The Grand Melee - Announcement and Discussion

Some time ago, the secretive Order of the Sheep teased us The Grand Melee, an Age of Empires II: DE happening in Hannover at the DreamHack LAN event, from the 15th to the 17th of December.

We are now happy to deliver the full message to you.

Settings specifics
The whole event will be played using the DWL game mode, also known as 9 villagers start game mode. It will allow for quicker action, while keeping the openness and strategic diversity of the standard RM mode.

Main event
The Grand Melee main event will consist of a single elimination bracket, featuring a total of 8 players.
15th of December
Quarter finals best of 5
16th of December
Semi finals best of 7
17th of December
Third place match best of 7 and Grand final best of 9

Participation
Firstly, as per their performance in the RedBull Wololo: Legacy tournament, Liereyy and TaToH has been granted an invitation to the main event.

Secondly, the other 6 participants will have to come on top of the entirely open qualifiers happening on the 3rd and 4th of December. The registration is already open and you can sign up here on start.gg

Prize money reward
The monetary reward will amount to a whopping $100,000 split between the 8 main event players as followed:

1st place: $40,000
2nd place: $20,000
3rd place: $14,000
4th place: $10,000
5th to 8th: $4,000

Where to watch?
The whole event will be streamed on Twitch at: https://www.twitch.tv/theorderofthesheep

On top of that, the qualifiers will be completely open to broadcast, so you can catch them live at your favourite streamer’s channel on the 3rd and 4th of December!

Details for the broadcasting policy of the main event will be announced soon. Stay tuned...

Join the Discord server now!
Chat with us and get all the latest updates regarding The Grand Melee at https://discord.gg/vT9NWJJtp5

You can also use this announcement thread to discuss about the tournament and to send your questions and feedback.

See you soon!

 

When are the replacement qualifiers being played?

They are all being cast as recorded games tomorrow

 

Now this will be the last message regarding this topic in this thread. I asked you all to move on. Everything after this post on that topic will be deleted.

Note: As per tournament rules, sharing a private conversation made in the frame of the event between 2 players or players and admin is supposed to be forbidden. By showing that lyx shared this conv publicly, you actually making him disservice.

Yes go for it, rule with iron fist

 

When are the replacement qualifiers being played?

Today starting at 16.00 UTC

Casted on the main channel http://www.twitch.tv/theorderofthesheep

 

Today starting at 16.00 UTC

Casted on the main channel http://www.twitch.tv/theorderofthesheep

Are you guys trying to replicate what EGCTV did for aoe4? Are you somehow related to EGCTV? Who is behind this channel?

 

Who is behind this channel?

GL

 

Why the eff will the main event be closed streaming? Thats a horrible decision and should be reversed

I thought the days of closed streaming are long behind us??

 

When Dave is casting separately, there's basically nobody watching the main stream.

 

Are you guys trying to replicate what EGCTV did for aoe4? Are you somehow related to EGCTV? Who is behind this channel?

EGCTV is not related to TheOrderOfTheSheep

 

Any info on when the "finals" of the replacement qualifiers will be casted?
The handbook points to 5-8th as the date for the qualifier, but doesn't provide any specifics.

 

Any info on when the "finals" of the replacement qualifiers will be casted?
The handbook points to 5-8th as the date for the qualifier, but doesn't provide any specifics.

Games are being scheduled as of now. The goal is to have one game per day, casted at 18gmt with recorded games, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Depending on scheduling by the players which is still being discussed, it can still be subject to adjustment. You will have more info when all is decided.

 

the wasted potential in this tournament is so big

 

Why the eff will the main event be closed streaming? Thats a horrible decision and should be reversed

I thought the days of closed streaming are long behind us??

They are mostly everywhere. But one small village of indomitable Gauls selfish individuals in germany still holds (and not for the first time) out against the idea of helping the entire community to grow.

 

I don't understand why some here are nitpicking over some comments casters make. Everyone can get many sentences a lot of people in this case casters said and make it seem a lot worse. Without context & tone it was said in it is meaningless.

In my opinion this is very obviously a very regressive tournament. The streaming restrictions is likely aimed to funnel more viewers to his channel directly over having more viewers across the board.

Expecting the casters who get offered to cast to decline. This is a ridiculous concept. Anyone looking for a break and visibility is going to accept this.

In general host should be able to dictate preferences such as :

1. Selection of casters to the main channel
2. Tournament rules - Again host can technically do what he wants up to players to accept these or do not play. It is likely the case players especially in top 8 cannot speak up regarding or they forfeit their prize money.

Valid Criticism

1. Closed streaming - Again closing streaming will lead to less viewers not good for the scene
2. Seeding Qualifiers - Seeding seemed very bad in general even from qualifiers. Some debate over whether the best 8 made the event. If anything top 2 for warlords should have got in main event not winners from other Aoe2 formats.
3. Seeding Main event - This is even worse. With so much money on the line you can have a finals match-up in the first round. To use warlords as the most recent example if Viper and Hera face in quarters here one of these 2 players will be going home with 4K. When so much money is on the line you need at the bare minimum a losers bracket to counteract 'random' seeding.
4. Top talent may not attend main event - Shortsightedness to host qualifiers and main event so close together. Their likely will be players in the top 8 that will not attend simply because they cannot get the correct paperwork in time.

Yes i know there is alot more points that can be picked up on (example was initial prize pool distribution which was improved). In the end its unlikely rules will be changed at this point. Just remember players will be paid anyways after the tournament. If you are against the way this tournament has been hosted and managed the best thing you can do is boycott the event and simply do not watch this live.

 

I don't understand why some here are nitpicking over some comments casters make. Everyone can get many sentences a lot of people in this case casters said and make it seem a lot worse. Without context & tone it was said in it is meaningless.

In my opinion this is very obviously a very regressive tournament. The streaming restrictions is likely aimed to funnel more viewers to his channel directly over having more viewers across the board.

Expecting the casters who get offered to cast to decline. This is a ridiculous concept. Anyone looking for a break and visibility is going to accept this.

In general host should be able to dictate preferences such as :

1. Selection of casters to the main channel
2. Tournament rules - Again host can technically do what he wants up to players to accept these or do not play. It is likely the case players especially in top 8 cannot speak up regarding or they forfeit their prize money.

Valid Criticism

1. Closed streaming - Again closing streaming will lead to less viewers not good for the scene
2. Seeding Qualifiers - Seeding seemed very bad in general even from qualifiers. Some debate over whether the best 8 made the event. If anything top 2 for warlords should have got in main event not winners from other Aoe2 formats.
3. Seeding Main event - This is even worse. With so much money on the line you can have a finals match-up in the first round. To use warlords as the most recent example if Viper and Hera face in quarters here one of these 2 players will be going home with 4K. When so much money is on the line you need at the bare minimum a losers bracket to counteract 'random' seeding.
4. Top talent may not attend main event - Shortsightedness to host qualifiers and main event so close together. Their likely will be players in the top 8 that will not attend simply because they cannot get the correct paperwork in time.

Yes i know there is alot more points that can be picked up on (example was initial prize pool distribution which was improved). In the end its unlikely rules will be changed at this point. Just remember players will be paid anyways after the tournament. If you are against the way this tournament has been hosted and managed the best thing you can do is boycott the event and simply do not watch this live.

All of this. Announcing a LAN on such short notices was always going to be a clusterfuck considering how many top players are spread around the globe and will need visas. And closed streaming is something that's actively bad for the scene

 

I don't understand why some here are nitpicking over some comments casters make. Everyone can get many sentences a lot of people in this case casters said and make it seem a lot worse. Without context & tone it was said in it is meaningless.

All of this goes away if this was open streaming and people dont have to watch @Ellie4K . She has terrible game knowledge and tries to make up for it with terrible jokes, disaster combo

 

All of this goes away if this was open streaming and people dont have to watch Elli. She has terrible game knowledge and tries to make up for it with terrible jokes, disaster combo

qualifiers is open streaming

 

did ellie choose herself to be the caster?

ive seen some rather rude comments towards her in this thread. sure, no one in this scene is anywhere near as good as T90 and Dave, and not choosing the two of them as primary casters may not have been the best decision. but if people have an issue with a choice made by organizers, it seems unnecessary to insult ellie over it.

 

did ellie choose herself to be the caster?

ive seen some rather rude comments towards her in this thread. sure, no one in this scene is anywhere near as good as T90 and Dave, and not choosing the two of them as primary casters may not have been the best decision. but if people have an issue with a choice made by organizers, it seems unnecessary to insult ellie over it.

Ellie is the host for Grand Melee, Dave and Nili are the casters (announced so far)

 

As much as i appriciate the tournament and effort for aoe2 scene, which makes me reallyyy reallly happy...

I think its really a horrible decision to make it a closed stream. Like for me, if there is no Dave or T90 casting im not watching it, for some people they prefer Memb, some people prefer their own caster to cast otherwise its not gonna be fun for them which will not promote the event in any way. I hope they make it open stream while they have time. Because this will not attract new wievers nor make people pleased who are fans.

Also if Yo can't attend i will be very sorry hopefully they will announce the tournaments earlier, not 2 weeks ago.

 

I know this won’t lead anywhere on the drama heap that is Aoezone, but:

Can we please be civil when criticising casters, no matter how angry you might be with them?

There’s f.ex. a huge difference between «I don’t like», and «I hate» (usually with added nasty words).

Giving reasons like «terrible game knowledge» is also way different and less of a personal attack than «terrible caster», which is of course acceptable, but also slightly more subjective.

«Unwatchable», there’s no point in even saying that. Indeed the main event has closed streaming, so you don’t necessarily have a choice, but what is unwatchable for one can still be enjoyable for others. Note the distinction between «unwatchable» (implicating the general public) and «unwatchable to me».

I most certainly have my preferences on casters too, and have been vocal more than once in discord, reddit etc. about it, but:

Poor organization, rushed announcement and closed streaming aside, this is not a new issue Please keep in mind that the people you criticise will read these conversations too, so if you really have to be so harsh, at least think twice about if you would ever be able to look them straight in the eye and say the same thing.

I’m pretty sure we’ve lost content creators/streamers because of hostile messages before. A lot of the time «deal with it» is definitely justified, but reading through this thread, I’ve also seen several examples of utterings better kept to oneself. Just…why?

 

I know this won’t lead anywhere on the drama heap that is Aoezone, but:

Can we please be civil when criticising casters, no matter how angry you might be with them?

There’s f.ex. a huge difference between «I don’t like», and «I hate» (usually with added nasty words).

Giving reasons like «terrible game knowledge» is also way different and less of a personal attack than «terrible caster», which is of course acceptable, but also slightly more subjective.

«Unwatchable», there’s no point in even saying that. Indeed the main event has closed streaming, so you don’t necessarily have a choice, but what is unwatchable for one can still be enjoyable for others. Note the distinction between «unwatchable» (implicating the general public) and «unwatchable to me».

I most certainly have my preferences on casters too, and have been vocal more than once in discord, reddit etc. about it, but:

Poor organization, rushed announcement and closed streaming aside, this is not a new issue Please keep in mind that the people you criticise will read these conversations too, so if you really have to be so harsh, at least think twice about if you would ever be able to look them straight in the eye and say the same thing.

I’m pretty sure we’ve lost content creators/streamers because of hostile messages before. A lot of the time «deal with it» is definitely justified, but reading through this thread, I’ve also seen several examples of utterings better kept to oneself. Just…why?

Agreed on tone needing improvement from many, but why emphasize that you think it's because it's on AoEZone? Very unnecessary and contributes to increased "drama".

Personally I'm still very hyped for the tourney...rooting for The Viper!

 

I usually don't comment on such posts because I do not like to critique on other people's preferences and opinions, as I myself also have preferences on certain casters/players - but I would not standby and watch other's criticize someone like people have been towards Ellie on this thread. She has been working very hard to improve and even if she's not perfect, she doesn't deserve hate. Same goes for Memb, same goes for Ornlu, or for all the other casters who sacrifice hours and hours of their lives investing into casting yet receive so much hate.

 

I’m pretty sure we’ve lost content creators/streamers because of hostile messages before. A lot of the time «deal with it» is definitely justified, but reading through this thread, I’ve also seen several examples of utterings better kept to oneself. Just…why?

The Duality of Men. People think everyone is nice, even in such a close-knit and accepting community but the reality is there's always gonna be haters. It's human nature - not everyone is the same, and people tend to release their frustrations and incapabilities on others = judgmental mindsets. I dare all of you who have been voicing such harsh comments towards Ellie to go in front of a crowd of hundreds of people, hold a mic and then interview. (can ya do it? or are ya just all talk on a virtual forum hiding behind the powers of the Internet?)

Also very hot take and I am gonna get hate for this next statement, but a person on the internet who throws unnecessary hate towards other people (people who are trying their best) is just a lonely sad individual frustrated with their irl life. It's best to ignore them.

Agreed telling casters or people in the limelight to "deal with it" seems wrong, but that's been the case ever since - famous people get criticized, they have haters, every single one - even the nicest of human beings do, that's just the way it is. Haters Gonna Hate

 

I usually don't comment on such posts because I do not like to critique on other people's preferences and opinions, as I myself also have preferences on certain casters/players - but I would not standby and watch other's criticize someone like people have been towards Ellie on this thread. She has been working very hard to improve and even if she's not perfect, she doesn't deserve hate. Same goes for Memb, same goes for Ornlu, or for all the other casters who sacrifice hours and hours of their lives investing into casting yet receive so much hate.

Not that I post with stuff like this either (too old to be a forum warrior tbh) or keep up with aoe tourneys in general, but it surprised me since it was more than just “criticism.” One part of a post (which seems to be deleted unless I missed it) came off as sexual discrimination and one other could be considered borderline sexual harassment. Ellie handled herself like a champ which also surprised me, respect.

 

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1600708590385655809