I hope FFG plans on mentioning this in the upcoming Tournament Rules update, but I have a feeling that they won't. But here is what I'm wrestling with.

1) If the winner of a Regional does not plan on going the National Championship and use his bye certificate, should I allow him to pass it down to the person in 2nd place? If so, how far should it be passed down before you say that this person does not deserve it?

2) If a player won 2 Store Championships, has 2 bye certificates with his name on them, and only intends to attend 1 regional, is it OK for him to pass one off to a friend?

My feelings about each question:

1) I think it would be ok to pass it down to people who made the final cut. However, if no one in the final cut plans on going, then the winners name needs to be written on it and he can just save it for bragging rights. But there are also people who think that the only person who has a right to it is the winner, and he should be the only person who has a right to claim it. I can see it both ways, but I'm just trying to come up with an acceptable solution.

2) As much as I don't want to see a bye going to waste, they both have his name on them. I feel like it be almost fraudulent to let him pass it off to his friend.

IMO no, if for the reasons of just keeping the certificate as proof of winning. I am quite tired of people "buying" byes from store championships or selling full kits. Now I have sold extra items I have won but I played the full 4-8 hours of games required to win those.

I do think it will be at the T/O to allow someone to use a bye not in their name....assuming they even check. At worlds the bye's we received weren't in our name but they did check the serial number and I believe cross reference it.

I also don't see this as an issue as people are going to travel far and wide to go to the regional events, I know I am going to two "in-region" and possibly two more out of my region.

IMO no, if for the reasons of just keeping the certificate as proof of winning. I am quite tired of people "buying" byes from store championships or selling full kits. Now I have sold extra items I have won but I played the full 4-8 hours of games required to win those.

I do think it will be at the T/O to allow someone to use a bye not in their name....assuming they even check. At worlds the bye's we received weren't in our name but they did check the serial number and I believe cross reference it.

I also don't see this as an issue as people are going to travel far and wide to go to the regional events, I know I am going to two "in-region" and possibly two more out of my region.

I'm assuming you are responding to question #2. And it is an issue for those who will not be going to multiple regionals but have more than one win. My instinct tells me that I should not accept a bye certificate that does not have the users name on it. That will prevent people from selling their certificates online. My only reason for posting question #2 was to solicit thoughts from other TOs. I wanted to make sure that we were all on the same page.

I would say no to question one as well. There was an issue that came up at a regional where the current top table already had one guy who had a store championship, they wanted to just split the prize and give away the certificate to place #2. To me this is an issue because this is a "throw the game" scenario and is illegal, if the winner makes it to the final table and wishes to drop then #2 and #3 play as opposed to just giving #2 the win. It's more about how fair is this to the rest of the people playing if the Winner just throws the match or automatically gives his bye down the line.

I hope that points to both parts of question 1

I would say no on both accounts but especially scenario 2.

I feel there should be some rule, but I don't know how they could enforce it, that if you win a store championship and get a regional bye, you can't compete in any other store championships. Or maybe that you can, but you can't make the final rounds.

I think it's just greedy to deny other people a chance to get a bye when you already have one. You can't use more than one bye at regionals. Yea you have the bragging rights and multiple winner plaques, but still.

I feel there should be some rule, but I don't know how they could enforce it, that if you win a store championship and get a regional bye, you can't compete in any other store championships. Or maybe that you can, but you can't make the final rounds.

I think it's just greedy to deny other people a chance to get a bye when you already have one. You can't use more than one bye at regionals. Yea you have the bragging rights and multiple winner plaques, but still.

You can attend multiple Regional events using each bye you earned at different events.

There should be no rule for a game of this size geared at specifically decreasing participation. That is counter productive.

I fought for and won my Regional Bye. I could be on my death bed, and there's still no way I would offer it (sell it, etc al.) to anyone, for any reason. You want a bye, get better at the game and win your own. Sorry 'kiddies', but after school, there are indeed winners and losers. NOT everyone gets the same prize. You want to participate in the top echelon of your chosen hobby/game/occupation/etc al. then go out and do what it takes to DESERVE it. No more free passes for those who don't work for it.

Sorry for the rant, but this crap annoys me to no end. My children never got treated this way, they were raised to realise that if they wanted something they work for it, not simply expect a hand-out, especially if they weren't/aren't good enough to earn it themselves.

Cheers

Thanks Father!

+1

I think it's just greedy to deny other people a chance to get a bye when you already have one. You can't use more than one bye at regionals.

I might not be able to use a second bye myself, but I can certainly put it up on ebay and get some extra cash. I have no interest in traveling to regionals, so if I had won one of my store championships that's exactly what I would have done. If you don't like it then beat me and claim the bye for yourself (or buy it), don't expect me to just forfeit it so you can have it for free.

I really don't think there is anything wrong on passing the bye down if you know you won't be able to go to a Regional/Worlds.

I agree with Sithborg. There is no harm in passing it down to 2nd. In a lot of instances the player in 2nd is just as good as 1st and dice had something to do with the game. Any of the top players in a tournament for that matter.

I have a hard time telling the guy I just beat: "I'm not going to Regionals but I'm also not passing you the BYE because you didn't earn it".

I'm not saying everyone gets freebies. But I am okay with passing it down within reason. I would say it would be at the TO's discretion in the end.

Passing it down to 2nd is a-okay in my book. I'd even be okay with a friend. The bye for the regional event only helps if you win the games after that, so it's not THAT much of an advantage.

Final cut players (assuming there were more than say 8 players) seem worth of getting it if the 1st place player can't go. They are still top tier players.