The Battle for Salvation Grand Tournament

The 2011 BFS Grand Tournament Packet is now available for download. Copies of the packet will also be distributed to all event participants on Saturday morning.
The 2011 BFS Doubles Tournament Packet is now available for download. Copies of the packet will also be distributed to all event participants on Friday upon arrival.
The 2011 BFS 500-Point Tournament Packet is now available for download. Copies of the packet will also be distributed to all event participants on Saturday morning.

CLICK HERE FOR TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Event Summary

Inspired by the success of the NOVA Open, and with the help of Mike Brandt, The Battle for Salvation Warhammer 40,000 Grand Tournament will closely emulate this format with a two-day Swiss pairing system and separately awarded achievements in various hobbyist and competitive gaming categories. There is a 2000 points limit and the tournament will consist of seven games.

Awards and Prizes

On the competitive gaming side, Win-Loss performance within the tournament structure will be aimed at finding a single player at the end of the event and crowning him Tournament Champion (and awarding a ticket to the 2012 Games Workshop invitational event). Prizes will also be bestowed upon the players who remain undefeated at the end of the first day, and who shall be recognized as the Tournament Aces. Best General awards will be issued to the players who go undefeated in their respective 8-man brackets on Sunday. Lastly, the player ranked lowest at the end of Saturday will receive a prize as the Orlando Bloom award.

On the hobbyist side, each player will be judged on the appearance of their army. Furthermore, players will be asked to designate single models to represent their entries for Best Painted and Best Converted Miniature, the scores of which will be combined with the army appearance score to create an overall appearance total. Sportsmanship will be scored by having participants rank their opponents in order of sportsmanship, from highest to lowest, and the player with the highest score at the end of the first day will be declared the Best Sportsman.

Last, but not least, the player demonstrating proficiency in all aspects of the hobby by receiving the highest combination of tournament performance, appearance, and sportsmanship scores at the end of Saturday will be crowned the Renaissance Man and will receive a ticket to the 2012 Games Workshop invitational event.

Requirements and Scoring

All models must be painted (three color minimum) and WYSIWYG. The BFS GT Painting Rubric will be used by judges to determine appearance scores.

We also recognize that sportsmanship is integral to all parts of the hobby. At the end of each day all participants will be asked to rank their players with respect to how sportsmanly their conduct was during each game. These rankings will translate into scores. For instance, if the tournament consists of four games and you rank Bob first and Tim last then Bob will get 4 sportsmanship points and Tim will get 1 sportsmanship point. We recognize that you may want to give multiple players top marks for sportsmanship, however this ranking system provides a wider spread of scores that allows for the recognition of truly outstanding sportsmen.

Like at the NOVA Open, each game will end in either a win or a loss–there are no ties. Every round will have a primary objective and multiple subordinate objectives to act as tie-breakers. The missions will be made available prior to the event with as much advance notice as possible. The goal of the BFS GT is not to surprise anyone, but to single out and recognize the best performers at the event.

Format

Day 1: TEAM TOURNAMENT – THREE GAMES

The first day of the 2011 Battle for Salvation will consist of a Team Tournament. Participating teams will consist of two players each fielding 1000 points for a total of 2000 points per team. A single, shared Force Organization Chart will be used for the entire army, meaning that the only compulsory selections are 1 HQ and 2 Troops (not 1 HQ each or 2 Troops each). This event is separate from the Battle for Salvation Grand Tournament and requires an extra fee ($25.00 for individual tickets or $15.00 with the purchase of a Grand Tournament ticket).

Day 2: GRAND TOURNAMENT – FOUR GAMES

On Day 2, all 64 players will compete over the course of 4 tournament games. For each round, those who win by the largest margin of victory (based on an algorithm taking into account accomplishing the primary and subordinate objectives) will be paired against those with the smallest from the previous round. Similarly, those who lost their previous match by the smallest margin will be paired against those who lost by the biggest.

(This seeding is intended to emulate tournament formats from other professional and semi-professional sports, such as the NCAA tournament. Matching the highest seeds against lowest seeds with equal win-loss records provides the greatest likelihood that the “best” players in the event will not face each other until later rounds, thus setting the stage for very exciting matches in the semi-finals and finals.)

At the conclusion of games on Saturday the awards ceremony will take place in order to recognize and reward the Tournament Aces, Renaissance Man, and winners of the Best Appearance awards. Random drawings for prizes will take place throughout the day and a raffle will be held for a complete and fully painted army.

Day 3: GRAND TOURNAMENT – THREE GAMES (+ 500-point Skirmish Tournament)

All players (based on win/loss record and the algorithm mentioned earlier) will be ranked and arranged into different 8-man brackets. Players in the Gold bracket will be competing for the right to call themselves the Tournament Champion, and for the loot that comes with it. The other brackets will be competing for Best General prizes and recognition.

Each bracket will function as an independent single elimination tournament and the last man standing after three games will be crowned champion. That means when you lose you’re out! But don’t worry, there will be a number of other events going on in addition to open gaming on Sunday, including a 500-point  Skirmish Tournament run by Fritz (from Fritz40k). The Skirmish Tournament will accommodate the 32 players eliminated in the first Grand Tournament game on Sunday.

Grand Tournament Awards

	Tournament Champion – The player to win the GOLD division bracket on Day 2
	Renaissance Man – The player with the highest combined game performance, overall appearance, and sportsmanship scores (all equally weighted)
	Tournament Ace – Players who have gone undefeated in their games at the end of the first day
	Best Bracket General – Players who go undefeated in their respective Day 2 brackets
	Best Army Appearance – The player featuring the army highest rated for overall appearance
	Best Painted Single Miniature – The player with the single miniature rated highest for painting
	Best Converted Single Miniature - The player with the single miniature rated highest for modeling