Havak
I'm the Best. You're a Towel.
UK Smogon Meets / Tournaments?
UK Smogon Tournaments
Now, we all know that Smogon is huge and very well known these days, but there's always room for new things and expansion; bringing more to the UK is one of my main aims. Recently, I participated in a tournament hosted by a website called Pokecharms. They'd contacted a company called Gamerbase, who run weekly tournaments on various games at weekends in the UK. You can see the results and process of the Pokecharms tournament here and here. It'll also give you an idea of the turnout, interest, and how great the day actually was. It was a lot of fun just being able to meet lots of other Pokémon players, and as we know, Nintendo don't/can't host tournaments all the time - us in the UK are very aware of that. So this is our chance, for us, the fans, to do something about that, instead of just complaining.
Gamerbase - http://www.gamerbase.com/
Currently, they only have two locations in the United Kingdom, being in the two major cities - London and Manchester. However, there is a third location opening in July, which will be based in Glasgow, Scotland. Obviously, they host gaming tournaments each weekend, as well as providing consoles for you to game on for x amount of hours if you pay. There is usually a fee required to play, but you’ll be competing for prizes of a much greater value than that of the entrance fee. If I was able to run one of these for Smogon, we’d be able to hire out a section of the venue for x amount of time to conduct the tournament.
Tournaments
Obviously, battles would be conducted using Diamond / Pearl / Platinum, either through the use of Nintendo DS's themselves or connecting them to Pokémon Battle Revlution for a more interesting time.
Now, we’d most likely be able to rent out three large HD screens (at least, in Manchester anyway) for as long as we need (Pokecharms had three screens for what must’ve been around five hours). Pokecharms had two screens set up for the tournament, with another for players who either weren’t competing but had brought their DS, had already been eliminated, or were waiting for their next match between rounds. As far as I’m aware, Pokecharms had to provide their own Wii consoles and software, but I doubt that’d be much of a problem. I haven’t gotten in touch with Gamerbase just yet, so I don’t know how much it’d cost. But I’m going to have a word with the webmaster of Pokecharms first, and then drop Gamerbase an e-mail to see what we can arrange.
Now, the biggest (and perhaps only) worry is how much interest there would actually be. There wouldn’t be much point in running a tournament if we weren’t certain of at least 16-32 people turning up to compete. If we don’t get that many, I really can’t see much point and it’d probably cost more than the amount of money we’d make from it. I wouldn't want to rent out the venue and have very few people actually show up.. I don't have much money so it'd be a real strain on me if people say they'll come but don't.
Prizes
Prizes will simply become better and better depending on the turnout. I could speak to the admins about allowing for the likes of a Custom User Title for the winner, or perhaps a Trophy if at all possible (but that cannot be promised). Other things would include certificates, in-game Pokémon specially bred by Smogon members, Event Pokémon, cash or voucher prizes, or even Pokémon related merchandise or video games.
The future
Obviously, this type of thing wouldn't be restricted to just the UK. I'm sure there'd be even more potential for something like this in America as long as a venue can be acquired cheaply. But that's a discussion for another time between other staff members and people from America.
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Myself and Toothache can vouch that this event was really good, and we'd be more than happy to host one in Manchester's Gamerbase if we can gain enough interest. Trust us, it's great fun, and the small entrance fee (£5~) is more than worth it, just for the sake of being there (you do not have to pay if you're not playing). Also, if any members from London or Scotland would be interested in trying to host one in those locations, go for it. It just depends if people have the funds to travel long distances.. but throughout the summer hopefully it'll be easier for people. So, what do you think?
As for now, this is just an interest thread to see if there would be enough players wanting to come along, so if you'd be up for it, let me know.
Quick mock-up of some advertisement (not official yet).
UK Smogon Tournaments
Now, we all know that Smogon is huge and very well known these days, but there's always room for new things and expansion; bringing more to the UK is one of my main aims. Recently, I participated in a tournament hosted by a website called Pokecharms. They'd contacted a company called Gamerbase, who run weekly tournaments on various games at weekends in the UK. You can see the results and process of the Pokecharms tournament here and here. It'll also give you an idea of the turnout, interest, and how great the day actually was. It was a lot of fun just being able to meet lots of other Pokémon players, and as we know, Nintendo don't/can't host tournaments all the time - us in the UK are very aware of that. So this is our chance, for us, the fans, to do something about that, instead of just complaining.
Gamerbase - http://www.gamerbase.com/
Currently, they only have two locations in the United Kingdom, being in the two major cities - London and Manchester. However, there is a third location opening in July, which will be based in Glasgow, Scotland. Obviously, they host gaming tournaments each weekend, as well as providing consoles for you to game on for x amount of hours if you pay. There is usually a fee required to play, but you’ll be competing for prizes of a much greater value than that of the entrance fee. If I was able to run one of these for Smogon, we’d be able to hire out a section of the venue for x amount of time to conduct the tournament.
Tournaments
Obviously, battles would be conducted using Diamond / Pearl / Platinum, either through the use of Nintendo DS's themselves or connecting them to Pokémon Battle Revlution for a more interesting time.
Now, we’d most likely be able to rent out three large HD screens (at least, in Manchester anyway) for as long as we need (Pokecharms had three screens for what must’ve been around five hours). Pokecharms had two screens set up for the tournament, with another for players who either weren’t competing but had brought their DS, had already been eliminated, or were waiting for their next match between rounds. As far as I’m aware, Pokecharms had to provide their own Wii consoles and software, but I doubt that’d be much of a problem. I haven’t gotten in touch with Gamerbase just yet, so I don’t know how much it’d cost. But I’m going to have a word with the webmaster of Pokecharms first, and then drop Gamerbase an e-mail to see what we can arrange.
Now, the biggest (and perhaps only) worry is how much interest there would actually be. There wouldn’t be much point in running a tournament if we weren’t certain of at least 16-32 people turning up to compete. If we don’t get that many, I really can’t see much point and it’d probably cost more than the amount of money we’d make from it. I wouldn't want to rent out the venue and have very few people actually show up.. I don't have much money so it'd be a real strain on me if people say they'll come but don't.
Prizes
Prizes will simply become better and better depending on the turnout. I could speak to the admins about allowing for the likes of a Custom User Title for the winner, or perhaps a Trophy if at all possible (but that cannot be promised). Other things would include certificates, in-game Pokémon specially bred by Smogon members, Event Pokémon, cash or voucher prizes, or even Pokémon related merchandise or video games.
The future
Obviously, this type of thing wouldn't be restricted to just the UK. I'm sure there'd be even more potential for something like this in America as long as a venue can be acquired cheaply. But that's a discussion for another time between other staff members and people from America.
--------------------------
Myself and Toothache can vouch that this event was really good, and we'd be more than happy to host one in Manchester's Gamerbase if we can gain enough interest. Trust us, it's great fun, and the small entrance fee (£5~) is more than worth it, just for the sake of being there (you do not have to pay if you're not playing). Also, if any members from London or Scotland would be interested in trying to host one in those locations, go for it. It just depends if people have the funds to travel long distances.. but throughout the summer hopefully it'll be easier for people. So, what do you think?
As for now, this is just an interest thread to see if there would be enough players wanting to come along, so if you'd be up for it, let me know.
Quick mock-up of some advertisement (not official yet).