This thread will have the pairings for each round, as well as important notes for all players. All players are responsible for checking this thread at the start of every round; ignorance of the contents of this thread is not an excuse for not following any instructions found herein.
You can "Watch" this thread in order to receive notifications whenever a post is made here, but failing to receive a notification is not an excuse for not knowing when the round begins or ends. The calendar is posted in several places, including in the first round pairings post.
Do not post in this thread. Any results posted in this thread will not be honored, and all questions ignored.
INTRODUCTION
Hi guys and gals! I'm Jeffrey "JGB146" Blake. Many of you are familiar with me from facing off throughout previous tournaments. The bad news this month is that I'm not playing. The good news is that you won't have to face me as an obstacle on your way toward fame, glory, and prizes!
If you have any questions throughout the tournament, your first course of action should be to help yourself by reading this thread, because I promise you most of what you want to know can be found here. If the answer isn't here, it's in the news story. If it's not there, then you may ask me; be warned, however, that if the answer to your question can be found in one of the aforementioned locations, I will direct you there rather than answer your question directly. I may also choose to ask you a question in reply to help you find the answer yourself.
Basically, don't be lazy.
Again - read this entire post, especially if you're new. You'd be surprised what you can learn by taking the time to help yourself.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Every month we get questions that could be answered by reading the news story. Since no one listens, I've compiled a tl;dr version in this post. You should still read the news story, since this FAQ does not aim to answer every question, but it should answer the more common ones. If you ask a question that is found in the FAQ, we will get upset, and you won't like the response.
To ensure you are apprised of all relevant updates, please make sure to "Watch" this thread. You will (should) receive notifications every time a post is made. Alternatively, you can "Follow" me personally so you can be notified every time I post (I think that's how it works?).
That said, not receiving a notification is no excuse for not manually checking this thread at the start of every round. The schedule is posted here and in the news story, so you should always know when the next round is going to start.
1. When and where can I submit my list?
When: I accept submissions any time after the first round starts. Where: in a new private message to me.
2. Is a private message the same thing as a conversation?
Yes.
3. Am I allowed to re-submit my list once I send it to you?
As long as you haven't done your match, yes. If you tell me you want to change your mind, I will ignore your submitted list and it will be as if you sent me nothing, so please don't forget to re-submit.
4. Am I allowed to switch card art (i.e. switching to a full art Professor Sycamore instead of a regular art)?
Yes.
5. I sent you my deck, but you didn't approve it.
Give it time. As long as you have submitted before the end of the round, you will be approved with no penalty, even if I approve it after the round is over. That said, if you submit incorrectly, you will get a warning if the deadline has passed, so read the rest of this post to figure out how to submit properly so this does not happen. Please do not post on my wall or send me additional PMs saying that you sent me your list in. I know you sent it. I got your PM. Just be patient, please.
6. Where do I post results?
Do not submit your results privately. Post them in the main thread, nowhere else. Posting results anywhere else will not count, so please pay attention where you're posting.
Keep your match reports to the following format: Always start with your username first, the result, your opponents username, and the score. You may tag them if you want but just get the username in there. And use PokeBeach usernames not PTCGO usernames!
[you] won against/lost to [opponent] [score ratio]
If there's a tie or a no-show you don't have to follow that format, just state what happened
7. Do I still need to post in the thread if my opponent doesn't show up?
If your match is decided by me, you do not need to post the results.
8. How long do I need to be a premium member in order to be eligible for premium-level prizes?
Your subscription must be active for the duration of the entire tournament.
9. My opponent dropped/forfeited the round. What do I do?
If they tell you they drop in your conversation with them, add me to the conversation -or- post in the thread saying they dropped. If they post in the thread saying they dropped, you do not have to do anything. You will get a round loss if your opponent drops in a private PM to me and you don't say anything, because that means you either didn't try to contact them or didn't contact me when you did and they didn't get back to you. Either way, you weren't on the ball, so you get a round loss.
10. What does "overflow" mean? Do I need to send you my list?
Overflow means you submitted a proper registration post, but were unable to play due to the player limit being reached. If you are on this list, you will have priority access in next month's tournament as long as either you mention it in your signup post, or I happen to notice you were on the list. You will not be playing in this month's tournament, so you do not need to send me your list.
11. I don't see myself on the pairings list. Why not?
There is an odd number of players. If you aren't dropped and aren't on the current round's pairing list, you have a bye and do not need to do anything for this round. Enjoy your break.
12. I won prizes! What do I need to do?
You wait. I will contact you at some point after your role in the tournament has ended with more information.
Got any suggestions for new questions? Drop me a line (don't post in this thread).
Bookmark this link. I typically enter scores after a round has ended in order to minimize attempts at influencing decisions to ID, since standings are updated in real time as I enter them into Challonge and gives players information they wouldn't otherwise have at an actual tournament. When you check your scores, please make sure the standings are correct; let me know immediately if they are not.
TOURNAMENT TIMETABLE
Here are all the deadlines for every round. I will post each round's deadline in the main thread as well as in each individual round's post in the pairings thread. If you aren't sure when the round ends, check! It's right here!
Registration: Thursday 6/28/18 to Saturday 6/30/18
Round 1: Sunday 7/1/18 to Thursday 7/5/18**
Turn in your deck list to JGB146 by: Thursday 7/5/18**
Round 2: Friday 7/6/18 to Wednesday 7/11/18**
Round 3: Thursday 7/12/18 to Sunday 7/15/18
Round 4: Monday 7/15/18 to Thursday 7/19/18
Round 5: Friday 7/19/18 to Monday 7/23/18
Round 6: Tuesday 7/24/18 to Friday 7/27/18
Round 7: Saturday 7/28/18 to Tuesday 7/31/18
Top 8: Wednesday 8/1/18 to Friday 8/3/18*
Top 4: Within 3 days of Top 8 completing*
Finals: Within 3 days of Top 4 completing*
*Top 4 matches and the finals may be completed as soon as the previous top cut matches are reported.
**Rounds 1 and 2 have each been extended in order to accommodate players playing in the North American International Championships and to accommodate the 4th of July holiday.
You can submit your list to me any time before the deadline. You do not have to play your match first. If the deadline approaches and you and your opponent still haven't fought yet, I would suggest sending me your list so you can get it approved. If I don't approve your list by the deadline, it's okay as long as I receive it before the deadline. Outlined below is the very simple way that I accept lists. This is the only way I will accept your list. It's not hard to do, so the only way you can muck it up is if you haven't read this post.
TOURNAMENT CHANGES FOR JUNE
New Host: JGB146
Note: Pokemedic will be back next month.
FAQs were updated to include Pokemedic's suggested result format.
HOW TO PROPERLY SUBMIT YOUR DECK LIST
Have PTCGO copy your deck list to the clipboard, paste it in a new conversation to me (even if you competed last month), and hit send.
This is the only way I will accept your deck list, so pay attention. Here's an image to help you out if you don't know what I'm talking about:
In the deck manager, clicking dis will copy your deck list to the clipboard. The program will even tell you it's done.
Now, in the conversation to me, right click and Paste, or hit CTRL + V to paste the contents. Make sure PTCGO approves of your list before you send it - if it's legal for them, that's a good sign.
If your client is not in English, you can translate your cards if you want, but you don't have to.
PAIRINGS
Below is the image that contains the pairings for round one. All names on this image are PokeBeach usernames; look for your PokeBeach username on this image and contact your opponent immediately. Tell them exactly when you can play; this saves both of you time and makes you look good in case I need to hand down an activity ruling.
Round 1 ends Thursday, July 5th, at 11:59 PM PDT. You have until that time to send me your list and get it approved. Do not assume that just because you sent it means it was approved. Be sure to get confirmation before you relax.
Don't forget you all promised to make 3 posts! We love to see people contributing to our community and doing their part to help it grow. Three posts is easily doable. Please do it. Or else.
Do not post match results in this thread. They won't count. Post them in the main thread only. They will count there.
Round 2 begins today! As a reminder, this round has a two-day extension to allow NAIC players to get back home with time left to still play the round. If you're not playing in the NAIC but your opponent is, please try to accommodate their schedule to the best of your ability.
As seems typical, we had a number of players forget to turn in their deck lists this month. I've sent out warnings accordingly, but just to stress it, if you are listed below please make sure that you get your list in by Wednesday 7/11. If I do not have it by then, you will be dropped from the tournament and you will not be able to play in the next two months of tournaments (unless you are a premium member). Also, missing deck lists result in overturning any R1 wins you might have had. Several of you were bit by this. Don't let it happen again!
Round 3 begins today. We're back to the normal, fast-paced schedule, so any of you who doddled and didn't play until the end of last round, you need to do things faster this time around
We had a number of drops from people who went to NAIC. This was exactly what our extension was supposed to prevent, so I think going forward we'll need to revisit our plans for extensions. For one, any time we extend a round, I believe we also need to extend the 48-hour rule. I'll discuss this with Pokemedic in case he makes a similar extension for World's next month.
REMINDERS:
Check your scores. If you're not on the list above and your score doesn't line up with what you expect, please let me know ASAP.
Contact your opponent as soon as possible. Do not wait 48 hours into your pairing to attempt contact.
Check your notifications
Round 3 runs from Thursday 7/11/18 until 11:59pm PDT on Sunday 7/15/18. If everyone finishes their matches before I head to bed Sunday night, pairings will be up Sunday night instead of Monday morning.
Round 4 is live on Challonge at https://challonge.com/JulyCup2018 but you'll have to wait until morning to get the fancy pairings picture. You can officially start negotiations for when to play round 4 matches.
REMINDERS:
Check your scores. If your score doesn't line up with what you expect, please let me know ASAP.
Contact your opponent as soon as possible. Do not wait 48 hours into your pairing to attempt contact.
Always include AM or PM when listing a time. Always pay attention to which one your opponent said.
A good first message can shave days off of negotiating match time. That should include all of the following:
Your PTCGO name
Times that you are available (along with your time zone)
A specific time that you would like to play
Round 4 will run until all matches are complete or until 11:59pm PDT on Thursday July 19 (whichever comes first).
Round 5 is officially live. Please check your scores. At least one match (you know who you are) last round became a tie due to unreported scores.
When scheduling a match, please agree on a specific time. Just using time ranges can lead to a lot of confusion and missed matches. Your scheduling messages should always include a specific time as a proposed time to play (and include AM/PM as part of that time)!
Round 5 will run from Friday 7/20/2018 until 11:59pm PDT on Monday 7/23/2018.
We had way too many issues last round for being this deep in the tournament. Let's review:
We had a couple matches get EXTREMELY heated. Remember that this is supposed to be fun for everyone. I think most of you know who you are. If things get heated and I have to step in, warnings will be issued this round. Depending on the severity, that might extend to a drop or even a ban. Have a good time - don't get bent out of shape!
Always be sure about timezone differences. If you aren't completely sure, you can ask Google what time it is in a given location. For this month, all US timezones are in Daylight Savings time, so there is no EST, CST, MST, or PST -- it's EDT, CDT, MDT, and PDT. Google will still provide a EST time if you specifically ask for one, so don't! Misunderstanding timezones is not an excuse for missing a match - you will get a loss if you are more than 15 minutes late.
If you can't make your match time, reschedule ASAP. It's late in the tournament. Don't get dropped and become ineligible for next month.
If you want to drop, contact me specifically. Please don't make your opponent do it for you.
ALWAYS GO BY A SPECIFIC TIME WHEN SCHEDULING MATCHES. We had more issues around general and generic time ranges this month. That shouldn't happen. Don't let it.
Ok. Wow. Caught my breath...
Good luck to all of you in Round 6. Have fun!!!
Round 6 runs from now until 11:59PM PDT on Friday 7/27/18.
For most, we are about to embark on the final round. For a brave few, more rounds remain after this.
There were more spots of confusion around timezones and Daylight Savings. Please don't let this mix things up. If you are in the US, then EST/CST/MST/PST probably don't apply to you now. Use EDT/CDT/MDT/PDT as applicable.
And, once again, there was way too much confusion from giving overly broad ranges as potential play times. Give a range or a set of options, as needed, but always include A SPECIFIC TIME.
BAD: "I can play pretty much any time tomorrow. What works for you?"
GOOD: "I can play pretty much any time tomorrow. How about 3:30pm CDT? If that doesn't work, what time works better for you?"
Good luck everyone. Finish strong!
Round 7 runs from now until 11:59PM PDT on Tuesday 7/31/2018.
