NPA - Anyone going to be playing in or following this?

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http://nuggetbridge.com/news/npa-4-commencement/

(Not sure what the rules are about posting outside links, feel free to edit/delete if necessary).

I'm pretty stoked about NPA this year. For those of you who don't know, myself and Rapha (who got 2nd at Nats this year) started playing around the same time with the 2014 season. He's always done better than me a the PCs we've been in, but he also puts in a lot more time in practicing with Battlespot and such.

But another edge that he had was a strong group to bounce ideas and team build with due to his involvement last year with NPA 3. I'm hoping to sneak onto one of my friend's teams this year as a $0 or minimum bid pick up, and I'm pretty excited about that. I've been working mostly alone for the past while and would love to have some long time vets tell me exaclty what I'm doing wrong :p

Anyways, enough about me. Is anyone else planning to apply or will be following NPA throughout the season?
 
I have never heard of it before, and if I am not blind, the article does not explain the core concept of the NPA properly. Judging by the thing with teams and managers, it seems kind of similar to SPL to me. Could someone care elaborate on what the concept of the NPA is?
 
I signed up. I doubt I'll get picked up, simply because I haven't ever been to an event irl. I've done pretty well in online VGC competitions, but that community takes them much less seriously that Smogon does.

I can't really care about the SPL or NPA unless I'm actually participating, which is a shame. They could be awesome competitions with a real fan following, if you could fester that original fan following. That might be the toughest part for e-sport leagues- getting people to tune in regularly to watch.
 
I noticed some of the NPA managers were doing auditions on Showdown...you can probably get on the action just by joining the VGC chat room
 

Mr.E

unban me from Discord
is a Two-Time Past SPL Champion
I've done pretty well in online VGC competitions, but that community takes them much less seriously that Smogon does.
It's the fact that Showdown, or any other simulator hello PO, simply can't emulate accurate VGC play. It's a fine enough testing ground, catching/breeding/trading for the right things can be a pain in the ass especially before you even know if the team is gonna be good or not, but when it's GO time there's no substitute for official business. Simulators don't, and can't, provide an accurate timer for legitimate competitive play.
 
It's the fact that Showdown, or any other simulator hello PO, simply can't emulate accurate VGC play. It's a fine enough testing ground, catching/breeding/trading for the right things can be a pain in the ass especially before you even know if the team is gonna be good or not, but when it's GO time there's no substitute for official business. Simulators don't, and can't, provide an accurate timer for legitimate competitive play.
To be clear, I was mostly referencing online tournaments on the 3ds.

Regionals are bo1. Topping those is very different from doing well in a bo3 tournament.
At a regional you can scout teams, which you can't do in a tournament like this.
At a regional you have a much shorter timer than you do when playing in the NPA.
Compare that to online tournaments like the NB Major, which is Bo3 the entire way through, and regionals are much less representative of prowess in a format like the one used by the NPA.
 

Alaka

formerly Alakapimp
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
I have never heard of it before, and if I am not blind, the article does not explain the core concept of the NPA properly. Judging by the thing with teams and managers, it seems kind of similar to SPL to me. Could someone care elaborate on what the concept of the NPA is?
Here is the first one from when it was on Smogon. Anyone feel free to find me on irc if you want a tryout. Honestly you're unlikely to get picked if I'm not aware of you already, but its worth a shot.
 
Bumping this because the draft was tonight. I got drafted by the Chargers, so if anyone is watching, you all know who to root for. Full team lists can be found here.
 
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