A NEW STANDARD FOR ARCADIA ARENA
With a format more or less set for Arcadia Arena tournaments (3 rounds, 25 attempts each with a point system rewarding the Top 20), the OP Games team decided to ditch the old naming convention of the AA tournaments and move on with the Arcadia Arena Alpha Cup a.k.a the Triple A Cup.
The first Triple A Cup was the debut of this Formula 1 style points system and this second iteration is the debut of something even more exciting: The Knockout Bracket.
A knockout/elimination bracket had been in the works for a while now and has been much anticipated by the team and community. The first version of it was finally ready for tournament play in September, featuring a Top 16, single-match elimination bracket. The Triple A Cup 2 would be the first ever Arcadia Arena tournament (or any tournament in Arcadia) to feature such a build. With the knockouts, the cup was now truly a cup.
TRIPLE A CUP 2
The format stayed the same as the last Triple A Cup with the addition of a 4th round — the Knockout Round. Very simply: players duke it out over 3 regular rounds amassing points (based on the implemented point system) and competing for the Top 16 spots in order to advance to the Knockout Round. The Top 16 then compete in a one-day, single-match knockout bracket. Last team standing takes the crown. Kind of like the NBA with it’s regular season + playoffs.
The Triple A Cup 2 was set to be the most nail-biting, action-packed Arcadia Arena tournament yet! It was also expected to be the most competitive, as new builds and improvements allowed for more unexpected outcomes. And of course, like its effect on the highest level of gaming and sports, a knockout format always brings a level of unpredictability — the place where the best competition stories are born! Number 1 seeds could fall in the first round and underdogs can make miraculous runs to the Finals and sometimes even win the whole damn thing.
So how’d it go in the Triple A Cup 2? Let’s rewind and go through the story of Arcadia Arena’s craziest tournament yet.
REGULAR ROUNDS
The regular rounds saw an interesting mix of results. There were big names that did well and some that didn’t. Some took seats in the top 5 but others barely scratched the top 10.
Arcadia legend DoodleMonster finished down in 10th in round 1, won round 2 and finished outside the podium in round 3 with a 4th place finish.
Blarrgh, the Triple A Cup defending champion only broke the top 10 once the entire regular rounds with a very modest 7th place finish in round 2.
Up and coming player Archx saw fluctuating finishes as well, placing 2nd, 12th and 3rd in rounds 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
The per round scores proved that the latest build provided a bit more space for luck — both bad and good. Or was it just players were taking longer to get used to the new developments? In any case, the strong players still dominated the Top 10. After all, at the end of the day, Arcadia Arena is a skill-based strategy game that still finds a way to reward the best, most-deserving players.
THE TOP 16
That brings us to the Top 16! After 3 action-packed rounds competing for point-scoring positions, we are left with the tournament’s sweet 16. The FIRST group of players to EVER compete in the Knockout Round. Have a look at that historic Top 16.
Look how tight it is at both the top and bottom of the table! A single point separated 1st from 2nd place. The same for 3rd and 4th. Just 4 points separated players ranked 10th to 16th. Exciting stuff! So far it seems that the point system is working.
KNOCKOUT ROUND BEGINS
And so it begins. As with any proper “post-season” elimination bracket, the seeding (where you finished in the regular rounds) determines who you’re matched up against in the knockouts and which side of the bracket you’re on.
1st seed cary plays against last seed Izyun.
4th place Arch battles 13th place blarrgh.
And on the other side,
2nd place BUgzy battles 15th place Iken.
3rd place DoodleMonster matches up against 14th place harsh_brown_panther.
And so on.
This set-up gives favor to those with the higher seed (matching them up against presumably weaker opponents), allowing them a much deserved advantage to progress. It’s also designed for the best of the best to meet in later rounds, making it possible for situations like the 1st and 2nd seed meeting in the finals. But alas, anything can happen in an elimination bracket. Sometimes, seedings can be thrown right out the window. The number one seed can be knocked out in the first round.
And that’s exactly how the knockout round started! cary’s dream campaign came to an abrupt stop in the first round as 16th seed Izyun claimed victory.
This however, proved to be the only real upset in the round of 16. Matchup favorites Cabley, blarrgh, Spencer, BUgzy, Haseo, DoodleMonster and Jbeast all advanced to the Quarter Finals.
Off to the quarters we go! The Quarter Finals saw 3 out of 4 Arcadia vets advance to the Semis. blarrgh fell to Spencer who had been showing pretty good form in the game as of late. This one’s a tournament to forget for good ‘ol blarrghy. A strong Final Four remained in Cabley, Spencer, Haseo and DoodleMonster.
The Semi Finals was a tense affair! Close battles on both sides saw Cabley and DoodleMonster take the slight edge in their respective matchups and advance to The Finals.
Doodle vs. Cable. The Finals.
What a road it has been for these two! In the regular season they finished 3rd and 5th respectively. Cable won the first round of the tournament and Doodle won the second. How fitting it is for the two to meet at the end!
Strong overall tournament performances brought these two to this moment but still, Doodle has to be the heavy favorite. A multi-tournament Champion and the best Arcadia has ever seen, Doodle goes into every tournament with a target on his back. Cable is an Arcadian OG with good gaming skills and respectable tournament finishes but none the likes of Doodle. Could he pull off the great upset and win his first Arcadia Arena gold?
As if destined by the gods of Arcadia, Cable slays the mighty Doodle and wins the first ever tournament knockout bracket on the platform.
Cable is your Triple A Cup 2 Champion!
And with that we close the door on the Triple A Cup 2.
The knockout results shook up the final Tournament Top 20, shuffling standings based on both the knockouts and the regular rounds with the knockouts holding more weight of course.
This is your official Triple A Cup 2 standings. Congratulations to everyone!
Again, huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Triple A Cup 2. The knockout feature is only in its infancy. The team will continue to improve and modify it along with the game and Arcadia as a whole. Watch out for best of 3/5/7 series matchups coming up soon! Don’t forget to join the community on Discord for the latest. Team Game Night is happening this Friday so grab your team and sign up, it’s gonna be fire!
Cheers all and have an awesome day!
We’ll leave you with some juicy stats from the tournament.
QUICK STATS
Most podiums: BUgzy (2), Archx (2), cary (2)
Most wins: Cable (1), DoodleMonster (1), cary (1)
Highest tournament score: Cable (1302)
Highest tournament points: cary (78
Highest climb (regular season standing to final standing): blarrgh, 12th-7th (5 places)
Notable climbs: Cable, 5th-1st (4 places), Spencer, 8th-4th (4 places)
Biggest Fall: cary, 1st-9th (8 places)
Podium finishes:
1st:
Cable
DoodleMonster
cary
2nd:
Archx
BUgzy
BUgzy
3rd:
Rim
cary
Archx
