Pixelmon World Cup: Layout
Group Stages
Note: The words “Match” and “Battles” will be used in the following text. A Match will refer to the 3 battles that take place between two teams. A Battle will refer to an individual Pokémon battle. Each Match will contain 3 battles.
- Participating servers will be divided into groups of 4 labeled (A-E), using a random draw or another method depending on the World Cup qualification process.
- Each group plays in a round-robin format, with each team playing every other team in their group once.
- Each team will have 3 matches (9 battles) during the Group Stage. Each team will not play more than one match per day.
- Each match consists of 3 battles. Each battle in a match must be played by a different player, so each team must have 3 battlers available on match day.
- Teams will earn 1 point per battle win. With 3 battles per match, this means each match will have 3 potential points for the two opposing teams to fight over.
- Teams will be ranked within each group based on total points earned. If teams finish on equal points, tiebreakers will be issued.
- The Top 16 teams in the Tournament will progress to the knockout stages.
Group Ranking
Given that there is a possibility for teams in the group stage to all finish on equal points, other statistics will be used in order to determine which teams proceed to the knockouts. Teams will take rank in the following order:
1. Points
3. Remaining Pokémon across all Battles
4. Tiebreaker Match
Wins/Loss Difference Example:
| Teams: | Points (Wins) | Battle Losses | Remaining Pkmn |
| Team 1 | 8 | 1 | 16 |
| Team 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Team 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Team 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
Explanation:
- Team 1 won all but one of their battles in the group stage, easily ranking 1st in their group.
- Team 2 and Team 3 both won 4 battles and lost 5 battles. Since they tied on points, we look at their remaining Pokémon. Team 2 was able to keep more Pokémon alive by the end of their battles, so they rank 2nd in their group. Team 3 ranks 3rd in the group and may or may not proceed to the knockout stages (depending on the amount of participating servers).
- Team 4 won 2 of their battles, and lost the other 7. They rank last in their group and will not proceed to the knockout stages.
Note: This may not represent a valid group at the end of all their matches. The visual is to simply show what happens during the tiebreaker rule for differences.
Remaining Pokémon per Battle:
Each battle will be logged after its conclusion, and the amount of Pokémon that the victor has remaining will be recorded for tiebreaker purposes. Losers will always be recorded with 0 Pokémon at the end of a battle, even if they forfeit before all their Pokémon have fainted.
As we aim to ensure every battle counts to its fullest, players are incentivized to play out their battle to ensure they knock down as many Pokémon from the opposition as possible in case a tiebreaker is required.
Tiebreaker Match:
If everything above is tied, a tiebreaker match will be scheduled. This is a single-elimination match, with only a single battle. The winner will rank above the loser.
Knockout Stage Seeds
Over the course of the group stages, the teams will be fighting for their opportunity to progress into the knockout stage. In the respective spreadsheets, players will be able to locate both the “Overall Standings” table, as well as the “Group Standings” table. Seed (or place) is assigned to each team based on their rank in the Overall Standings at the end of the group stages. Seeds will then face off against each other, with the assignment order matching up the teams with the best records against teams with the worse records.
Example:
- Seed 1 (best record) will face Seed 16 (worst record)
- Seed 2 (2nd best record) will face Seed 15 (2nd worst record)
- Seed 8 (8th best record) will face Seed 9 (8th worst record)
Knockout Stage Matches
Similar to the Group Stages, the Knockout Stages are of 3 battles, however, once a team loses, they are out for good. This is otherwise known as Single-Elimination.
Scheduling Process
Matches will be scheduled in advance, with all Group Stage match scheduling beginning as soon as groups are decided. After the Group Stage concludes and the Knockout bracket is set, the first round of knockout matches will be scheduled. From then on, matches will begin scheduling as soon as the next 2 teams facing each other have moved on. The process will look something like this:
(A matchup is 2 different teams that have a scheduled match against each other)
- Each matchup will be assigned a date for their match
- Each matchup will get a dedicated thread for the Team Managers/Assistants to discuss possible match times, and must make a decision within 24 hours before their match
- Each Manager/Assistant will discuss possible match times with their 5 battlers to determine which times they will have 3 battlers available for the match
- The opposing Managers/Assistants will return to their matchup thread to present possible options. They will then work together to select a time that will work for both teams
- If there is no possible time that works for both teams on that date, contact an event organizer ASAP to request a different date and we will try to accommodate you. However, this is a last resort so try to work something out for your scheduled date.
- After you have agreed upon a time, ping @support in the thread so you can be added to the official schedule
- You should work to agree on a match time as soon as you can, and don’t put it off:
- Match times are first come, first served, so if another matchup was scheduled first at the same time/date you chose, you will need to choose a new time.
- There must be a 2 hour time gap between scheduled match start times.
- If one team’s manager/assistant are actively working on finding a time, but their opposing team puts it off to the end and they cannot agree on a time by the deadline, the team that waited will be forfeited, and the team that put in effort will be considered to have “won” the match for the purpose of scorekeeping and advancing.
- If the two opposing teams cannot agree on a date/time for their match by the 24-hour deadline, the match will be considered a forfeit by one or both teams depending on the difference in effort put forth towards finding a time.
Prizes:
2024 Season Prizes can be found here
Glory
While this mostly holds intrinsic value, being crowned the top competitive server on Pixelmon brings tremendous bragging rights, and finishing in the top spot always brings more prestige to the competitive scene your server has developed/is developing. Pixelmon World Cup Champ has quite a nice ring to it!
