Hi there NHLGamers,
We're kicking off the 4th iteration of the IS Cup with a bang. At NHLGamer we really appreciate the possibility to cooperate with Ilta-Sanomat on this traditional tournament. This year we welcomed teams from all around Europe and with that we're happy to say that we've set an IS Cup record in terms of teams signing up. With 73 total teams signed up this time, let's make sure we are as welcoming to new members as possible to make sure we continue on this path.
If you didn't read our news story with information about the event and prize pool, check it out here.
The group stage kicks off today on Sunday 13th of October. Default gamedays are set to Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Please prioritize your default opponents when scheduling. All games have to be played by Sunday, October 20th at 23:59 CEST.
Please head over here to find the group stage schedule.
Now let's get into all you need to know:
IS Cup 4 Rules
As usual, we have fine-tuned our ruleset, so we suggest you give them a good read before going ahead with your games! Please find the rulebook here.
Tournament Administration
All league related verdicts will be decided by the Tournament Administration. To open up a case, visit the new Support section on the forums.
Please note: before contacting the Tournament Administration, teams are expected to solve issues they might have on their own. Familiarize yourself with our rules first, as they include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always to be used as the last resort to solve any disagreements.
In which group can I find each team?
Groups were drawn by dividing teams into baskets based on skill level and previous merit. Each group contains an even amount of teams from each basket. The groups were revealed in our stream on Saturday, October 12th.
Team management tools
All teams have been created, the team management tools on the main page have been unlocked for the team captains (find the Team Tools dropdown in the top right corner of the menu). All players need to be invited to the team rosters ahead of your first game. Please note that all invited players need to accept the invitation (there will be a popup alert on the main page for them) before they show up on the team roster and can start playing!
Playoffs
A total of 32 teams will make the playoffs
The top 3 teams from each group will progress to the playoffs
Out of all the remaining teams across all groups, the top 2 based on PPG will be selected to advance.
Playoff Seeding
Group winners are seeded #1-10
Group runners-up #11-20
Teams that finished 3rd #21-30
Remaining teams with the highest PPG #31-32
The seeding of the teams within these levels will be decided using the usual tiebreakers, found in 11.3 of the IS Cup 4 Rules.
Playoff Schedule
Based on your feedback we were able to extend the playoffs to give the teams a little bit more time during these important games.
Online Playoffs 28.10.-6.11.
Round 1 (BO5): 28.-30.10.
Round 2 (BO5): 31.10.-3.11.
Quarterfinals (BO5): 4.11.-6.11.
Semi-finals & Finals @ GameXpo 15.-16.11.
Friday, November 15th 2019:
Fri 15.11. @ 13.30 Semifinal #1, games 1-2
Fri 15.11. @ 14.45 Semifinal #2, games 1-2
Fri 15.11. @ 17.00 Semifinal #1, games 3-5 *
Fri 15.11. @ 18.45 Semifinal #2, games 3-5 *
Saturday, November 16th 2019:
Sat 16.11. @ 12.00 Bronze Battle
Sat 16.11. @ 13.45 Finals, games 1-2
Sat 16.11. @ 14.55 Intermission
Sat 16.11. @ 16.00 Finals, games 3-4
Sat 16.11. @ 17.15 Finals, games 5 *
Sat 16.11. @ 18.00 Finals, games 6 *
Sat 16.11. @ 18.30 Finals, games 7 *
*as necessary
Semifinals = Best-of-Five
Bronze battle = Best-of-Three
Finals = Best-of-Seven
Captain and player chat on Discord
You can join the NHLGamer Discord and talk to your fellow players. For captains there's the captain channel, where you can ask fellow captains for help, schedule games or get notified of anything important going on right now. You can join the Discord by clicking here. The Discord is available throughout all of the NHLGamer leagues and tournaments.
In case you have further questions, feel free to use the comment section below this article.
We hope everyone has a great IS Cup 4 and good luck to all teams!