Knockout Format

The day that the fixtures would be revealed had finally arrived. The fixtures ceremony would be held in the evening at the headquarters of the Switzerland Pro Alliance. Those in attendance would be the different teams, the officials, some select reporters and special guests.

One of the special guests that would be present for the event was the Chairman of the Glory game company. As the one of the most prestigious persons present, he was already aware of the fixtures that would be made public later in the day. In fact, the document he held in his hands had the complete fixtures, along with the time and venues of all the matches.

The chairman was Swedish. And as such, he was very interested in the fate of his country. Looking down at the document, he sighed and shook his head. Sweden was not in a good position. They were currently ranked 8th. It wasn't too bad of a rank, very average. The problem was their first match. They were to face the team ranked directly below them, South Korea.

If even they managed to survive that matchup, Denmark, the top ranked team and China, the fourth ranked team were both waiting in the block.

He sighed again. There was nothing he could do about it except to cheer on his players and make sure the competition went on without a hitch. Despite the fact that his team may not even proceed to the next round, the Chairman was very excited for the tournament to begin.

For the players and the countries participating, the greatest Glory would be lifting the cup. But for him as an official, his glory would be the success of the tournament. When Glory launched over ten years ago, there was a lot of uncertainty as to whether the game would survive the test of time. Now, he was about to conduct the fixtures ceremony for the biggest Esports tournament in the world.

He loved his country Sweden and wanted them to win but above all, he loved Glory.

While the Switzerland Pro Alliance bustled with the preparations to hold the first ceremony of the tournament, the designated hotel was quiet and serene. It was still morning so most players were in their rooms, contemplating if they wanted to eat at the restaurant or have their food delivered to them.

"That's not important. What's important is the practice rooms. Where are the practice rooms?" Tang Hao was shouting in the hallway. The pros had gathered and were discussing their next plans.

"We have to eat first, Little Tang." Lu Xuan tried to reason with Tang Hao. "We cannot practice without eating."

"The translator will show us the practice rooms as part of the tour." Zhang Jiale added.

"So we eat first, then tour, then practice." Yu Wenzhou said. "We should have enough time to rest and eat before we have to leave for the ceremony."

"The captain has spoken! Let's go, let's go. See, there is no need for the food to be delivered. We have to be friendly with the other players." Huang Shaotian started chattering. "We have to make friends. We have to talk to them and introduce ourselves."

Nobody was bothered with Huang Shaotian's chattering. If he wanted to introduce himself, then they could only say their prayers for the translators.

Pili was waiting at the lobby when they arrived.

"I hope your night was pleasant." He said, with a bow.

Assuring him it was, they explained their plans to him. "There is no problem at all. Shall we head for breakfast now?" Receiving their assent, he turned and began leading them to the restaurant building.

Unlike last night's meal where there was a lot of tension, the atmosphere in the room this morning was much more amicable. Yes, there was still a bit of tension but most of it was due to the fixtures ceremony. This evening, they would find out what countries they would face in their first round match.

For eight countries here, their first match would be their last. There was a bit of tension but there was a lot more determination. They would fight with everything they had but eight teams would be gone by the next week. With that in mind, the players tried to make friends with players from other countries. Talking and eating together.

It was this friendly environment that the players from China met. It seemed a bit strange. Where were the language restraints?

Zhang Xinjie thought about it for a moment. "There aren't many countries with different languages, after all. The UK, America, Canada and Australia all speak English. Some players from Switzerland may be able to communicate with the French, the Italians and the Germans."

"Hmmm, then I guess it's not so strange for them talk so freely." Chu Yunxiu said.

"Yeah. But it seems we're not the only country that is isolated." Ye Xiu said, once they got to their table.

The pros looked around them and noticed that while some teams were friendly and chatting, some teams kept to themselves completely.

"Denmark, South Korea, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Russia and Norway. Their languages are completely different." Yu Wenzhou said.

"And us." said Fang Rui.

"Yes, and us." Yu Wenzhou said.

They began to place orders for their meal. The restaurant offered a very wide variety of food. It wasn't hard for them to find something they were familiar with to eat. Once they had gotten their food, they dug in and ate. As they ate, they contemplated the possible fixtures of the game.

"If your analysis last night is right," Xiao Shiqin said to Ye Xiu, "and we have moved up to 4th, then we would have to face the 13th ranked team." Xiao Shiqin pulled out the small notebook he always seemed to have with him.

"Australia." Wang Jiexi said. "If their ranking has not changed like ours."

"However, if the seeding takes place with the current ranking, we'll face Japan." Xiao Shiqin continued.

"How does it work?" Tang Hao interjected. He didn't like to ask for help but he could not afford to miss anything at this important stage.

"The competition is using the knockout format. Not the group format." Yu Wenzhou began explaining to Tang Hao. "Therefore, there will be only one match for one country per round. The country that loses the match gets eliminated. To ensure the stronger teams survive and produce more intense matches towards the end, the fixtures will pit teams from opposite sides of the rankings. That is, stronger teams against weaker teams."

Yu Wenzhou searched his phone for the screenshot of the current rankings and showed them to Tang Hao.

1. Denmark

2. France

3. Netherlands

4. Canada

5. China

6. Switzerland

7. Norway

8. Sweden

9. Germany

10. South Korea

11. Russia

12. Japan

13. Australia

14. United States of America

15. United Kingdom

16. Italy

He continued. "If the rankings remain completely untouched, then Denmark will face Italy, France will face the UK, Netherlands and the USA, Canada and Australia and us against Japan. But if the rankings change and we climb one rank, then we'll face the weaker Australia and not Japan. Is that clear?"

Tang Hao nodded but didn't say anything else. Any other person would have said their thanks but Tang Hao's ego did not allow him. Yu Wenzhou knew the type of person Tang Hao was. He smiled but didn't make any comment. The others also noted Tang Hao's rudeness but seeing that Yu Wenzhou wasn't bothered, they didn't pursue it.

The food on the table was almost done. The discussion focused now on the tour of the hotel. They were most interested in the practice rooms. Esports was a very delicate sports. Several small issues could affect the performance of a player. The keyboard, the mouse and other similar issues. As the caliber of the player increased, the more this issues mattered.

And in a competition like this, every issue had to be accounted for. That's why they were eager to see the practice room. If there was an issue, it would be easier to rectify it now before the competition started in full force.

Once they were done eating, they left the restaurant and began the tour.