The tournament hinges upon getting a substantial
number of players so that there will be enough games for all to
play and be worthy of being labeled as one. I think a minimum number
would be six teams (thirty players). With the number of guys scattered
overseas, reenlisting into the army and starting new jobs, this
is not an easy number to attain.
For the tournament to be worthy, the players must
possess some level of fitness. This, as many of us are realizing,
is getting harder to maintain. We are approaching the sedentary
phase of life where the only exercise is probably the once in a
year compulsory IPPT. In the past, most teams were so exhausted
after playing that they trickled back home thus providing a somewhat
unsatisfactory and anticlimactic end to the tournament.
The problem of securing a venue has also become more difficult.
As some of you might already know, Marvin Lai, our Bridge Club saviour
for the past two years, has graduated. Even though in previous years,
we had successfully procured a venue, we were held hostage by the
starting and ending times. We would have to start in the blazing
afternoon sun and end in the dimness of dusk where the ball was
really difficult to see. We must also be thankful that we have not
had to play in the rain.
With the draining organizing effort, a diminishing
number of participants, deteriorating physical condition and dearth
of venues, what are we to do?
Maybe a change of mindset is necessary. Maybe the
time has come to embrace what is ubiquitous in our age – technology.
What I am proposing is a Winning Eleven tournament.
The immediate advantages are readily apparent.
Now, that each man is a team, enticing enough “teams”
to participate should not be too difficult. Furthermore, the worries
of physical condition can be laid to rest. Also, with easy access
to a PS2, one could train all year round, rain or shine, for the
tournament.
One of the more obvious problems would be that of
venue. I believe that we have enough PS2s so it should not be a
problem. More important is the TV sets and where to place them.
This is especially so if we intend to hold the entire tournament
in the same place. However, if we relax that constraint, then things
become a lot easier. Once the different groups are sorted out, each
group could proceed to a specified house for the group stage. From
KO stage onwards, all the groups could meet at another specified
house to watch the finals. Thereafter we could all go for dinner
at a nearby hawker centre.
The other problem is that the tournament disadvantages
those who have little or no experience in Winning Eleven. Often,
this coincides with whether one owns a PS2. To combat this, the
pool of players could be split into the amateur (e.g. Mizan) and
professional (e.g. Weizhong) league. To introduce some of the old
team rivalry, perhaps team rankings could be based on the top five
positions attained by the respective representatives of each team.
The actual details of who gets to use which team,
which stadium view to play in, what speed to play at, whether known
bugs are allowed to be exploited etc. can be worked out later. As
long as everything is standardized, participants will have about
a year to prepare. Perhaps those with intimate knowledge about the
game (e.g. Weizhong and Aloysius) could lay the boundaries.
If this format becomes a reality, it will be most
interesting to see the shift in the balance of power.
-the end-