Time for an IASMK announcement!Are you all ready for some good (SMK related) news in 2020?!
First of all,
the 2020 CDM in Gasny is currently set to go ahead at the 19th to 25th of October dates! It looks like European borders are slowly reopening, so with a little optimism this project is looking more and more feasible to us at the moment.* More news regarding registrations etc. soon! So if you haven’t booked the time off, please do so now!
*still there is the disclaimer that we cannot predict the future in the year of 2020, I don't think I need to explain any further.
Secondly, I am happy to announce a new event:
Super Mario Kart All-Stars! This is a surprise event taking place this summer in Alphen at the Esports Game Arena on the originally proposed CDM dates: 18-22 August.
Many thanks to Thomas from Esports Game Arena for coming up with this idea; he is planning a very festive week with a complete Super Mario Kart theme. Some of the mayhem will include an indoor radio controlled kart circuit, as in the picture at bottom of post!
Full details will follow at a later point, but I will outline the general idea below. There will be some clear similarities to a CDM event, but also some clear differences.
-Starting with the similarities: this event will be an official IASMK tournament and the agenda will have a very CDM-like structure (all game modes across 3.5 days of competition). The event is also internationally oriented in the sense that it is open to anyone who wants to and can make it.
-Following with the differences: There will be a maximum number of 32 participants (first come first served basis!), so the playing field will be smaller. Realistically, due to the COVID situation we are expecting far fewer players from abroad, therefore it will likely not be at a CDM level of competition. The lower number of participants will give us the option to be a little more experimental with tournament formats, for example the Knock-Out stages will be double elimination and the group stage will likely be played according to a Swiss system. Obviously, because of the reasons mentioned above SMK All-Stars will not count for any official historical CDM rankings. It is an event just for the fun and glory.
Players that are interested can buy tickets via the Esports Game Arena ticket shop, there are 2 options:
-Package 1: Participation to SMK All-Stars, includes lunch and dinner served by Lars’ restaurant de Beren for the price of 140 euros:
https://www.esportsgamearena.nl/product/smk-all-stars-2020-pakket-1/-Package 2: Participation to SMK All-Stars, but no lunch and dinners included for 75 euros:
https://www.esportsgamearena.nl/product/smk-all-stars-2020-pakket-2/Lars is still kind enough to sponsor us with a discount, but obviously he has also taken a hit with the crisis this year so he could not offer completely the same deal as last year. Personally I think he is a hero for still offering us this deal.
Some closing remarks:
-We are not expecting 32 participants, but if we do get to that number the tickets will be sold out (first come first served). Take note that almost all (semi) active Team NL members have stated that they will sign up already, so that’s provisionally 10-15 tickets taken right off the bat.
-I will try to figure out whether purchasing daily tickets will be possible.
-Our sign-up deadline will be Friday the 14th of August. Because we are announcing this news so late and conditions around the COVID restrictions are subject to change we will be more flexible with planning.
-Hotels and Airbnbs and such will have to be arranged by the participants themselves. It should be easier than normal with ‘tourism’ expected to be quite low and not as many participants as during a CDM.
-Finally, Ive been made aware that currently the ticketing system is only set-up to serve Dutch residents. This will be fixed as soon as possible.
Any questions please let me know!