let it be known :help:

Have a great day :devil:
swandog110

[Puzznic]

I agree totally with swandog, if you want to be league champ then you must first get to Div1 and then win it,........ oh and Mr KDP If i have a lot to say its in response to the tone of your original post. As for my comment about playing with your family it was not a "snide" remark its simply that family play is the usual extent of people who do not "take the game seriously" which you imply describes you; this, in conjunction with your view that the game is "inconsequential", makes your own verbosity somewhat strange ....Puzznic

[Dinkytoy]

Hi all :)

What if there would be a final match between the div 1 winner and the winner of the league playoffs?

Winner would be announced overall champion for past month.

Just my tought on it as a non league player

Dinkytoy

[GV_london]

I think that a league playoff would be a great idea and lots of fun for all, and would also give people from the lower divisions a taste of the level of competition from the upper divisions. BUT I also think that the league champion should be the winner from division 1.

Division 1 is very tough to get to and even tougher to stay in (well, at least that has been the case for me). All the players in division 1 are very skilled and to win that division is a real accomplishment. In my opinion, whoever wins that division deserves the title of league champion.

Maybe the winner of the playoff could be "playoff champion", or maybe the prize of free membership is enough without any title.

Just my opinion.

GV_london:)

[Linda_FIBA]

Hi everyone --

I agree with GV_london, and others, that the Monthly League Champion should be the winner of Division 1 for that month. However, I also like the concept of a monthly league playoff.

How about .... all the league division winners come together for a playoff, as proposed, and call that the TopCat Playoff. That way each month there could be 2 league 'champions' .. the overall champ (from division 1) and the TopCat!!!

As for awarding of the 3-month free PMW membership ...... sigh....

Monthly League Champion ... 2 months
TopCat Playoff Champion .... 1 month

Just a suggestion :thumb:

Hugs, Linda :wave:

[stan]

Hi all

Firstly I agree with most of the others here, that the Monthly League Champion should be the winner of Division 1 for that month.

The new monthly league playoff is a fine idea, but I believe the chance of the free membership prize should be equally available to all IBA members each month.
Excluding players in the higher divisions, who have been fighting for months to get there, in favour of those who have done well in the lower divisions, and may well have only just joined IBA, is not fair.
The proposed systems results in a (15x4) 60 player tournament, but how about inviting all league members to a larger KO tournament possible played over 2 days. (Note because everyone is eligible this could be played mid month)

My suggestion is :

A Preliminary round (3 points)
The 48 div 3 and the 96 div 4 players (max total of 144) compete in this round to reduce the number to 80 (byes obviously are required and it may be that less than 80 enter anyway).

A Round one (5 points)
The above 80 surviving players are joined by the 24 div 2 players (max total of 104) and are further reduced to 52 (again byes would be needed if any div 2 players do not take part or if less than 80 enter the prelim round)

A Round two onwards (7 points)
These 52 players are joined by the 12 div 1 players to continue in a straight 64 player tournament with a 9 point final.

Too complicated ? Maybe, but I am sure our hosts would cope easily

Is my maths right? Hope so, but there must be many other formats possible. The main aim is giving every league player the chanch to compeat together instead of just a select few.

Stan :crazy:

[PHLUX]

I'm not sure about the maths Mike, I haven't thought it through, but in principle I think this is a fantastic idea. I would certainly like to see this idea taken further :)

[TwistyTourney]

I was all set to write out my opinion but GV_London and Linda_FIBA did it for me!! (Thanks you two!!):thumb:

Please re-read their excellent posts and chalk up another vote in my name. :wave:

See you at the tables,
TwistyTourney

[Joy_IBADirector]

I am please to announce that the decision was made to leave the title of League Champ with the Winner of Division 1.

[swandog110]

:) thanks Joy for listening to the players :D
great to keep league champ winner of div 1

[likesbg]

hello i think that to be in a league is differant from a knock out tourney . each are good but the league is based on sound play over a period of time . a monthly knockout tourney is wam bam ty mam . both are fine but neither compliment each other .i am in favour of the league champion being the winner of div 1 .i am glad joy and her team agrees . rgs tom ( offermethecube )

[irvbighead]

Hi all
I am new to IBA and am glad you are keeping league champion as winner of div1.
I have not joined the league yet but have been involved in the league that eggers set up else where in 1999. I was the person that suggested this format.
Like previous posts say the stronger players will rise to the top The beauty of the league is that you get 11 matches a month against players of the same level when you play in div 1. It's not an exclusive club as the best 4 from div 2 join them each month.
I have beaten world class players in matches under 7 pts but never in a million yrs would i say i am world class. In fact i am still at the learning stage. anyone can beat anyone in a one off match under 11pts if luck comes your way. We only need to look at round one of the IBA london live Boy did lady luck shine on me sorry tom.

By all means have play offs but this must be a sepperate tourney to the league

[Joy_IBADirector]

IBA considers the League Playoff to be an invitational special event separate from our regular monthly league play for the purpose of awarding a free, full three month Playmaker membership to the event winner. This new event also reflects IBA's desire to introduce longer match point formats to our offering.

[Eggers]

If iba are going to introduce a new tournament which has nothing to do with the current league - then why call it league playoff?

I'm sure we can come up with an original name for an original tournament.

Please leave the current league as it is - its the best tournament , in my humble opinion anyway.

Eggy

Mike

Eggers

[Joy_IBADirector]

Good question ... League Playoff was chosen since only league players would be invited. Got any other good names in mind?

[Eggers]

Why just league players?

If its a NEW tournament .. what has the current league got to do with it?

so in order to play in this NEW tournament you must first have to play in the league? - cant understand the logic of this

mike

eggy

[Joy_IBADirector]

As I stated earlier in this thread ...


I can tell you that the reason that IBA made this change was based primarily on the free three month Playmaker membership we have been awarding to the League Champs. We felt a monthly league playoff for the league players would be fun for the league ... A chance for the lower Divisions to play all levels and put the prize membership up for grabs at the same time.

I suppose that IBA could eliminate this invitational special event and not afford any league participant the opportunity of winning a free Playmaker membership. IBA simply felt that since some IBA league players do not play in the IBA tournaments (where the majority of the free Playmaker memberships are awarded), it was only fair. Hence the name League Playoffs ... a playoff for the free membership.

[stan]

League play does involve a time commitment that reduces the number of KO tourneys able to be fitted in and thus I totally agree that the opportunity of winning some reward is appropriate. So please leave this tourney open only to league players (come and join us you non-leaguers :D ). Personally, as mentioned in my earlier post, I would like it to be open to ALL league players each month in the form of a 'league KO tourney'.

In fact for me the main advantage of PM membership is to find other league members when thay are on line so maybe more should redirected towards the league ;)
(The winning of free membership may be irrelevant anyway since I'm still waiting for a response from PM to the one I won last month :cry: )

[Joy_IBADirector]

Hi Stan :)


(The winning of free membership may be irrelevant anyway since I'm still waiting for a response from PM to the one I won last month )

Please contact Playmaker at info@playmaker-world.com about the missing free Playmaker membership that you won. Identify yourself as an IBA player. Include your player name, email address you use with Playmaker and the month your free membership was won.