The Australian Cyber League is proud to announce its second live event to be held in Sydney at the end of June!
Recently, ACL announced preliminary details for the second event of its 2015 season, to be held in Sydney on June 27-28. Just 20 minutes from the CBD, ACL Sydney is shaping up to be one of the most exciting LAN events of the year. We are pleased to announce the addition of Counter Strike: Global Offensive to our offering alongside our more traditional titles. As esports is starting to pick up globally, ACL is proud to be accommodating the most competitive and professional Australian live tournaments and streams. With a few new features, plans and surprises to raise the bar for our events, you don’t want to miss this one!
Please note: This event is a MA15+ event. For full details please visit our website.
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Held at Macquarie University and combining forces with MaqLAN, this event will run exactly the same as standalone ACL events, with designated zones, stages and live streams for each primary title. In and around our stage areas will be a separate BYOPC LAN run by our friends at MaqLAN.
Titles
The Australian Cyber League is proud to announce it will bringing live competitions for the following titles at ACL Sydney.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - 5v5 - PC
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm - 1v1 - PC
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – 4v4 – Xbox One
Halo 2 Anniversary – 4v4 – Xbox One
For the 16 players who advance straight into the group stage a fee of $60 inc GST per player will occur. This must be paid online prior to the event.
For anybody who competes in the open bracket a fee of $30 inc GST per player will occur.*
For the 8 players who subsequently advance from the open bracket to group stage an addition fee of $30 must be paid at the time of advancement to match the group stage fee.
*Any player who fails to prepay will incur a $10 surcharge on the day for a total of $40 inc GST per open bracket player.
*Prizes based on 50+ players for SC2. Due to only 40 players competing, the prize pool was reduced to $3,500.
Structure
Preceding Online Tournaments
There will be two preceding Online Rounds which will act as seeding for ACL Sydney. Players are not required to play in these Online Rounds but the 16 highest points earners from both Online Rounds will automatically qualify for ACL Sydney’s group stage.
ACL Sydney Online Round #1 Register
Date: Sunday, 24th May
Format: Double Elimination / Best of 3
Talent: Casted by Zepph and Maynarde with Insano observing Stream
ACL Sydney Online Round #2 Register
Date: Sunday, 7th June
Format: Double Elimination / Best of 3
Talent: Casted by Zepph and Maynarde with Insano observing Stream
For the 16 players who advance straight into the group stage a fee of $60 inc GST per player will occur.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baldie
5th - $75
6th - $75
7th - $75
8th - $75
~_~ High returns for 5th-8th placers lol
Edit: Just number crunched based on Soul's post below. Assuming 50 sign-ups with entry fees all prepaid, there's $1980 of this $2500 prize pool paid for.. Seems like there's very little in the way of financial support for this ACL outside of these entry fees..
In the past when the $2500 prize pool was used, correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't 5th and 6th place $100 and 7th and 8th $50. This makes more sense in my head then the current split as obviously it rewards the higher placing.
Although yes it would be nice for 7th and 8th to at least cover their entry fee so I guess I can get behind this as well.
In regard to flux's calculation. I think you made a mistake.
There will be 24 players by the end of the event who have paid the full $60 entry fee. In your calculation, you only included the 16 seeded players.
24*60 + 26*30 = $2220
Of course assuming a player pool of exactly 50 players.
While we do get support from sponsors you must all remember these events are not cheap by any means to operate so nearly all sponsor money goes into making the event look good, hiring equipment, transporting broadcasting equipment as well as supporting prize pools etc.
This isn't a small party. It's catering for the needs of hundreds of gamers.
I'm open to look at a different breakdown for the lower values. I think the top 4 places need to be sizeable amounts I could do 90, 90, 60, 60 for 5th through 8th probably makes more sense.
While we do get support from sponsors you must all remember these events are not cheap by any means to operate so nearly all sponsor money goes into making the event look good, hiring equipment, transporting broadcasting equipment etc.
This isn't a small party. It's catering for the needs of hundreds of gamers.
We're just spoilt from Sydney last year, I wouldn't worry about it. Prize is the same as it always has been.
I like the 90/90/60/60 split, I agree that 1st through 4th should remain as is and this probably strikes a good balance.
Yeah well having WCS prize budget to add to the event was always a big plus.
We still have one more ACL event on the calendar to be announced so who knows NXZ.. we might be able to bump the final event up.. will see how Sydney goes.
I hear this fee increase is funding increase spectator experience etc?.. care to elaborate? Or have those details not yet all been locked in?
Sadly I don't think I'll be able to attend. but GL HF to everyone!
Player fee increase to fund a better spectator experience?
Or the $10 spectator fee to... increase spectator experience?
I can understand increasing player fee's to help fund a better experience for spectators. I mean damn 10 bucks to try lure some new nerds to the live scene.. NP
But doesn't it seem like your negating any kind of attractiveness to that same audience by docking them $10 and being like "trust us it'll be sweet", when they've never been to a live event before and are already iffy about it?
Just my oppinion IDK.
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Blink is the future of not having dry eyes.
Hey guys, just wanted to poke my head in here and respond to a few concerns with some facts.It sucks to upset anyone, especially such a loyal (and now long running) community we've been serving since 2012. So we're sorry about that!
First up, the spectator price point. This is actually an initiative already in operation for MaqLAN, and something we were happy to abide by. I'll give my personal take on this: Australia is not yet 'up to par' with other continents in terms of esports events (particularly EU, NA, parts of Asia - KR). Not without publisher support. Not YET anyway. Similarly then, one wouldn't expect to pay to access an event or content that isn't up to a certain standard.
We here at ACL are very headstrong in terms of our vision for the future though. We believe firmly that we're not as far off as you think from being a more self-sustainable 'branch' of the global esports ecosystem. I am personally spending most of my time working on late 2015/2016 initiatives. There's a lot that can (and maybe won't) happen in that time, but we are working to put on some massive events that will be more in line with global efforts that will require charged spectator entry. Of course, this won't be breaking the bank for price point, but for this reason we think it's vital to 'ready' the community for this kind of activity.
Understanding it's still a sore point, we DO want to improve the experience for everyone. By and large that would come in the form of improved breaks/less downtime and more broadcast interviews etc. As much as we can do with limited resources.The intention in the future of course is to totally overhaul our model to make the experience unquestionably worthwhile.
We'll keep pushing to try and make the scene better in whichever way we can!
Accidentally ended up writing a wall of text, so I'll let Baldie explain price hikes. Pretty much just comes down to being able to organise the bracket efficiently and run a smoother tournament, we want everyone to sign up online, not pay us more money
Honestly I think acl did a good job with the spectator stuff last Sydney and even if I wasn't playing I would have gladly paid $10 for it. I know it's not at the same place as last time but I think we can give ACL some credit for last year and hope that they have the same sort of experience as last time.
Accidentally ended up writing a wall of text, so I'll let Baldie explain price hikes.
The additional $10 charge on the day is to try to deter people from registering/paying on the event day. It's extremely difficult to plan a tournament and try make an enjoyable experience if I get an influx of people sign up on the day. If people have issues paying or want a special exception they need to speak with me directly.
The 10% price increase across the board is to cover GST costs which we must pay which weren't factored into previous year budgets. So effectively we were not receiving as much income as we had budgeted for which if you think about the total amount of people paying over all titles it actually has a massive impact - so have rectified that now. This occurred for all titles not just StarCraft II.
Thanks to the unfathomably generous support from Maynarde and Zepph who have donated $1,500 to the ACL Sydney prize pool, the total now stands at $4,000 and will have the following split:
While we don't expect nor advertise donations for events, any donations will go towards the prize pool. Should you wish to contribute to ACL Sydney or the remaining ACL event still to be announced please paypal accounts@vimme.com.au and put in the notes it's for the StarCraft II prize pool.
Thanks to the unfathomably generous support from Maynarde and Zepph who have donated $1,500 to the ACL Sydney prize pool, the total now stands at $4,000 and will have the following split:
While we don't expect nor advertise donations for events, any donations will go towards the prize pool. Should you wish to contribute to ACL Sydney or the remaining ACL event still to be announced please paypal accounts@vimme.com.au and put in the notes it's for the StarCraft II prize pool.
This is looking so sick but it looks like we can't make the trip up due to the age restriction and inability to get babysitters. We were going to bring the older kids up this time but under 15's aren't allowed
Zeph and maynarde have my admiration for their generosity.
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Drop bears, gotta watch out for dem Drop Bears! - ToR!
"Throughout Australia, state laws vary regarding the distribution of age-restricted content, including MA-15+ games. As a team, we have made the tough decision to enforce a blanket rule, restricting our events to players and spectators 15 years of age and older."
Might talk to the powers that be about this, was really keen on seeing dj family and asrath family again do understand if this is the way things are though
The MA15+ is something we are constantly reviewing and is something we are trying to discover and become more educated on. We don't want to restrict people from being involved in our events as it is meant to bring the communities together so something like this isn't an easy decision to make but as ACL grows there becomes increasing pressure on us to ensure we manage our responsibilities so we don't do something which gets us in serious financial or legal trouble.
Where's the issue when accompanied by parents though? As far as I'm aware anyone can see an MA15+ film in the cinema if accompanied by a legal guardian, so surely there's no issue with *being in the same building* as classified material if you're with your parents. Is there some state law you can point to that complicates this?
There's also clauses about MA games not being allowed to be "demonstrated" in public places, whether that applies. And it's always iffy in a large event like this to ensure minors are being monitored by a guardian for the entire duration.
Not to mention having restrictions on age means they don't need to censor people (*cough*cod players*cough*) to ensure an environment where minors would be exposed to foul language etc. regardless of their guardians trying to manage what they're exposed to...
There's also clauses about MA games not being allowed to be "demonstrated" in public places, whether that applies. And it's always iffy in a large event like this to ensure minors are being monitored by a guardian for the entire duration.
At least in NSW legislature these concerns are specifically addressed: "a minor does not cease to be accompanied by his or her parent or guardian merely because the parent or guardian is temporarily absent during the demonstration".
There's also clauses about MA games not being allowed to be "demonstrated" in public places, whether that applies.
Depends on the definition of 'public'... is an event that you've paid entry for considered 'public'? Any minor there would only be there with the permission of (and accompanied by) a parent or guardian.
I'll be disappointed if we can't come, but maybe a catch-up dinner or something could happen too.
We hear all your concerns and are working on a solution to have everybody win. I just want to stress we aren't going full dictator mode "this is the way it is deal with it"
As an example we often have found in the past parents of minors have arrived and dropped off their child then have left them unattended for the day. We don't have the staffing to be able to monitor and manage that. Things like this we need to take seriously as they have the potential to have large impacts should something unfavourable occur so we are just working through a variety of scenarios and what needs to happen.
Soundwave has a good idea. Kids have wrist bands to make them identifiable, parents/caregivers must register their child is with them at entry and if a child is found on their own, the parents are called to collect the child immediately ??
I'm sure, as far as MA15+ restrictions and avoiding accountability for minors on ACL's behalf, this ticks the boxes. Blanket rule, children under 15 must be accompanied and under the care of an Adult at all times. I'm sure there are a few legalities to check, but this seems to work to my understanding...?
Hey guys so I have finally got around to calculating the results of the two online rounds. Here are the total points for everybody.
The top 16 have until Friday 11:59PM AEST to confirm their attendance/accept the invitation into group stage - by responding to this thread, emailing me at brad@vimme.com.au or by Skyping me at "bradley_baldwin" but I suggest anyone as low as rank 24 confirms their attendance as if somebody declines the next person will be invited (e.g if 7th declines, 17th will be invited and so on).
[10:00:54 PM] Ash Frustration: now
[10:00:59 PM] Ash Frustration: is it 1st 5th 12th 16th
[10:01:01 PM] Ash Frustration: cause if its that is
Frust Pox Namakaye and mysticsecret
[10:01:18 PM] Ash Frustration: If its 1st 8th 9th 16th its
Frust yours Pig namek
We all know which 1 i want
Confirm
Last edited by Frustration; Tue, 9th-Jun-2015 at 11:18 PM.
Looks like no PiG
Probably no DemiLove
No iaguz, Petraeus, Blysk + a few others.
And with KingKong a little out of form, we may see the most open ACL ever!!
Out of curiosity how does the rankings formula work? (I know a few people were trying to make predictions from the online rounds)
I'll confirm as Rank 19
Same as it always has been since I took over ACL. When people finish equal in the bracket I use win/loss ratios to determine who gets the higher rank. If same map scores then I use seeding going into the tournament to split them.
When people finish equal in the bracket I use win/loss ratios to determine who gets the higher rank.
Out of curiosity why then did Fourby and MysticSecret both finish above Schnitzel and Runamok in OR1 when all 4 of them fell out at the same place and Fourby and Mystic both went 2-5 while Schnitzel and Runamok went 2-4?
Top 16 have now been confirmed (updated into original post). There will be an announcement stream of the group stage at a to be disclosed date but will try make it as early as possible to give you the most time to practice.
I will set up a payment portal for the 16 players who made it into group stage and will let you know when that is up and running.
We are confirming venue open times with the venue for the weekend so will let you know more specific details in coming week regarding the event timeline.
Hey guys sorry for the lack of communication the last few days. We've got our work cut out for us here at ACL not only for Sydney but the other projects we are working on so please forgive us!
Pro Group Reveal
The reality of the situation is I don't have the time this time around to run a group reveal stream and I value the importance of people having time to practice for their groups. So I will reveal groups in this thread tomorrow along with finalised tournament structures.
Pro Payment
Pro Pass Payment has also been added to the registration form. Apologies for not having this arranged earlier.
Parking at Venue
We have just got word that there is parking available on site at the event. The University sells $10 daily parking passes into the Gymnasium car park. If you want to utilise this service you need to come into the venue in the morning and purchase a parking pass from the sign in table, then go and park you car in the carpark with the pass on display.
Well i was up for a challenge...
Of everyone in the group stage, 3/4 of the highest OSC ranked players are in group B (And the 3 i most wanted to avoid )
Will have to channel the #protoss gods big time.
New goal - win a map
KingkOng
Pox
Redemption
Namek
Open Bracket
Open Bracket
From that, you'd think the open bracketeers are going to be jumping on Group A. Not sure exactly who is in the open bracket so its hard to predict who will come out 1st and 2nd.
I would predict advancing from the groups would see
A - Frustration & Open Bracket
B - Enderr & Open Bracket/Law
C - Crimson & Probe
D - KingkOng & Pox/Open Bracket
I had a whole bunch of questions come through so I will post specifics of the event in the next few days with more details on how check-in will work, when I need open bracket people at the venue and when I need pro players, clarification on spectating etc.
On another note as always we are looking for volunteers to help with setup. We will be setting up the event all day Friday. We will provide a free weekend spectator pass (or reimburse a pre purchased pass) for anybody who volunteers for 2 or more hours as a thank you to your efforts. The type of work will range from placing tables and chairs to laying network and power cords to preparing the game stages to setting up and testing PCs and XBOX consoles. Many hands make light work and remember the entire ACL staff are volunteers (even the core team as we don't get paid for our time because all sponsor money, spectator tickets and competitor passes goes directly back into the event)
Thanks everybody who has said nice things be it through here or on Skype - it does make a difference and I do the best I can with the time I have.
So here is the deal.
If I purchase a player pass and get knocked out on Saturday, do I need to purchase a spectator pass for Sunday?
No your competitor pass counts as entry for the weekend.
How will you monitor who is a competitor, who is a spectator and who hasn't paid?
We will have wristbands for competitors and spectators to wear. These wrist bands will need to be kept on over both days. Security throughout the weekend will be looking for people without wristbands so if you don't have one you will probably get questioned at some point. Please don't lose them or rip them off - while I will try to be accommodating where possible I can't guarantee we can offer a replacement one.
Where do I go to sign up on the Saturday?
There will be a big welcome table near the main entrance which is where you will need to go if you are a spectator. If you are a competitor you will need to make yourself known to the StarCraft admin table where you will sign in and receive your wristband.
Parking?
There is parking on site which the University sells. To streamline the process we have pre-purchased parking passes into the Gymnasium car park. You will need to temporarily park your car close by and go to the primary welcome table to pay for a parking pass which you can then use to get in and out of the dedicated car park. These passes last for 24 hours so a separate one will need to be purchased if you drive both days. There are alternative parking options around but we can't guarantee their availability or price.
Why should I come to the event?
Well it always is your choice and while it does "suck" to have to pay a spectator fee we've tried to do what we can to make it worth your time. There will be Dominos Pizza provided for lunch both days and there will be Monster energy drinks throughout the event being handed out. There will also be various BBQ sizzles throughout the weekend which will cost as much as the stock cost to buy (so couple dollars for snags and the like). I am trying to source some prize support from Blizzard but yeah at the end of the day your time and money is appreciated and it would be great to see you out in force.
What are the access times?
The doors should open around 9am on the Saturday, maybe a little earlier maybe a little later but as all ACLs there will be an opening ceremony before tournaments begin. Expect open bracket to start around 11am and I will put a rough check-in closure timing of 10am. Just try to be on site no later than 9:30am. Remember even if you have pre-paid I still need to know you are at the venue to be able to seed you. The first day will ideally finish around 6pm but may go as late as 9pm.
MaqLan will be operating overnight as they do a non stop event so while ACL will conclude sometime after 6pm, you are more than welcome to stay for as long as you want afterwards and use the PCs. Just don't leave any valuables behind as we can't guarantee their safety.
For Sunday because MaqLan won't close the venue will be open all night and all morning. Most likely the competition will resume at 9am sharp but it depends on how the tournament is progressing and the start time of Sunday will be communicated at the completion of Saturday. Sunday should finish around 6pm pending bracket progression.
When do pro players need to be there on Saturday?
Pro players (top 16) will not need to be at the venue until 1pm at the latest. Anytime after 1pm will risk having maps docked from your group stage.
Let me know if you have any further questions. Look forward to seeing you all this weekend hopefully it's a bit of fun for you all. Peace love etc xox
From previous experience, I'm sure if you are being held up slightly, get in touch with Baldie, the ACL guys are very accommodating and understand shit happens. However if you're late, they can't hold up the bracket so you might lose matches... If in doubt, get in touch with one of them even via twitter and they can do what they can. But best to be there as early as possible.
Looks good and its awesome the venue is open late. I can see a few people taking advantage of that!!
Hey guys (please spread the word I will email everyone who has registered later) but if possible can you bring earbuds with you for if you play on main stage.
Also please don't bring any PS/2 keyboards as we can't accommodate them.
I also forgot to mention Pool Play will be top 2 from each group into a 8 man double elimination bracket.
HYPE HYPE HYPE Plane leaves early tmoz checked in already keen as going to be good to meet everyone http://www.dynastyesports.net/acl/ our lil pre write up
Why should I come to the event?
Well it always is your choice and while it does "suck" to have to pay a spectator fee we've tried to do what we can to make it worth your time. There will be Dominos Pizza provided for lunch both days and there will be Monster energy drinks throughout the event being handed out. There will also be various BBQ sizzles throughout the weekend which will cost as much as the stock cost to buy (so couple dollars for snags and the like). I am trying to source some prize support from Blizzard but yeah at the end of the day your time and money is appreciated and it would be great to see you out in force.
Bit late, but if you're justifying the entry fee with that kind of stuff, then maybe make some kind of VIP pass or similar where you can go get pizza etc if you pay for the day rather than just say "it costs money to get in".
I would have come down for a short while on sunday if I wasn't paying for lunch etc. I wasn't going to be around for.
If the prize pool was 100% funded by entry fees then perhaps.. but it's not entirely. In the past we have had $2,500 for 50+ and $1,750 for <50. We also in the past have reduced it by $750 for not hitting the threshold as opposed to $500 this time
Bit late, but if you're justifying the entry fee with that kind of stuff, then maybe make some kind of VIP pass or similar where you can go get pizza etc if you pay for the day rather than just say "it costs money to get in".
I would have come down for a short while on sunday if I wasn't paying for lunch etc. I wasn't going to be around for.
We didn't get pizza and monster and then go oh well we should charge you guys entry now. It was always a maqlan pre-requirement so because of that we did what we could to try offset the cost to you. We chose to give you free pizza and monster subsequently, we weren't forced to make that happen.
EDIT: Sorry if I come across as hostile appreciate feedback just yeah ily xox
Thanks Baldie for the awesome work! > Seemed to do whole operation solo. Ran very smoothly despite a bit of a delayed start (but i don't think that was an SC2 issue.)
Insano is a machine!
Rotating 3 casters was good, kept everyone fresh
It was nice to see the SC2 crowd the loudest this time! #passion. Credit to Elison for pumping everyone up and supplying the benq sticks i think?
Groups were tough, some good players and pre event predictions not making it out! - Shows the depth in our scene (even without so many big names not in attendance iaguz, PiG, Petraeus, EnDerr, Blysk, DemiLove + co plenty of top talent ready to step up)
Cool to see a few new/newish guys emerge - Pigeon + Dragonite.
Old guard still have the Skills to pay the bills - Kez defeating Alopex, HuT + Soundwave making groups, Pox making top 8.
Free pizza was awesome (credit to ACL or MQ?)
Solid turnout for open bracket, considering it was a non central location, wcs + gsl same weekend, exam time for some, etc.
Not sure about stream downtime? No second off site stream as well for more games also something that should be sourced imo.
Having attended the event i can see little reason for the 15+ policy, and i don't think spectator fees were policed that hard.
First off, what a great event! The people, the setup, the general atmosphere.. it was all 10/10.
As Eddie said above, other than the game ratings being an issue there really isn't much 15+ stuff going on (other than the god damn CoD players not knowing how to speak coherent nor sensible English).
The Pizza and Monster energy drinks were awesome! Little sad that there wasn't a cafe or stall or w/e really close by that was open for a good portion of the day... they could've made such a massive profit.
The only issue as a player in the open bracket was the few network spikes here and there, but i'm sure we can all blame good ol' david kimchi for that one.
つ ◕_◕ ༽つ GIVE LAN つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
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