From the depths of the historic Extravaganza tournament series, Iowa brings yet another spectacular major. Introducing...
Middle Of Knowhere (M.O.K.) 1
We got them high-octane, super-accelerated, Edward-40-hands, blow-your-brains-out-your-butthole events. What you know about butthole brains? Middle of Knowhere: It’s where ish gets real, son.
This is the first in what we hope will be another long-lasting Iowa major series. Kingfan, the superhero behind the much-famed Extravaganzas, has decided to hang up the cleats. He’s handed the torch to the next generation and we’re gonna run that biatch like a Playboy marathon (fap hanky not included). We can’t thank him enough for giving us the opportunity and helping make the Iowa, Midwest, Tekken, and fighting game communities what they are today. You should grovel at his feet, slave.
We’re running everything through the Video Gaming Federation web site. This event will have it’s own page there, which you can find below (all of the information contained within this post will also be listed there):
MOK 1
When and Where
When: September 24, 2011
Where:
Clarion Hotel & Convention Center - Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA)
525 33rd Avenue S.W., Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Reservations: 877-949-2992
Hotel Direct: 319-366-8671
http://www.clarioncr.com/
Games
Tekken 6 - 3/5 rounds, 3/5 matches.
Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition - 2/3 rounds, 2/3 matches.
Mortal Kombat 9 - 2/3 rounds, 2/3 matches.
Marvel VS Capcom 3 - 2/3 matches.
Tekken Tag Tournament - 3/5 rounds, 2/3 matches.
Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike - 2/3 rounds, 2/3 matches.
MYSTERY TOURNAMENT - ????
-All games will switch to 3/5 matches for finals. Finals are considered to be Loser’s, Winner’s and Grand Finals. Grand Finals may be 4/7 if we feel we are doing good on time.
-All tournaments are double-elimination. We will break tournaments into smaller pools as necessary.
-All games will be patched to their most up-to-date versions with all character DLCs allowed, unless otherwise specified in the "Rules" section below.
-All games will be on PS3. Stations will be either CRT or lag-free monitors. In other words, EVO standard.
-The Internet at the venue is incredible ass, unfortunately. Unless this changes, it would really just be a waste of time to stream the event, not to mention frustrating for those trying to watch it. Instead, we will be capping a good chunk of matches, including all of the finals, and the vids will be up the day after the event. Of course, I'll keep everyone updated on when all the vids have been uploaded.
-This line-up is subject to change at any time, especially if new releases or updates occur. We don’t expect this to happen, but as an example, let’s say that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 were to be released before the event. We would likely consider swapping T6 for the newer TTT2.
Registration and Fees
-Entry fee will be $10 per game.
-Venue fee is going to vary depending on when you register for the event. Pre-registration is now the cool thing to do, and since it helps us make drafts of brackets and gives us more time to arrange things in general, venue fee will be lower the earlier you register
Now until July 31: Venue fee = $10
August 1 thru September 24: Venue fee = $15
Registration Page
Instructions on how to complete pre-registration are on the page linked above. Spectators are allowed in for free, although we’ll give you a different badge/tag than those playing.
Payouts, Bonuses, Sponsors/Partners and More
:
Paying out to more than top 3 is, in our opinion, a much better way to run an event. 1st place still gets paid the vast majority, but more players walk away with some cash and feeling good, so in lieu of UFGT, PowerUp2k11, and other events like them, we are adopting a payout scale that differs from the standard 70/20/10:
8 – 9 entrants: Winner Take All
10 – 31 entrants: 70/20/10 (1st/2nd/3rd place)
32 – 63 entrants: 60/15/10/5/5/5 (Top 5)
64 – 95 entrants: 60/15/10/5/5/5/5/5 (Top 8)
96+ entrants: 55/20/15/10/5x8 (Top 12)
All divisions are percentages of the entry fee pot total. You’ll notice that at the 64-entry level the percentages add up to more than 100%: At the 64-entry level we’ll start adding more funds to the payouts so that we can give more people more money! The amount will still be taken as a percentage of the total entry fee pot WITHOUT the extra money included.
Partners/Sponsors:
Video Gaming Federation
Battlezone Games
Bonuses: We will be doing some raffles/drawings in-between each game's final 8 or so matches that we put up on the big screen. We'll have some good stuff and some crazy, off-the-wall (probably worthless...) stuff. Everyone who enters a tournament will be automatically entered in the drawings.
Some of the prizes are going to be a mystery, but I can say for sure that we'll be giving away some shirts and gift cards. For every 10 people that enter a tournament, we'll give away a $10 gift card, most likely to Gamestop or somewhere similar.
ASUS MONITOR RAFFLE: We will be raffling off at least one of the ASUS monitors used by every major tournament, including EVO. Tickets are $1 a piece, or 6 for $5. You can purchase tickets at the event, or visit http://www.videogamingfederation.org/m-o-k-1/mok-registration/ to purchase tickets via PayPal. We will raffle off one monitor, no matter what, but if we get enough to purchase more, we will do so and give them all away. The raffle drawing will happen at the event before the finals. You must be present to claim your prize.
We’ll also have some MOK shirts and other random stuff for sale at the event, in the off chance you want to buy some stuff. Pricing is TBA.
Game Rules
-Stage selection will be random, except: For MvC, either player may request the Daily Bugle stage; for SF, either player may request the training stage; for MK, either player may request a stage such as the Courtyard (Day) that is well-lit and poses no interruptions (like cars flying in front of the characters).
-No game-breaking glitches (glitches that prevent the game from being played) are allowed. E.g., the snap-back glitch in MvC3 or the parry glitch in MK. Use of such glitches will results in a forfeit of that round. If you are caught doing this more than once, you may be penalized up to and including disqualification from the tournament.
-Turbo/Programmable functions on pads or sticks are not allowed.
-Winner must select the exact character(s), team, assists, etc. that they played the match prior in that set. Loser may switch. For SF, the winner may switch ultras; and, for Marvel, the winner can change the order of their team as they wish.
-Button mapping/binding that is allowed in-game is legal for all games but Tekken.
-Pausing during a game will result in a round loss.
-You are required to turn off your controller or stick after every set. If you fail to do this and your pad/stick interferes with a tournament match, you will be DQ’d from all tournaments and you must take your pad/stick to another location where it will not interfere with the event (hotel room, car, trash, etc.). Do not be an idiot, otherwise we will treat you like one.
-For MK, Kratos and his stage are banned. Freddy is also banned, unless a patch comes out first to fix his damage scaling and projectile invincibility glitches.
Schedule
We run a one-day event and our line-up reflects that. We run brackets like the fuckin’ mob, so we expect you to be on time. Our goal is to get things done, pay the good people that placed high enough, and then get to the after party. In other words, we are not afraid to exercise our Dairy Queen powers and boot you from the tournaments if you dick around and don’t follow the rules.
The general schedule is as follows:
1030 A.M. - Doors open. Late registration and Check-in begins.
Noon (12 P.M.) - Registration for SF and Tekken ends.
1 P.M. - Street Fighter, Tekken 6, and Mystery Tournament begin.
2 P.M. - Registration for MvC and MK ends.
3 P.M. - Marvel VS Capcom and Mortal Kombat begin
4 P.M. - Registration for everything ends.
5 P.M. - TTT and 3rd Strike begin.
-When registration ends, IT ENDS. No late entries of any kind. If you’re waiting until last day to take care of your registration, we highly recommend you show up as soon as possible to make sure you have plenty of time to get registered.
-Check-in will continue throughout the day. We’ve left an hour time between the end of registration and the tournament start times to ensure that everyone has time to get checked-in. We don’t recommend waiting 5 minutes before your game’s start time because we’re seriously not going to wait for you. I can’t say this enough.
-You have 5 minutes to report for your match once it has been called. We will attempt to call your name several times before the 5 minute mark. We have a PA system that we will use, and we are all loud sonsabitches, so you should have no problem hearing us if you are in the room. We understand that if you are playing in another tournament you may be ignoring the bracket-runner, so at the 5 minute mark, your bracket runner will double-check to make sure you are not currently playing in another tournament. If you are not, you forfeit that set.
-We will run all tournaments to Top 8 or Top 4 and then stop. Once all tournaments have dwindled to Top 8, we will take an hour break to set up the stream and big-screen and maybe give away some free shit, then we’ll finish everything up.
Venue area, food, drinks, etc.
Our venue, The Clarion, is in pretty much the sweetest spot you could ever want from a venue. It’s literally on the block that passes underneath I-380 and for those who might fly, it’s only a couple miles from the airport, and shuttles are free AFAIK.
The room we have is actually a section of a larger ballroom. (If you were at the last Extravaganza, it’s the same room.) The area as a whole runs the length of that side of the building, but they’ve chopped it up into 4 sections that are separated by large partitions. We’ve reserved the two largest sections, the Pompeii and Sorrento rooms, and we can always reserve the other rooms, if necessary. The great thing about this room is that it’s tucked in the corner of the hotel closest to 33rd Ave, so it’ll be the first part of the building you’ll encounter when you drive in the entrance. The parking lot wraps around that corner, and since most guests tend to park in the main parking area in front of the main entrance, those parking spots should be all ours. (But, honestly, if you’re staying at a hotel on that street, you should easily be able to walk to the venue.) Restrooms and the hotel’s bar/restaurant are right around the corner from the room, as is an entrance that leads right out into the aforementioned parking area. Our room also has a large double-door exit that we’ll keep open for smokers and whoever to step out. (Smoking is not allowed inside public buildings in Iowa.) All entrances are handicapped accessible.
Speaking of hotel options, there are about 5 or 6 hotels/motels on the same block as the venue (33rd Ave), which is why we call that block Hotel Row. Group room rates at the Clarion are around $90, but shop around the hotels within walking distance and you’ll find a better rate. For instance, the Motel 6 a couple of building lots away offers nightly rates at $40. Cram 4+ gamers into a room and you’re basically staying there for free.
For food, there is a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut that is less than 50 yards from the back door of the ballroom. There is a Perkins (an IHOP-like place) right next door and a Sonic across the street. There’s also a Wendy’s and a gas station at the other end of the block. There’s also a few sit-down places behind the Sonic (a chinese place, a Subway, a mexican place, and maybe a couple other things). Finally, mentioned earlier, the hotel has it’s bar/grill down the hall from our room. You should have plenty of options.
Summed up: Every possible accommodation that you could want from a venue, we have.
Event Room Rules And Staff
Since we’re in the corner, noise shouldn’t be an issue, so be as loud as you’d like. In fact, we encourage being obnoxiously loud. Just don’t let it interfere with us calling out matches. Then, we’d have to crash some egos. When finals come around, though, go nuts.
We are not allowed outside food or drink aside from water. We’ll be somewhat lenient on this, so as long as you keep containers that have lids and such, it should be all right. Just do us the favor of not being obvious about it, otherwise the venue might take that privilege away from you before we get the chance.
We already have our staffing planned, and we’ll all be wearing colorful shirts, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one of us. Not only do we have judges and bracket-runners, but we also have volunteers there for security only. In an effort to help us prevent theft, please know that only those wearing staff gear are allowed to handle the systems and set-ups. We are going to have systems and set-ups locked down in addition to our many eyes, but if you see someone without a staff shirt messing with any station, we ask that you please let a staff member know immediately. In general, if you run into anything odd or concerning, let one of us know.
Final Word
If you have questions, feel free to use the Contact page on the VGF site, or send me a PM. If any updates happen, I’ll be sure to post them up ASAP. Once again, we want to thank Kingfan for doing the E’s and continuing to do them for so long, asking very little in return. We’re gonna have a blast at this one like we’ve done at E’s, so don’t miss out on this. You may catch a glimpse of a Kingfan or a Sushi...
Middle Of Knowhere (M.O.K.) 1
We got them high-octane, super-accelerated, Edward-40-hands, blow-your-brains-out-your-butthole events. What you know about butthole brains? Middle of Knowhere: It’s where ish gets real, son.
This is the first in what we hope will be another long-lasting Iowa major series. Kingfan, the superhero behind the much-famed Extravaganzas, has decided to hang up the cleats. He’s handed the torch to the next generation and we’re gonna run that biatch like a Playboy marathon (fap hanky not included). We can’t thank him enough for giving us the opportunity and helping make the Iowa, Midwest, Tekken, and fighting game communities what they are today. You should grovel at his feet, slave.
We’re running everything through the Video Gaming Federation web site. This event will have it’s own page there, which you can find below (all of the information contained within this post will also be listed there):
MOK 1
When and Where
When: September 24, 2011
Where:
Clarion Hotel & Convention Center - Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA)
525 33rd Avenue S.W., Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Reservations: 877-949-2992
Hotel Direct: 319-366-8671
http://www.clarioncr.com/
Games
Tekken 6 - 3/5 rounds, 3/5 matches.
Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition - 2/3 rounds, 2/3 matches.
Mortal Kombat 9 - 2/3 rounds, 2/3 matches.
Marvel VS Capcom 3 - 2/3 matches.
Tekken Tag Tournament - 3/5 rounds, 2/3 matches.
Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike - 2/3 rounds, 2/3 matches.
MYSTERY TOURNAMENT - ????
-All games will switch to 3/5 matches for finals. Finals are considered to be Loser’s, Winner’s and Grand Finals. Grand Finals may be 4/7 if we feel we are doing good on time.
-All tournaments are double-elimination. We will break tournaments into smaller pools as necessary.
-All games will be patched to their most up-to-date versions with all character DLCs allowed, unless otherwise specified in the "Rules" section below.
-All games will be on PS3. Stations will be either CRT or lag-free monitors. In other words, EVO standard.
-The Internet at the venue is incredible ass, unfortunately. Unless this changes, it would really just be a waste of time to stream the event, not to mention frustrating for those trying to watch it. Instead, we will be capping a good chunk of matches, including all of the finals, and the vids will be up the day after the event. Of course, I'll keep everyone updated on when all the vids have been uploaded.
-This line-up is subject to change at any time, especially if new releases or updates occur. We don’t expect this to happen, but as an example, let’s say that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 were to be released before the event. We would likely consider swapping T6 for the newer TTT2.
Registration and Fees
-Entry fee will be $10 per game.
-Venue fee is going to vary depending on when you register for the event. Pre-registration is now the cool thing to do, and since it helps us make drafts of brackets and gives us more time to arrange things in general, venue fee will be lower the earlier you register
Now until July 31: Venue fee = $10
August 1 thru September 24: Venue fee = $15
Registration Page
Instructions on how to complete pre-registration are on the page linked above. Spectators are allowed in for free, although we’ll give you a different badge/tag than those playing.
Payouts, Bonuses, Sponsors/Partners and More
:
Paying out to more than top 3 is, in our opinion, a much better way to run an event. 1st place still gets paid the vast majority, but more players walk away with some cash and feeling good, so in lieu of UFGT, PowerUp2k11, and other events like them, we are adopting a payout scale that differs from the standard 70/20/10:
8 – 9 entrants: Winner Take All
10 – 31 entrants: 70/20/10 (1st/2nd/3rd place)
32 – 63 entrants: 60/15/10/5/5/5 (Top 5)
64 – 95 entrants: 60/15/10/5/5/5/5/5 (Top 8)
96+ entrants: 55/20/15/10/5x8 (Top 12)
All divisions are percentages of the entry fee pot total. You’ll notice that at the 64-entry level the percentages add up to more than 100%: At the 64-entry level we’ll start adding more funds to the payouts so that we can give more people more money! The amount will still be taken as a percentage of the total entry fee pot WITHOUT the extra money included.
Partners/Sponsors:
Video Gaming Federation
Battlezone Games
Bonuses: We will be doing some raffles/drawings in-between each game's final 8 or so matches that we put up on the big screen. We'll have some good stuff and some crazy, off-the-wall (probably worthless...) stuff. Everyone who enters a tournament will be automatically entered in the drawings.
Some of the prizes are going to be a mystery, but I can say for sure that we'll be giving away some shirts and gift cards. For every 10 people that enter a tournament, we'll give away a $10 gift card, most likely to Gamestop or somewhere similar.
ASUS MONITOR RAFFLE: We will be raffling off at least one of the ASUS monitors used by every major tournament, including EVO. Tickets are $1 a piece, or 6 for $5. You can purchase tickets at the event, or visit http://www.videogamingfederation.org/m-o-k-1/mok-registration/ to purchase tickets via PayPal. We will raffle off one monitor, no matter what, but if we get enough to purchase more, we will do so and give them all away. The raffle drawing will happen at the event before the finals. You must be present to claim your prize.
We’ll also have some MOK shirts and other random stuff for sale at the event, in the off chance you want to buy some stuff. Pricing is TBA.
Game Rules
-Stage selection will be random, except: For MvC, either player may request the Daily Bugle stage; for SF, either player may request the training stage; for MK, either player may request a stage such as the Courtyard (Day) that is well-lit and poses no interruptions (like cars flying in front of the characters).
-No game-breaking glitches (glitches that prevent the game from being played) are allowed. E.g., the snap-back glitch in MvC3 or the parry glitch in MK. Use of such glitches will results in a forfeit of that round. If you are caught doing this more than once, you may be penalized up to and including disqualification from the tournament.
-Turbo/Programmable functions on pads or sticks are not allowed.
-Winner must select the exact character(s), team, assists, etc. that they played the match prior in that set. Loser may switch. For SF, the winner may switch ultras; and, for Marvel, the winner can change the order of their team as they wish.
-Button mapping/binding that is allowed in-game is legal for all games but Tekken.
-Pausing during a game will result in a round loss.
-You are required to turn off your controller or stick after every set. If you fail to do this and your pad/stick interferes with a tournament match, you will be DQ’d from all tournaments and you must take your pad/stick to another location where it will not interfere with the event (hotel room, car, trash, etc.). Do not be an idiot, otherwise we will treat you like one.
-For MK, Kratos and his stage are banned. Freddy is also banned, unless a patch comes out first to fix his damage scaling and projectile invincibility glitches.
Schedule
We run a one-day event and our line-up reflects that. We run brackets like the fuckin’ mob, so we expect you to be on time. Our goal is to get things done, pay the good people that placed high enough, and then get to the after party. In other words, we are not afraid to exercise our Dairy Queen powers and boot you from the tournaments if you dick around and don’t follow the rules.
The general schedule is as follows:
1030 A.M. - Doors open. Late registration and Check-in begins.
Noon (12 P.M.) - Registration for SF and Tekken ends.
1 P.M. - Street Fighter, Tekken 6, and Mystery Tournament begin.
2 P.M. - Registration for MvC and MK ends.
3 P.M. - Marvel VS Capcom and Mortal Kombat begin
4 P.M. - Registration for everything ends.
5 P.M. - TTT and 3rd Strike begin.
-When registration ends, IT ENDS. No late entries of any kind. If you’re waiting until last day to take care of your registration, we highly recommend you show up as soon as possible to make sure you have plenty of time to get registered.
-Check-in will continue throughout the day. We’ve left an hour time between the end of registration and the tournament start times to ensure that everyone has time to get checked-in. We don’t recommend waiting 5 minutes before your game’s start time because we’re seriously not going to wait for you. I can’t say this enough.
-You have 5 minutes to report for your match once it has been called. We will attempt to call your name several times before the 5 minute mark. We have a PA system that we will use, and we are all loud sonsabitches, so you should have no problem hearing us if you are in the room. We understand that if you are playing in another tournament you may be ignoring the bracket-runner, so at the 5 minute mark, your bracket runner will double-check to make sure you are not currently playing in another tournament. If you are not, you forfeit that set.
-We will run all tournaments to Top 8 or Top 4 and then stop. Once all tournaments have dwindled to Top 8, we will take an hour break to set up the stream and big-screen and maybe give away some free shit, then we’ll finish everything up.
Venue area, food, drinks, etc.
Our venue, The Clarion, is in pretty much the sweetest spot you could ever want from a venue. It’s literally on the block that passes underneath I-380 and for those who might fly, it’s only a couple miles from the airport, and shuttles are free AFAIK.
The room we have is actually a section of a larger ballroom. (If you were at the last Extravaganza, it’s the same room.) The area as a whole runs the length of that side of the building, but they’ve chopped it up into 4 sections that are separated by large partitions. We’ve reserved the two largest sections, the Pompeii and Sorrento rooms, and we can always reserve the other rooms, if necessary. The great thing about this room is that it’s tucked in the corner of the hotel closest to 33rd Ave, so it’ll be the first part of the building you’ll encounter when you drive in the entrance. The parking lot wraps around that corner, and since most guests tend to park in the main parking area in front of the main entrance, those parking spots should be all ours. (But, honestly, if you’re staying at a hotel on that street, you should easily be able to walk to the venue.) Restrooms and the hotel’s bar/restaurant are right around the corner from the room, as is an entrance that leads right out into the aforementioned parking area. Our room also has a large double-door exit that we’ll keep open for smokers and whoever to step out. (Smoking is not allowed inside public buildings in Iowa.) All entrances are handicapped accessible.
Speaking of hotel options, there are about 5 or 6 hotels/motels on the same block as the venue (33rd Ave), which is why we call that block Hotel Row. Group room rates at the Clarion are around $90, but shop around the hotels within walking distance and you’ll find a better rate. For instance, the Motel 6 a couple of building lots away offers nightly rates at $40. Cram 4+ gamers into a room and you’re basically staying there for free.
For food, there is a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut that is less than 50 yards from the back door of the ballroom. There is a Perkins (an IHOP-like place) right next door and a Sonic across the street. There’s also a Wendy’s and a gas station at the other end of the block. There’s also a few sit-down places behind the Sonic (a chinese place, a Subway, a mexican place, and maybe a couple other things). Finally, mentioned earlier, the hotel has it’s bar/grill down the hall from our room. You should have plenty of options.
Summed up: Every possible accommodation that you could want from a venue, we have.
Event Room Rules And Staff
Since we’re in the corner, noise shouldn’t be an issue, so be as loud as you’d like. In fact, we encourage being obnoxiously loud. Just don’t let it interfere with us calling out matches. Then, we’d have to crash some egos. When finals come around, though, go nuts.
We are not allowed outside food or drink aside from water. We’ll be somewhat lenient on this, so as long as you keep containers that have lids and such, it should be all right. Just do us the favor of not being obvious about it, otherwise the venue might take that privilege away from you before we get the chance.
We already have our staffing planned, and we’ll all be wearing colorful shirts, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one of us. Not only do we have judges and bracket-runners, but we also have volunteers there for security only. In an effort to help us prevent theft, please know that only those wearing staff gear are allowed to handle the systems and set-ups. We are going to have systems and set-ups locked down in addition to our many eyes, but if you see someone without a staff shirt messing with any station, we ask that you please let a staff member know immediately. In general, if you run into anything odd or concerning, let one of us know.
Final Word
If you have questions, feel free to use the Contact page on the VGF site, or send me a PM. If any updates happen, I’ll be sure to post them up ASAP. Once again, we want to thank Kingfan for doing the E’s and continuing to do them for so long, asking very little in return. We’re gonna have a blast at this one like we’ve done at E’s, so don’t miss out on this. You may catch a glimpse of a Kingfan or a Sushi...
