Bracket manipulation
|
This article or section may require a cleanup. The editor who added this tag believes this page should be cleaned up for the following reason: needs rewriting to describe bracket manipulation in general You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it. |
Splitting is the act of two players facing off against each other in tournament making an agreement for one of them to throw the set, to then split their prize money between themselves (or any amount of money being given to the losing player) after the tournament. The reasons for splitting may vary, but a typical reason it is done is when there's a third player in the bracket that one of the players plays poorly against. So to secure a higher placing and a higher payout, the player makes an agreement to split their prize money with another player, who will then throw their set, and face off against the threatening player in the losers bracket to knock them out of the tournament.
For example; DEHF, who mains Falco, has reached the winner semifinals, and is about to face off against mikeHAZE, who mains Marth. DEHF however, notices that ESAM, who mains Pikachu, has been dominating the losers bracket and is set to face the loser of his set with mikeHAZE. DEHF, knowing Falco is hard countered by Pikachu, and remembering his losing history against ESAM, decides to split with mikeHAZE, knowing that mikeHAZE's character counters Pikachu, and that mikeHAZE previously defeated ESAM in the winners' bracket. mikeHAZE, seeing that the winner of his set with DEHF is set to face Coney in the winner finals, who mains King Dedede, a character mikeHAZE plays poorly against that DEHF will counter, agrees to the split. mikeHAZE then proceeds to intentionally lose the set against DEHF, and goes on to eliminate ESAM from the tournament, while DEHF defeats Coney and secures a spot in the grand finals. While mikeHAZE does eventually get eliminated by Coney in the losers finals, DEHF defeats Coney again in the grand finals to win the tournament. And through splitting that prize money, both players make more money than they would have if they played out their set with mikeHAZE winning.
For the money earned in this scenario assuming the tournament pays out $500 in a 55/30/10/5 payout:
1. DEHF ($275)
2. Coney ($150)
3. mikeHAZE ($50)
4. Player E ($25)
Through splitting their earnings, DEHF and mikeHAZE earn $162.50.
For the money earned in the scenario where the players don't split, resulting in mikeHAZE winning their set, to then lose to Coney, while DEHF is eliminated by ESAM:
1. Coney ($275)
2. mikeHAZE ($150)
3. ESAM ($50)
4. Player E ($25)
While mikeHAZE gets a higher placement in this scenario, he earns less money. And DEHF, having been eliminated by ESAM before the final four, earns nothing.
Controversy
Splitting, while a practical method to earn more money in a tournament as demonstrated above, is extremely controversial in the Smash community. Many players see it as immoral, as it manipulates the bracket, and interferes with the bracket progression of other players. As seen in the above scenario, ESAM is prevented from placing high enough to earn money by having to face mikeHAZE sooner than he would have if the splitting didn't occur. They also say splitting harms the integrity of the tournament, and waters down the event for spectators as the players splitting will not give it their all in their set.
There are a few supporters of the right to split however. Common claims in support of splitting include that it's the players' money, so it's their right to do what they want with it, and that the other players that are prevented from advancing by the splitting wouldn't have their bracket progression interrupted if they "played better". Despite the small support for splitting, it is generally looked down upon, and TOs will generally punish players that are caught splitting.
Major incidents of splitting
The most notorious incident of splitting in competitive Smash was when Mew2King and ADHD were caught splitting at MLG DC 2010. This resulted in both players being disqualified and banned from participating in the rest of the 2010 MLG Brawl circuit. This event is said to have damage the reputation of the competitive Smash community, as two of the best players should be model representatives of the community, and not be caught partaking in underhand activities. This incident is cited as a major reason for MLG dropping Brawl after the 2010 circuit.
