Wild West Guilty Gear 5/2022 update

I would like to preface this with a few statements:

1. Kim and I have been running the GGST bracket since October 2021- more than half of the game’s lifespan, and longer than the previous Wild West Guilty Gear crew ran the game. While we are functionally neophyte TOs relative to the pedigrees of Valle/Calipower and the rest of the LUL crew, we have still been doing this for a long time and we were mentored for the role by Ruben/imnotasandwich and Tomik/hursh191, both very experienced with the broader GG community and how events should be run.
2. I understand that most players attending the GGST and +R brackets are here to have fun and don’t normally have any issues. When the bracket is run well, we take great pride and satisfaction in creating an environment where you all can compete against each other, whether it’s for personal stakes or tangible reward. (The +R bracket unfortunately must compete for the former since unlike GGST we don’t have the benefit of a major sponsorship circuit and we can’t always fill up the Matcherino.) Even if we run into issues while hosting, we take satisfaction in at least finishing the event anyway. We also appreciate everyone who makes the event a pleasant experience, whether it’s through gameplay, in chat, or by reporting issues promptly.
3. The WNF and NLBC (and other online events that primarily cater to a single region) didn’t have much player overlap. Depending on your point of view, this may not be that surprising, but considering that both online events were open to all the US (and WNF is open to all of NA after Series E Qualifiers are over) one would assume that competition between regions would be denser in WNF than it has been. Now that NLBC has shuttered its online event, coinciding with the return of Series E Qualifiers for Season 2, our bracket has ballooned in entrants from out of region who are exceptionally skilled but aren’t WNF regulars. This means that players new to the bracket may be unfamiliar with the strong West Coast veterans.

Due to the size, scale, and tightly competitive nature of the GGST bracket compared to the other WNF events (especially +R, the other bracket we run on WWGG) we have made lots of adjustments in rapid time to how we run the event. This has notably come up in how we conduct connection testing, seeding, and zero-tolerance DQs. The decisions to overhaul these elements of the bracket were made due both to genuine feedback as well as attempts to appease players complaining loudly and rudely about issues that already had protocols for mitigation.

To be clear: Any issues with bracket need to be brought up as they occur. Discussions about seeding need to take place before seeding is finalized, and if you pay attention to the Discord pings you will see that we give players plenty of opportunities to bring it up. Connection issues need to be reported as they occur, rather than complaining about them after the set. All connections are verified with two separate speedtests and restarting the machine tends to solve all issues 9/10 times- we cannot account for poor hardware, ISP issues, acts of God, players streaming their bracket run, etc. that cause connection issues. If a match is improperly reported (scores are incorrect, failure to auto-check-in results in a DQ, etc.) or if some player is overly late, this must be brought up right away using either the #ggst-troubleshooting channel, smash.gg moderator requests, or both. Players should also be communicating with their opponent in the Discord as well as the smash.gg chat to make sure everyone is on the same page. If a player fails to respond promptly to the multiple pings and even DMs that we send as reminders, we reserve the right to issue DQs. In short, if you don’t resolve your issues promptly, we won’t be able to fix them in time. (And, frankly, getting salty about it in chat or in DMs won’t do you any favors.)

In the past, during situations where we’ve seemed curt or cold to our players, it’s usually because we have a large bracket on a tight schedule to run, we have to corral sixty other players who are having the same issue, and the specific issues being inquired about often already have in-depth explanations and protocols posted about in several channels. For #speedtest alone, we have the same post double-posted and pinned in two separate channels, along with two tutorial videos explaining the methodology behind conducting the tests and our explanation for the ruleset. These lengthy posts still manage to go ignored despite constant reminders every week prior to bracket to thoroughly read everything if you’re unfamiliar with something before asking questions.

With regards to seeding: the inevitable reality is that WNF Online is a huge bracket with strong players, some of whom frequently fly under the radar due to the current state of GGST’s competition. With so many online events (Can Opener, TNS, Woop, WNF, Heaven or Hell, Bamboo Battles, the former NLBC, and likely many, many, MANY more) in addition to invitationals, official circuits like ArcRevo, and offline events returning in PNW, NorCal, the many states in the Midwest, the tristate area, and the south East Coast, there are hundreds of strong players all over the continent, and we have to sort 50–60+ of them into WNF every week. For context, let’s take a brief look at everyone who made it into R2 of WNF GGST Ep. 18. Whenever I specifically cite an event, you can assume it has over 48 entrants. (Small events still have credibility, but this is to cut off arguments about me cherry-picking such events when describing players.) I have grouped players by pairing them against their opponents.

For pool one:

• UMISHO needs no introduction- they are probably the strongest Happy Chaos in the country, and they have been consistently winning every online event they enter. Their ‘lowest’ placing in the past month was 4th at Woop 59 and Let’s Rock Returns 2. SunoWinter is a Leo player who frequently placed in or just outside of top 16 at almost every online event they have entered for the past month.
• Mira holds the distinction of being the only player to win WNF Online in both SFVCE and GGST. Daze is an NLBC regular who, once again, placed in and around top 8 in many recent events- a notable exception ironically being WNF GGST Series E Week 1 Quals.
• FlashMetroid is another GG veteran who recently won Series E’s 10-man invitational and frequently places in and around top 8. Pluto’s results are slightly less consistent than the above players, but they are a strong May who is easily a top 16 seed.
• brkrdv is yet another multigame threat with consistent top 8–16 placings with Giovanna. WNF GGST Ep. 18 was the exception rather than the rule. Sunlight has placed in top 8 in every event they entered in the past month, with WNF GGST Ep. 18 once again being a notable exception.
• D.O.N is currently the strongest and most consistent I-No competing in GGST, with frequent top 8 placings in every event. Maj0ra competes in multiple games and their Strive placings are not yet consistent, but they recently placed 2nd at Traces of Snow 9.
• Qeuw from PNW is probably one of the best and most notable GGST Potemkin players besides 9moons Shine, consistently dominated early WNF, and still frequently places in or around Top 8 in most brackets. Recent WNFs have been exceptions rather than the rule. Due to being a low-tier hero, Papple is a Faust main who has few notable high placements, but recently placed 7th at TNS 39 and a shocking 2nd at WNF GGST 14. They are also, once again, a multi-game threat, playing BBCF, +R, and KOFXV.
• Tempest is another player who needs no introduction- a dominant May/Leo player from NYC who frequently placed Top 8 or higher in many events. (Once again, WNF GGST 16 was the exception rather than the rule, even after seeding was adjusted to place Tempest higher.) Kove/Apollo is a GGST/UNI player who often places in or around Top 16 in the events they enter, with one notable exception being GGST at Texas Showdown.
• Eddventure is the strongest Jack-O’ in the country and is yet another player who frequently places in or around Top 8 in every bracket they’ve entered. Icebound is the first player mentioned so far who consistently has lower placings, usually floating around 33rd place in the events they enter. Notable exceptions are at brackets smaller than 48 entrants.

For pool two:

• RedDitto is probably matched only by Solstice in his prowess with Ramlethal, and is another player who is no stranger to Top 8s. DartRemix is another player who, unlike the rest of the ones mentioned, rarely places high at large events. (When I say this, I want to be clear once more that I’m not trying to diminish anyone’s skill, but rather that the competition is steeper for these players.)
• CG’s placements recently have been falling off, but they are a strong player in both GGST and UNI. Prior to Series E S2, they very frequently placed in WNF GGST Top 8. Taozenforce is a strong and consistent May who places around Top 16 in most events, such as Woop and other WNF GGST brackets.
• Razzo was the highest scorer in Series E S1’s leaderboard and is yet again another notable multigame threat in both GGST and BBTAG. They very frequently place Top 8 or higher in every event. Arrivederci is a newer player with no notable placings.
• MFCR is another notable Leo player who also places in and around Top 8 very frequently. Ticklememour is an up-and-coming I-No, and while their placings are not yet consistent, they have done well enough to Top 8 in past WNFs.
• Bean is currently probably the most notable and consistent US Chipp, another frequent Top 8 collaborator. While Chemar is relatively new to bracket competition, they manage to place in or around top 24 very frequently, with a notable 9th place at WNF GGST 14.
• Murim is another Chipp player with very notable placements, around top 8 to top 16. Rat is a Millia player who does very well at smaller events, and their Top 8 at WNF GGST 18 has likely put them on the map.
• Stealthy is an infamous Axl prodigy who manages to place in or around Top 8 consistently while being in high school. Audio33 also places comparably high at many events and even won Bamboo Battles 42.
• Finally, Solstice is another incredibly talented and consistent Ramlethal who has done well in many brackets besides WNF, finally making a return to online play. WATER-1 is a Zato-1 player whose recent results are less consistent, but is still Top 16 level talent.

So, out of all of the players who made it to winners side Round 2, there were probably only three players (Icebound, DartRemix, Arrivederci) who were ‘easy’ to beat, and they all played against top seeds. While upsets are bound to occur, every other player mentioned was exceptionally strong and they all have notable placings, even if they’re in events certain players may not be privy to. There were very few runs to Top 8 that were easy to make, and any win in the upper bracket meant that the loser’s side was filled to the brim with killers. This will happen regardless of how the bracket is seeded, given that the bracket is highly saturated with talented players. While I can make concessions so that a.) offline training partners don’t regularly fight each other in Round 1, b.) players who regularly encounter each other in bracket don’t play early in the same fashion, it is difficult to guarantee every high seed an easy bracket. Even if they are properly floated to Round 2, they will still have to fight a Top 8 or Top 16 level opponent very early on, and there are only one or two exceptions to this every night. The +R bracket has a similar issue, but those players at least recognize that everyone who enters is ridiculously strong due to the age and player strength of the game. While I will still try to fix seeding based on feedback whenever prompted, please understand that sometimes it’s out of our hands, and more importantly, complaining to me in DMs about your bracket run being ‘harder’ than other players that I apparently favor over you just makes you look like an idiot- especially if you go out of your way to downplay or trash talk those players while doing so.

Of course, mistakes will still happen, and I will apologize for those when they occur. For WNF GGST 18, for instance, despite my attempts to prevent Tempest, Edd, and Bean from all playing in Round 3 and 4 as per Tempest’s request, Tempest and Edd ended up playing against each other anyway, something I could have changed by more accurately lowering either of their seeds so they wouldn’t be on the same side of the bracket or pool. But the important part is that having a bad attitude over your ‘deserved’ seed when no mistakes were made (especially if you were seeded high to begin with) gets you nowhere and does not endear you to your bracket runner(s.)

In the past, we have never taken a major stand against players with bad manners for several reasons:

1. The WNF GGST competition is both high-talent and high-stakes. It’s my belief that even if I don’t get along with my players, they should still be allowed to play in my bracket, especially if the competition is strong and the prize pool is valuable.
2. I’m not the ‘main’ TO for the bracket. Alex Valle/CaliPower is the main bracket runner via LevelUpLive. I don’t want to make executive decisions about the event without floating them by him, especially if it’s about players who are valuable to the event. (Valle has read this document and given it his approval.)
3. I’ve been beating around the bush with this, but the handful of players (maybe only three or four) who complain about the event are all top-level players. While I’ve been known to issue rulings with zero tolerance regardless of player level (I DQed Punk from WNF GGST 18 for ignoring my pings and DMs and failing to submit a speedtest,) threatening to ban or kick players from my bracket because we have less-than-civil disagreements would look really bad, to say the least, especially if they were notable talent. This would be especially one-sided if they were to take this discussion to social media or their stream communities and such.

Despite all of that, and especially in the wake of NLBC’s closure (and Spooky’s statement/the general community agreement that TOs can refuse to accept players at their event for any reason, up to and including making the work of the TOs harder) I will probably be less forgiving of belligerent players from this point onward. Kim and I are just two friends working our butts off for a few hours a night to make sure people can play Guilty Gear, and we do not have to be doing any of this. We aren’t getting paid, nor can we pay our commentary or contribute to the pot in a meaningful way like Series E can. If players are outright rude to other players or to us directly, and it becomes a recurring issue that impedes other players’ enjoyment of the event or our ability to conduct the event properly, we will reserve the right to DQ you or even outright ban you from the event.

Going forward, I hope all our players continue to enjoy WNF GGST and +R. This obviously isn’t going to change how the events are run- it just means we’re going to be less tolerant of players with bad attitudes. Players can and should continue to feel comfortable providing feedback about how the event is run, and bring up any issues or questions they may have before or during the bracket. I also hope that the rest of the players will continue to conduct themselves properly from here on out- responding to pings on time, reading the rules thoroughly, and not being rude to other competitors. As I mentioned before, the satisfaction of running an event where everyone manages to have a good time can often be its own reward.