Recently I've gotten a lot of messages concerning these match ups and how I create them. I never thought this was something people couldn't grasp or cared enough to ask me about it on multiple occasions so I've decided to create this post to help out our less enlightened brothers out there. Let's begin:
Naturally after the conclusion of a round and once the winners have been determined the first step is to randomise the order of all of the remaining teams in order to ensure fresh, new matchups. If it weren't for this teams would play each other in the order they signed up in. Not very random.
Figure 1: A list of semi-finalist teams.
Please do note the list in the above screenshot has not been randomised!! The next step, dear reader, is where we shake up the list and find out which teams play against each other. While very many methods for picking between two or more options in a list indiscriminately have been discovered and honed over the years, such as the concept known today as "coin flipping" thought to have dated back to the Roman era (perhaps even earlier than that), and what's known as "rolling a die", a concept several millennia old, what I decided to go with was a comparitively more modern invention: www.random.org. Upon hearing this, people scoff and might respond with something along the lines of: "How utterly barbaric! Primitive, even! Why would you even think about using such a website for such an important task?!" The answer to this is: it was the first thing I could think of. And easy to use.
Figure 2: The website in question.
I begin by navigating to the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, hovering over "Lists & More" and selecting "List randomisers" (Some of my most vehement sceptics, those who believe I'd go so far as to rig matchups, might not take me at my word and believe such an option exists. To those, I say, head on over to the website and have a look for yourself!) Afterwards, I simply copy and paste the list of teams I've prepared earlier into the box and click "Randomize"
Figure 3: My list seconds before being randomised.
And voilà! I've successfully randomized the teams. I'm sure our readers will agree that this process has proved to be a very simple one. Here's my result:
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Chapter 2) Randomising the teams [again]
"I'll shuffle the order of the players on a team each round." ~Me, this thread, 2018
Only our most attentive readers will remember that I did state in the very first post that I'd randomise the order of each team's members. The reason for that I'll leave as an excercise for the reader (if you've worked it out, feel free to shoot me a PM and be in with a shot to win a FREE Toyota Prius.) How do I do this, you may ask? Again, random.org is my solution. This time I use the "True Random Number Generator" feature on the home page. I simply set the max as 3 and begin clicking away. For our more slower readers, do not fret. I haven't forgotten about you guys. Here's my step-by-step guide so you aren't left in the dark.
We'll use our first team, Team "XxAwesomePlayzxX, Chessking345, Hassin627" as our example. This was the order of their team in the previous round:
Moving on, once I've generated a number and determined the slot the first member goes in the next round, I move on to the second player. Again, I hit "Generate". This time though, if I get a duplicate result (for instance, if player 2 gets 1 when player 1 already occupies that slot) I just reroll. This goes on until every team has been randomised.
And there you have it, folks. I hope this book has been informative. Until next time!
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Readers who enjoyed this book also enjoy:
Chapter 1) Randomising the teams
"When properly randomizing matchups, one must always remember the proper order of things. Should one's means allow, proper randomization requires the acquisition and usage of all of the standard dinner silverware." ~SquibbyJ, PS! Chat, 2019
"When properly randomizing matchups, one must always remember the proper order of things. Should one's means allow, proper randomization requires the acquisition and usage of all of the standard dinner silverware." ~SquibbyJ, PS! Chat, 2019
Naturally after the conclusion of a round and once the winners have been determined the first step is to randomise the order of all of the remaining teams in order to ensure fresh, new matchups. If it weren't for this teams would play each other in the order they signed up in. Not very random.
Figure 1: A list of semi-finalist teams.
Please do note the list in the above screenshot has not been randomised!! The next step, dear reader, is where we shake up the list and find out which teams play against each other. While very many methods for picking between two or more options in a list indiscriminately have been discovered and honed over the years, such as the concept known today as "coin flipping" thought to have dated back to the Roman era (perhaps even earlier than that), and what's known as "rolling a die", a concept several millennia old, what I decided to go with was a comparitively more modern invention: www.random.org. Upon hearing this, people scoff and might respond with something along the lines of: "How utterly barbaric! Primitive, even! Why would you even think about using such a website for such an important task?!" The answer to this is: it was the first thing I could think of. And easy to use.
Figure 2: The website in question.
I begin by navigating to the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, hovering over "Lists & More" and selecting "List randomisers" (Some of my most vehement sceptics, those who believe I'd go so far as to rig matchups, might not take me at my word and believe such an option exists. To those, I say, head on over to the website and have a look for yourself!) Afterwards, I simply copy and paste the list of teams I've prepared earlier into the box and click "Randomize"
Figure 3: My list seconds before being randomised.
And voilà! I've successfully randomized the teams. I'm sure our readers will agree that this process has proved to be a very simple one. Here's my result:
------
Chapter 2) Randomising the teams [again]
"I'll shuffle the order of the players on a team each round." ~Me, this thread, 2018
Only our most attentive readers will remember that I did state in the very first post that I'd randomise the order of each team's members. The reason for that I'll leave as an excercise for the reader (if you've worked it out, feel free to shoot me a PM and be in with a shot to win a FREE Toyota Prius.) How do I do this, you may ask? Again, random.org is my solution. This time I use the "True Random Number Generator" feature on the home page. I simply set the max as 3 and begin clicking away. For our more slower readers, do not fret. I haven't forgotten about you guys. Here's my step-by-step guide so you aren't left in the dark.
We'll use our first team, Team "XxAwesomePlayzxX, Chessking345, Hassin627" as our example. This was the order of their team in the previous round:
- Hassin627
- Chessking345
- XxAwesomePlayzxX
Pop quiz: If Hassin627 was the first team member in the previous round and the first team member in the current round, which number was generated?
- One
- Two
- Three
(If you answer correctly, you may or may not be able to win the ability to OVERTURN any one loss suffered in this tournament!)
Moving on, once I've generated a number and determined the slot the first member goes in the next round, I move on to the second player. Again, I hit "Generate". This time though, if I get a duplicate result (for instance, if player 2 gets 1 when player 1 already occupies that slot) I just reroll. This goes on until every team has been randomised.
And there you have it, folks. I hope this book has been informative. Until next time!
------
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