Well, I've been put in a very difficult position by all of this.
The review committe has weighed in. Two committe members independently recommended that if DrSpek and Krupinski are not willing to fight a rematch that they both be DQ'd and the losers of the semi-final be allowed to advance and fight for the championship. I do not believe that decision is in the best interest of the tournament and while I, as always, appreciate the committee's commitment to this tournament, I find I have to overrule their decision.
I'm sure that whatever decision is made will be unpopular with segments of the community. That said, I've always tried to take a fair and impartial approach to this tournament. I've examined the facts and the rules and taken a few days to think this over. With that I announce my decision. To the facts at hand.
I don't believe that anyone disputes DrSpek's win, including Krupinski:
I choked...
However DrSpek was warned that not producing films in the final round would have consequences.
As previously mentioned, posting films in the final rounds needs to be done by the winner of the round. It's another form of validation. The films can be watched from take-off for any rules violations.
...
this rule may be enforced more vigerously in the future and will be for the finals.
This adheres to two sections of the tournament rules:
- Both players will film all duels from take-off in case of a dispute. These films must be saved until at least noon on the Tuesday following the duel or until 48 hours after the end of any granted extension in case of a dispute. If a dispute arises then they must be saved until such dispute is settled.
- Films must be posted by the winning player for all duels from the quarter final round forward for the viewing pleasure of the community. Films may be posted during earlier rounds if both participants agree.
Regardless of the wishy-washy wording of films being posted for the enjoyment of the community (which will be changed) the prior rule clearly states that all duels must be filmed from take-off and all films must be saved until the Tuesday following the duels in case of dispute. This includes all rounds and was clearly violated by DrSpek after being warned about it.
While DrSpek claims equipment failure I simply go back to the rules:
- If a player experiences technical and/or equipment issues the duel will continue. After the duel that player will be allowed fifteen minutes to correct such issues and re-log to complete any remaining duels in the series. If he does not or is unable to re-log within 15 minutes he will lose any remaining duels by default.
While not specific to this incident, I believe this rule provides precident that equipment failure is not an excuse and that players are expected to have their equipment operating properly.
That brings us to the final rule relevant to this decision:
- Any player caught breaking the rules twice in any tournament will be automatically ejected from the tournament.
Therefore DrSpek will be ejected from the tournament, his win stripped and Krupinski will be crowned champion with an asterisk if the two are not willing to re-fight the duels.
I really don't believe this is how anyone wants to see this end. I personally think the most honorable thing to do would be to re-fight the duels but that's now up to the two of you. I give you until noon CDT next Sunday to re-fight the duels before I make this official. It's up to you.