WORLD TOURNAMENT - A March Madness-style Simulated Competition
I remember that I always say I want to make my own March Madness competition, something that has the same premise as f_march_madness, which pits the best characters of television AND movies of four main genres. Considering the lack of interest on the FMM side and that March Madness-styled polling competitions that feature movie titles are extremely rare, I've decided to pitch a couple of ideas of what my competition will become. Fast forward to now, I've been into bracket designing on Excel. My works included making March Madness brackets of all sorts, and last year I designed a new bracket for SpoilerTV's competitions starting with last year's Favorite TV Series which you can see the example here.
With the fact that, with many TV and movie titles floating around like stars in the skies, started to like soccer/football again as I stated on my main blog, and downloaded an Excel spreadsheet that simulates World Cup, this gave me another idea: make somekind of a qualifier to pick which ones worthy enough to take on the tournament! Which eventually gives birth to what I could call as the "World Tournament." Not the good name I know, but it is the embodiment of uniting the stars of Comedy, Teen Dramas, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Drama, Animated shows, web stars, celebrities, and fashion models, vying for victory, while taking an assumption that the whole concept is a fighting competition.
WHAT IT WILL DO?
Basically, it's quite simple: each match, numbers one to five will be randomly drawn via Excel's RANDBETWEEN function. Whoever has the highest number wins the match, so does the one who draws 1 when the opponent draws 5. I could make the simulation a la this Excel World Cup simulation which uses parameters and VBA macro functions to work, but considering the fact that I don't want to waste further time as I'm about to do my final paper work, the good 'ol RANDBETWEEN is the best thing. Making a parameter for hundreds of competitors would take a very long time.
The matches will be contained in a schedule sheet which simulates the progression of the qualifiers on a weekly basis. I have structured the schedule for the matches and keep in mind that any of them shall not coincide with award shows, especially knowing that all the matches are played at prime time hours. It would be awkward if, for example, Sarah Paulson, competing as Marcia Clark, doing a qualifier match and had to miss Golden Globes which runs at the same time.
There are two types of matches will be played:
Some may adopt the two-legged Home-Away rule, in which one match is played twice: first in the home side, and finally the away side (or vice versa). While the League format doesn't have a special protocol for this, the Knockout format will see aggregate scores, an accumulation of two matches' results, being considered, as well as the "away wins rule" where, in case of a tie, a competitor who scores better "away from home" will win if the aggregate score is equal. Shall both tied and did not win an away match, an extra round will be added.
As the simulation will require "reports" to present, first thing's first, it will be done via Google Spreadsheet. The full spreadsheet I constructed in Excel will be uploaded there, and full results will be open for public viewing. Second, all the narratives will be in a news reporting format. In early stages of qualifiers, there might be less emphasis on the reports to avoid it being TL;DR (and in case not even LJ cuts can't even save them), but there will be more emphasis once we reach the main event, and there might be some references thrown along the way, not to mention the GIFs that could play a part in the reporting. Finally, there will be a "news article" as intermissions between reports, in order to spice things up.
RULES TO LIVE BY
Speaking about rules, there's not much difference to FMM actually. In FMM, in order for a TV show or a movie to be eligible in the competition, they have to air its last episode (TV) or be released (movies) two years prior to the competition. Same thing with World Tournament, only with a different choice of words since the qualifiers are done first before the main event: being one year prior to the start of the qualifiers.
To clear things up though, here's a rundown on the eligibility criteria for the World Tournament:
An additional set of rules also exist. These are oriented to TV/movie competitors and Digital competitors. Among them are:
For TV/Movie categories:
COMPETITION STRUCTURE
Now here comes the interesting part: World Tournament gathers the best in television, movies, and beyond in a no-holds-barred March Madness knockout format, with World Cup-style qualifiers which runs in all eight categories to be described later on. With an overwhelming number of competitors, these qualifiers are held to see which ones are worthy to compete in the annual competition, each possessing different qualifying systems.
The World Tournament will have eight categories: four main categories adopted in FMM (Comedy, Teen, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Drama), and four additional categories (Animated, Digital, Celebrity, Fashion). Each category is held by its respective 'confederations,' governed under the World Fandom Association, and each category holds a number of slots for the World Tournament. The main categories allocate 10 slots, Animated and Fashion contribute 6, and Digital and Celebrity 4. All categories also give two slots for inter-confederation playoffs, of which only four will make it to the main event, making the final number 64.
Each qualifier will consist of the Qualifying event, with varied rounds for each category, and inter-confederation playoffs, before moving on to the main event which is held in March. Preliminary drawing will also take place between qualifiers, in which the draw will determine the "who vs. who" in every round, regardless whether it is Knockout or League.
For this year, the following formats will be used across confederations, with more detailed explanations to follow once the simulation starts:
Of course, we need seeding to determine which competitors play which round, considering there's a bye system explained in the following section.
SEEDS
Qualifiers can't be complete without draws, and draws can't be complete without seeds. (Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images via CBC Sports)
So how seeds are determined for competitors eligible to join the World Tournament and are about to qualify? For the case of this year's running, it will loosely based on the 2016 World Fandom Championship standings, with an extra consideration that prioritizes top-level award shows over online poll competitions. Basically, shows and movies that win prestigious awards (based on WFC calculations) like Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards will be seeded higher compared to those appearing in poll-based awards like PCAs and Teen Choice, and finally online poll competitions, which will only affect the seeding by a small bit. A combined effort among these parameters can influence one's seeding too, for example a TV show that gets Emmy nominations (despite having no wins), wins a couple of Golden Globes and CCAs, and a single PCAs can be seeded just below the big winner of the Emmys.
The parameter however differs for Digital, Celebrity, and Fashion. For Digital, Streamys and Shorty Awards takes place to the mentioned TV/movie awards sans People's Choice and Teen Choice whose priority now are as equal as both mentioned award shows. Celebrity has WFA's own Celebrity Panel which reviews the performance and buzz of celebrities, tracking award wins, and popularity into account to determine the Top 10 eligible for qualifying. Last but not least, Fashion prioritizes top walkers from Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer Ready-to-Wear Fashion Wek seasons, as well as winners of Models.com's Model of the Year Awards, as well as making use of the Fashion Spot's Top 50 list whose rankings are finalized as the qualifiers close, not to mention top newcomers and breakouts from RTW Fashion Week seasons, as well as additional models originated from modeling-themed competition series, are also in for the qualifier fray.
The seeding system plays a key role in some confederations in which it can give a bye to later rounds in the qualifiers, allowing them to face the winners from previous rounds. Seeding system can also give more chance to kick buns in group stages, assuming that no surprises are thrown by those seeded higher in the same group. But even with the seeding system, those seeded higher might not always have their luck sorted, if we had to take the surprise factor into account.
So there you have it, my own World Tournament which takes cues on Fandom March Madness and World Cup, being an annually-held event anticipated by millions of fans. I'm looking forward to play this simulation together with you readers and hopefully this simulation would invoke feedbacks and further participation for the future!
~[R]
With the fact that, with many TV and movie titles floating around like stars in the skies, started to like soccer/football again as I stated on my main blog, and downloaded an Excel spreadsheet that simulates World Cup, this gave me another idea: make somekind of a qualifier to pick which ones worthy enough to take on the tournament! Which eventually gives birth to what I could call as the "World Tournament." Not the good name I know, but it is the embodiment of uniting the stars of Comedy, Teen Dramas, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Drama, Animated shows, web stars, celebrities, and fashion models, vying for victory, while taking an assumption that the whole concept is a fighting competition.
WHAT IT WILL DO?
Basically, it's quite simple: each match, numbers one to five will be randomly drawn via Excel's RANDBETWEEN function. Whoever has the highest number wins the match, so does the one who draws 1 when the opponent draws 5. I could make the simulation a la this Excel World Cup simulation which uses parameters and VBA macro functions to work, but considering the fact that I don't want to waste further time as I'm about to do my final paper work, the good 'ol RANDBETWEEN is the best thing. Making a parameter for hundreds of competitors would take a very long time.
The matches will be contained in a schedule sheet which simulates the progression of the qualifiers on a weekly basis. I have structured the schedule for the matches and keep in mind that any of them shall not coincide with award shows, especially knowing that all the matches are played at prime time hours. It would be awkward if, for example, Sarah Paulson, competing as Marcia Clark, doing a qualifier match and had to miss Golden Globes which runs at the same time.
There are two types of matches will be played:
- Knockout Format - This is an old-fashioned knockout system in which winner advances to the next round. Self-explanatory. Usually, an odd number of rounds in one match will be played.
- League Format - Also known as round-robin, the format sees more than two competitors in one group to play against each other in turns. In this format, an even number of rounds in one match will be played, and competitors will be awarded points based on the match's results: 3 for win, 1 for draw, and 0 for lose.
Some may adopt the two-legged Home-Away rule, in which one match is played twice: first in the home side, and finally the away side (or vice versa). While the League format doesn't have a special protocol for this, the Knockout format will see aggregate scores, an accumulation of two matches' results, being considered, as well as the "away wins rule" where, in case of a tie, a competitor who scores better "away from home" will win if the aggregate score is equal. Shall both tied and did not win an away match, an extra round will be added.
As the simulation will require "reports" to present, first thing's first, it will be done via Google Spreadsheet. The full spreadsheet I constructed in Excel will be uploaded there, and full results will be open for public viewing. Second, all the narratives will be in a news reporting format. In early stages of qualifiers, there might be less emphasis on the reports to avoid it being TL;DR (and in case not even LJ cuts can't even save them), but there will be more emphasis once we reach the main event, and there might be some references thrown along the way, not to mention the GIFs that could play a part in the reporting. Finally, there will be a "news article" as intermissions between reports, in order to spice things up.
RULES TO LIVE BY
Speaking about rules, there's not much difference to FMM actually. In FMM, in order for a TV show or a movie to be eligible in the competition, they have to air its last episode (TV) or be released (movies) two years prior to the competition. Same thing with World Tournament, only with a different choice of words since the qualifiers are done first before the main event: being one year prior to the start of the qualifiers.
To clear things up though, here's a rundown on the eligibility criteria for the World Tournament:
- A new, current, and finished fictional TV series and movie title (non-franchised or franchised) currently airing or finished its last episode within one year prior to the start of the qualifiers, with applications eligible until the appointed deadline prior to the start of the qualifiers.
- A digital artist whose last appearance in a web series (including but not limited to: YouTube), either scripted or unscripted, is one year prior to the start of the qualifiers.
- A non-acting celebrity invited by the World Fandom Association based on the celebrity's performance from the end of last year's World Tournament to before the qualifiers assessed by WFA's celebrity board.
- A fashion model whose last runway show appearance is within three seasons prior to the qualifier (counting Ready-To-Wear shows in four big cities and Haute Couture seasons).
An additional set of rules also exist. These are oriented to TV/movie competitors and Digital competitors. Among them are:
For TV/Movie categories:
- Each eligible TV/movie is represented by one character, whose status is still alive prior to the tournament's first qualifier date.
- A character for a TV series/movie cannot qualify if the actor who portrays another character in another TV series/movie is already represented, either in the same confederation or the other.
- A digital artist can compete as himself/herself if starring in an unscripted series or compete as a character if starring in a scripted series.
COMPETITION STRUCTURE
Now here comes the interesting part: World Tournament gathers the best in television, movies, and beyond in a no-holds-barred March Madness knockout format, with World Cup-style qualifiers which runs in all eight categories to be described later on. With an overwhelming number of competitors, these qualifiers are held to see which ones are worthy to compete in the annual competition, each possessing different qualifying systems.
The World Tournament will have eight categories: four main categories adopted in FMM (Comedy, Teen, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Drama), and four additional categories (Animated, Digital, Celebrity, Fashion). Each category is held by its respective 'confederations,' governed under the World Fandom Association, and each category holds a number of slots for the World Tournament. The main categories allocate 10 slots, Animated and Fashion contribute 6, and Digital and Celebrity 4. All categories also give two slots for inter-confederation playoffs, of which only four will make it to the main event, making the final number 64.
Each qualifier will consist of the Qualifying event, with varied rounds for each category, and inter-confederation playoffs, before moving on to the main event which is held in March. Preliminary drawing will also take place between qualifiers, in which the draw will determine the "who vs. who" in every round, regardless whether it is Knockout or League.
For this year, the following formats will be used across confederations, with more detailed explanations to follow once the simulation starts:
- Comedy - Three qualifier rounds: single knockout format in a neutral ground in the first round, two-legged home-and-away knockout in the second round, and a single round-robin group stage with four groups of five for the third round.
- Teen - Two rounds: single round-robin group stage with four groups of four to five in the first round, and a two-legged round-robin group stage with two groups of four in the second round.
- Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Two single round-robin group stage rounds: six group of six for the first round and two groups of five for the second round.
- Drama - Single round-robin group stage with nine groups of six in the first round, and a tournament-styled knockout series in the second round.
- Animated - Two-legged round-robin group stage with three groups of four in the first round, and a two-legged home-and-away knockout play-off between group runners up in the second round.
- Digital - Three rounds: Two rounds of two-legged home-and-away knockout matches and a two-legged round-robin group stage in the third round.
- Celebrity - A single round-robin group stage with ten competitors in a single group.
- Fashion - Five rounds: Three single knockout matches, a single round-robin group stage with three groups of four, and a final single round-robin group stage with twelve competitors in one group.
Of course, we need seeding to determine which competitors play which round, considering there's a bye system explained in the following section.
SEEDS
Qualifiers can't be complete without draws, and draws can't be complete without seeds. (Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images via CBC Sports)
So how seeds are determined for competitors eligible to join the World Tournament and are about to qualify? For the case of this year's running, it will loosely based on the 2016 World Fandom Championship standings, with an extra consideration that prioritizes top-level award shows over online poll competitions. Basically, shows and movies that win prestigious awards (based on WFC calculations) like Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards will be seeded higher compared to those appearing in poll-based awards like PCAs and Teen Choice, and finally online poll competitions, which will only affect the seeding by a small bit. A combined effort among these parameters can influence one's seeding too, for example a TV show that gets Emmy nominations (despite having no wins), wins a couple of Golden Globes and CCAs, and a single PCAs can be seeded just below the big winner of the Emmys.
The parameter however differs for Digital, Celebrity, and Fashion. For Digital, Streamys and Shorty Awards takes place to the mentioned TV/movie awards sans People's Choice and Teen Choice whose priority now are as equal as both mentioned award shows. Celebrity has WFA's own Celebrity Panel which reviews the performance and buzz of celebrities, tracking award wins, and popularity into account to determine the Top 10 eligible for qualifying. Last but not least, Fashion prioritizes top walkers from Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer Ready-to-Wear Fashion Wek seasons, as well as winners of Models.com's Model of the Year Awards, as well as making use of the Fashion Spot's Top 50 list whose rankings are finalized as the qualifiers close, not to mention top newcomers and breakouts from RTW Fashion Week seasons, as well as additional models originated from modeling-themed competition series, are also in for the qualifier fray.
The seeding system plays a key role in some confederations in which it can give a bye to later rounds in the qualifiers, allowing them to face the winners from previous rounds. Seeding system can also give more chance to kick buns in group stages, assuming that no surprises are thrown by those seeded higher in the same group. But even with the seeding system, those seeded higher might not always have their luck sorted, if we had to take the surprise factor into account.
So there you have it, my own World Tournament which takes cues on Fandom March Madness and World Cup, being an annually-held event anticipated by millions of fans. I'm looking forward to play this simulation together with you readers and hopefully this simulation would invoke feedbacks and further participation for the future!
~[R]