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Tournament Draft League Circuit - Administrative Decisions
- Thread starter a fairy
- Start date
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On Classic Cup Sizes
The three Classic Cups have been expanded to allow for more variance in the amount of players per tournament. For example, rather than defaulting down to 256 participants if valid signups do not reach 512 or more, hosts may elect to start a tournament with a participant count of 384.
To ensure that byes or round robins are not needed in later rounds, a certain number of players may receive byes in the round immediately following Battle Pools. In the case of a participant count of 384, 64 players with the best ranking out of the Battle Pools would receive a Bye.
This change will be represented in the Scoring Tables shortly as well, to represent the additional possible tournament participant numbers and how those tournaments would be scored for Circuit and Classic.
Hosts are given the ability to determine ideal participant count for their tournaments, taking into account the percentages given here. Given the need for substitutes, hosts may place benchmarks for the different tournament sizes to ensure that there are folks who signed up available to substitute in on the chance that participants go missing.
The three Classic Cups have been expanded to allow for more variance in the amount of players per tournament. For example, rather than defaulting down to 256 participants if valid signups do not reach 512 or more, hosts may elect to start a tournament with a participant count of 384.
To ensure that byes or round robins are not needed in later rounds, a certain number of players may receive byes in the round immediately following Battle Pools. In the case of a participant count of 384, 64 players with the best ranking out of the Battle Pools would receive a Bye.
This change will be represented in the Scoring Tables shortly as well, to represent the additional possible tournament participant numbers and how those tournaments would be scored for Circuit and Classic.
Hosts are given the ability to determine ideal participant count for their tournaments, taking into account the percentages given here. Given the need for substitutes, hosts may place benchmarks for the different tournament sizes to ensure that there are folks who signed up available to substitute in on the chance that participants go missing.
RE: Removal from Tournaments, Dropping Out, and Substitutes
Events: Choomie has been forum banned for reasons unrelated to ORAS Cup I. In accordance with current tour policy, he will not be allowed to participate in the remainder of ORAS Cup I. Additionally, towards the end of the drafting phase, IronFlashGaming requested to be substituted out of the tournament, and a while later after a substitute had been placed in their position requested to rejoin the tournament.
Results: Once a person has been removed from a tournament, either at their request or in accordance with current tour policy, they will not be readded to the tournament. IronFlashGaming was replaced with a12qsd too when they requested to be removed from the tournament. Choomie has been substituted out of the tournament, with iPro taking their place. iPro will retain the draft and battle results (if any) of Choomie, but any incomplete matches and further rounds (if applicable) will be played by iPro.
Additionally: ORAS Cup I hosts have determined that due to the strict timeframes that the Draft and Battle Pool phases operate at, substitutes need to have already been present in the Discord server for ease of substitute implementation. These two substitutions and any further necessary ones during these phases must be present in the server with the correct information in their signup post.
Events: Choomie has been forum banned for reasons unrelated to ORAS Cup I. In accordance with current tour policy, he will not be allowed to participate in the remainder of ORAS Cup I. Additionally, towards the end of the drafting phase, IronFlashGaming requested to be substituted out of the tournament, and a while later after a substitute had been placed in their position requested to rejoin the tournament.
Results: Once a person has been removed from a tournament, either at their request or in accordance with current tour policy, they will not be readded to the tournament. IronFlashGaming was replaced with a12qsd too when they requested to be removed from the tournament. Choomie has been substituted out of the tournament, with iPro taking their place. iPro will retain the draft and battle results (if any) of Choomie, but any incomplete matches and further rounds (if applicable) will be played by iPro.
Additionally: ORAS Cup I hosts have determined that due to the strict timeframes that the Draft and Battle Pool phases operate at, substitutes need to have already been present in the Discord server for ease of substitute implementation. These two substitutions and any further necessary ones during these phases must be present in the server with the correct information in their signup post.
re: Untiered Pokémon in SS
The following Pokémon were missing on the originally released draft board, they've now been placed accordingly:
Ban
Landorus-Incarnate
3 Points
Aggron
Arctovish
Kingler
Swoobat
2 Points
Absol
Golduck
Klinklang
Luxray
Munchlax
1 Point
Rookidee
Galarian Linoone
If you notice any other untiered Pokémon that are available in SS, please notify a host.
The following Pokémon were missing on the originally released draft board, they've now been placed accordingly:
Ban
Landorus-Incarnate 3 Points
Aggron Arctovish Kingler Swoobat 2 Points
Absol Golduck Klinklang Luxray Munchlax 1 Point
Rookidee Galarian Linoone If you notice any other untiered Pokémon that are available in SS, please notify a host.
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RE: Tiering update for SS
Vullaby
Vullaby was missing from the draft board and is now correctly placed at 2 points.
Deerling and Sawsbuck 
These pokemon were present in the draft board despite not being available in the format. They have been removed.
If you notice any other untiered Pokémon that are available in SS, or pokemon on the draft board that are not available in SS, please notify a host.
Vullaby Vullaby was missing from the draft board and is now correctly placed at 2 points.
Deerling and Sawsbuck These pokemon were present in the draft board despite not being available in the format. They have been removed.
If you notice any other untiered Pokémon that are available in SS, or pokemon on the draft board that are not available in SS, please notify a host.
re: Showdown outage
Due to the Showdown server outages, we've decided to extend the ongoing USUM and SS cup rounds (round 4 for USUM and battle pools for SS) until 11:59pm GMT+0 on 14th May. ORAS semi finals will not be extended at the moment. Apologies for any inconveniences caused.
Due to the Showdown server outages, we've decided to extend the ongoing USUM and SS cup rounds (round 4 for USUM and battle pools for SS) until 11:59pm GMT+0 on 14th May. ORAS semi finals will not be extended at the moment. Apologies for any inconveniences caused.
re: Tiering update for Summer Seasonal
We've gone ahead and made some revisions to the Draft Board for this year's Summer Seasonal.
Chi-Yu: Banned
Chien-Pao: Banned
Palafin: 18 Points 
Volcarona: 18 Points
Zamazenta-Crowned: 18 Points
Enamorus-Incarnate: 17 Points
Garchomp: 17 Points
Sneasler: 17 Points
Urshifu-Single-Strike: 17 Points
Baxcalibur: 16 Points
Kingambit: 16 Points
Meowscarada: 16 Points
Greninja: 15 Points
Tornadus-Therian: 15 Points
Regieleki: 10 Points
Furthermore, the following Pokémon are now also Tera Banned.
Baxcalibur
Regieleki
Tornadus-Therian
Urshifu-Single-Strike
We've gone ahead and made some revisions to the Draft Board for this year's Summer Seasonal.
Chi-Yu: Banned Chien-Pao: Banned Palafin: 18 Points Volcarona: 18 Points Zamazenta-Crowned: 18 Points Enamorus-Incarnate: 17 Points Garchomp: 17 Points Sneasler: 17 Points Urshifu-Single-Strike: 17 Points Baxcalibur: 16 Points Kingambit: 16 Points Meowscarada: 16 Points Greninja: 15 Points Tornadus-Therian: 15 Points Regieleki: 10 Points Furthermore, the following Pokémon are now also Tera Banned.
Baxcalibur Regieleki Tornadus-Therian Urshifu-Single-Strike 
The Tournament Directors have been provided with evidence of multiple participants of the Smogon Draft Kick-Off tournament breaking Tournament and Smogon rules during their involvement. Two users were found to have colluded and rigged their game against each other, and two others were found supporting and actively involved in the discussion leading to the rigged game. The Smogon Draft team have reviewed the recommendations from the Tournament Director team and are implementing the following as concurred:
Moderator Edit: Following an appeal, Lizardu'''s circuit ban has been reduced to three months.
- supersayan and iMox will receive an infraction for Unsportsmanlike Conduct and a one-year ban from the Smogon Draft Circuit for colluding and rigging a tournament match.
- Lizardu'' and ButterCHOKE will receive an infraction for Unsportsmanlike Conduct and a nine month ban from the Smogon Draft Circuit for supporting and being actively involved in the collusion for rigging a tournament match.
Moderator Edit: Following an appeal, Lizardu'''s circuit ban has been reduced to three months.
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Re: Quick Claw's Legality in Low Tier I
It has come to the attention of the tour hosts that the replay between BaitWiz and austinerzs (here), austinerzs brought Quick Claw, which is a banned item. However, the result of the end of the game will be staying intact, with the win going to austinerzs. This is due to the fact that the OP thread for Round 1 was not updated to accommodate for the Quick Claw ban, which was only made known on the Smogon Draft Discord Server.
This was an issue caused by the hosts, and moving forward, any other games where Quick Claw is used will automatically be a loss to the player using the item. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
It has come to the attention of the tour hosts that the replay between BaitWiz and austinerzs (here), austinerzs brought Quick Claw, which is a banned item. However, the result of the end of the game will be staying intact, with the win going to austinerzs. This is due to the fact that the OP thread for Round 1 was not updated to accommodate for the Quick Claw ban, which was only made known on the Smogon Draft Discord Server.
This was an issue caused by the hosts, and moving forward, any other games where Quick Claw is used will automatically be a loss to the player using the item. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
re: Sulo vs SavCat
Mirroring an announcement on Discord for the SV NatDex tour: Recently a game was played in the NatDex tour where someone brought Zygarde's ability Power Construct. While Power Construct was not specifically outlined as not allowed, "Zygarde-Complete" was already listed on the Banned list during drafting. The NatDex I staff would like to reiterate that Power Construct is not a legal ability, as such the game has been ruled a FF.
Mirroring an announcement on Discord for the SV NatDex tour: Recently a game was played in the NatDex tour where someone brought Zygarde's ability Power Construct. While Power Construct was not specifically outlined as not allowed, "Zygarde-Complete" was already listed on the Banned list during drafting. The NatDex I staff would like to reiterate that Power Construct is not a legal ability, as such the game has been ruled a FF.
Re: Lying about time zones
The hosts of Draft Seasonal and the mod team have been provided with evidence that kurse attempted to circumvent the rules of the tournament by signing up in a timezone that is not their own with the intent to draft a better team.
After conferring with the tournament directors, they will be infracted for unsportsmanlike conduct and removed from the tournament. Further attempts by any user to cheat in this manner will result in circuit bans, as it is now more clear in signup threads that doing so is not permitted.
The hosts of Draft Seasonal and the mod team have been provided with evidence that kurse attempted to circumvent the rules of the tournament by signing up in a timezone that is not their own with the intent to draft a better team.
After conferring with the tournament directors, they will be infracted for unsportsmanlike conduct and removed from the tournament. Further attempts by any user to cheat in this manner will result in circuit bans, as it is now more clear in signup threads that doing so is not permitted.
Re: Shikshtenaan
During the redrafting phase of the 2024 Summer Seasonal, logs were provided that showed Shikshtenaan planned to draft in such a way that meant everyone else in his draft pool would have an unfair advantage during the remaining rounds of top cut. They acknowledged in these logs that they were doing so purposefully and to "protest" the fact that we instated a redraft for Summer Seasonal at all (this rule has been in each round thread dating back to the signup thread). The reason redrafting exists is to prevent precisely this type of unfair advantage gained when users are placed in random draft pools and are able to obtain unusually strong teams, and is a system we derived from community feedback. Having an issue with how/why something is being done is totally acceptable and we would have welcomed the chance to talk to Shikshtenaan about it had they come to us, but tanking the draft as retribution is not acceptable.
As a result, Shikshtenaan will be removed from the Summer Seasonal top cut. Their draft position will be taken over by staff for the remainder of the draft, but otherwise will be a dead slot; their top cut r1 opponent will receive a bye; Tournament Directors were consulted and referenced this rule in their recommendation. Their rounds 1-4 picks will be replaced with those from their original draft and staff will attempt to replicate their original draft to attempt and maintain competitive integrity for the remaining rounds of drafting. For this purposeful unsportsmanlike conduct, Shikshtenaan will be tournament banned on Smogon for 3 months, and banned from Draft League tournaments for 6 months.
During the redrafting phase of the 2024 Summer Seasonal, logs were provided that showed Shikshtenaan planned to draft in such a way that meant everyone else in his draft pool would have an unfair advantage during the remaining rounds of top cut. They acknowledged in these logs that they were doing so purposefully and to "protest" the fact that we instated a redraft for Summer Seasonal at all (this rule has been in each round thread dating back to the signup thread). The reason redrafting exists is to prevent precisely this type of unfair advantage gained when users are placed in random draft pools and are able to obtain unusually strong teams, and is a system we derived from community feedback. Having an issue with how/why something is being done is totally acceptable and we would have welcomed the chance to talk to Shikshtenaan about it had they come to us, but tanking the draft as retribution is not acceptable.
As a result, Shikshtenaan will be removed from the Summer Seasonal top cut. Their draft position will be taken over by staff for the remainder of the draft, but otherwise will be a dead slot; their top cut r1 opponent will receive a bye; Tournament Directors were consulted and referenced this rule in their recommendation. Their rounds 1-4 picks will be replaced with those from their original draft and staff will attempt to replicate their original draft to attempt and maintain competitive integrity for the remaining rounds of drafting. For this purposeful unsportsmanlike conduct, Shikshtenaan will be tournament banned on Smogon for 3 months, and banned from Draft League tournaments for 6 months.
re: Ties in DPP and ADV
Ties in these tournaments will be treated as a true tie, and necessitate a new game. We do not allow player agreements to change the win conditions of the games in any tournament, whether it is removing ties or choosing to play entirely different formats or games.
You have 15 minutes to edit your team as you wish in the occurance of a tie. By default, if somebody wants to play right after the game they are entitled to that. However, you may agree to reschedule if both parties agree.
Ties in these tournaments will be treated as a true tie, and necessitate a new game. We do not allow player agreements to change the win conditions of the games in any tournament, whether it is removing ties or choosing to play entirely different formats or games.
You have 15 minutes to edit your team as you wish in the occurance of a tie. By default, if somebody wants to play right after the game they are entitled to that. However, you may agree to reschedule if both parties agree.
re: Redrafting in Seasonals
During the 2024 Summer Seasonal, we experimented with a redraft before the top 32 top cut. After receiving feedback and discussing it internally, we will not be doing redrafts again for future seasonals including the 2025 Spring Seasonal which started earlier today.
During the 2024 Summer Seasonal, we experimented with a redraft before the top 32 top cut. After receiving feedback and discussing it internally, we will not be doing redrafts again for future seasonals including the 2025 Spring Seasonal which started earlier today.
re: Draft Planning
Due to numerous requests, we've gone ahead and made a draft planning sheet that will work for most of our tournaments. The front page of the sheet has instructions on how to use it, and at this time it should work for all of our 8 mon, individual tours in this upcoming year. The tours it will not work for at this current moment are DCL III and NatDex Ubers II.
Due to numerous requests, we've gone ahead and made a draft planning sheet that will work for most of our tournaments. The front page of the sheet has instructions on how to use it, and at this time it should work for all of our 8 mon, individual tours in this upcoming year. The tours it will not work for at this current moment are DCL III and NatDex Ubers II.
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Re: Score mismatches
Due to a misreported match result that was not caught until much later, the player count for this tournament is slightly desynched with ideal numbers. Until that naturally resolves via top cut or the elimination of relevant players, there may occasionally be score mismatches in the remaining rounds of Swiss.
Due to a misreported match result that was not caught until much later, the player count for this tournament is slightly desynched with ideal numbers. Until that naturally resolves via top cut or the elimination of relevant players, there may occasionally be score mismatches in the remaining rounds of Swiss.
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