Reading all of these comments and what rules can be implemented to nobble Modern makes me laugh.
Those who don’t compete in the Modern SL think it’s unfair that others get their rankings inflated by competing. Surely the simplest solution for them is to set-up their own SL using the exact same format and reap the same benefits? The reason that won’t happen is that they don’t have a location, nor the footfall, nor the desire to do it themselves. So they bitch about other people doing it.
It is a very similar feeling to what many people outside of the US feel, that tournaments favour those in the US. The UK Pinball League, which has been running for over 10 years - and has done more to bring pinball to the attention of UK people than any other competition, is now meaningless for WPPR points, due to not having head to head play every meeting. IFPA have decided that this isn’t a meaningful competition anymore- WTF!
Only last year, I was sneered at and mocked, when I suggested that if I lived in NY, rather than the UK, I would be in the top 20 within a couple of years. Now it appears that other people in the US have seen how it is affecting their rankings and have kicked up such a fuss that the system has to be changed to make it fairer for them.
The reason Modern will continue to have such a large say in the ranking is due to simple facts:
- They have a TD who is passionate about pinball and wants to have as many people playing pinball in his business. One of the ways of doing this is by hosting competitions where people are rewarded with good points hauls with the minimum of commitment.
- They have a TD who understands the desire for people to play in maxed out tournaments, and thus tweaks - entirely within the guidelines - the rules to guarantee this.
- As the current system effectively adds more points to the tournament the more higher ranked players play, as people move up the rankings they will increase their own ranking, thus add to the tournament, thus making more points available for them to increase their ranking further.
- Modern has a larger pool of players to pick from who are able to play every week, month, and thus enter more comps, ensuring they pass the 5 tournament rule to make them “meaningful” participants in any tournament.
None of these facts are going to change by implementing a new rule, it’ll simply generate a more convoluted tournament to ensure max pts with the people who come through the door.
Now, further down the line, it may be that it is decided that it is simply not worth the effort to keep trying to put on these tournaments, thus reducing the number of people going and playing pinball - not a great result for the IFPA.
It’s more likely though, that the changes made mean that other TDs who are trying to run tournaments with limited footfall or resources find that their tournaments have been affected that much that it simply isn’t worth holding them any more - again not a great result for the IFPA.
What would it be like if FLR was part of the rule making committee at the IFPA? Would the submission rules be being changed so significantly?
As much as people feel that what Modern is doing is unfair and needs fighting against - Substitute Modern for USA and look at from the point of view of people outside the USA.
