This is a new type of league with a format that is very different from Season 1. My goals are to provide opportunities for everyone to participate in competitive games, and to make it easier to set up those games without needing to find substitutes.
Overall logistics:
- MAL games will be played every Sunday/Tuesday/Friday at 8PM EST starting on Sunday, June 23, 2024. The league will end after 8 weeks (ideally, 24 games).
- One Attendance Point will be earned if you are logged in to StarCraft II and in the "Marine Arena League" group at 8PM EST on the designated day. (Note: if you are playing a different game at this time, you must leave within 1 minute if asked to do so. When the MAL lobby is created, you must leave immediately.)
- For each player, in addition to Attendance Points, we will track Games Played and Number of Wins.
On game day, after
Attendance Points have been recorded:
- Captains will be the 4 players in attendance with the highest total of (Attendance Points - Games Played). If tied, those with more wins will be captains. If still tied, those with less games played will be captains. If still tied, coin flip.
- The Draft Pool will consist of the players in attendance with the next highest total of (Attendance Points - Games Played).
- The Draft will start with the Captain who has the least Number of Wins and end with the Captain who has the greatest Number of Wins.
- [Optional] If there are less than 8 players in attendance, the 4 Captains may choose to play a 1v1v1v1.
Prizes:
- The League Winner(s) will be the player(s) with the greatest Number of Wins after 8 weeks. These players will receive an in-game badge and Unit Rename - appropriate names only (e.g. MicroJackson's Spectre is named "Micro's Hero Eraser").
- The player(s) with the most Attendance Points will recieve a Unit Rename.
- Player(s) with at least 1 win will receive donor perks, if they do not have them already. For players who already have them, the perk limit will be increased.
Special circumstances:
- At the very start of the league, there may not be enough tracked data to carry out the process as outlined above. In this case, the most recent "MA Ranks and Balance" bot ratings will be used to select the 4 captains (four highest-rated players), and the draft pool will consist of all remaining players in attendance (draft order will be from lowest to highest rating).
- If you submit proof of a final exam that you are studying for or taking at the time of one of the MAL matches, you will earn an Attendance Point - I expect that most students will have completed their final exams by the time MAL begins, but I don't want to penalize anyone for not showing up if this isn't the case.
- If a game reaches the 1:45:00 mark, the winning team is the one with the highest combined bounty of surviving Command Centers (as shown in-game).
- Replays should be uploaded by the winning team or Observer after every game. All games will be reviewed by myself or another member of the MA staff. If it is determined that you are intentionally feeding, rage-quitting before SD, excessively chatting/BMing, or otherwise cheating in any way, you will be disqualified from earning any prizes and may be banned from the League.
- For disconnnects prior to the first 10-minute income, the game will be resumed from replay. Otherwise, play on.
Join the "Marine Arena League" group today! Link below (paste into StarCraft II chat, then click on it)
battlenet:://starcraft/group/1/510046