In order to determine the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals, Club Penguin Armies have used the Wheel of Names. Let’s see what the community thinks about this and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a wheel to create the tournament matchups.
Designed by Edu14463
Introduction
It was on a random day, while brainstorming ideas around the Club Penguin Armies Legends Cup XV theme, that the use of a wheel to determine the matchups was considered. After that, the Head Representatives of the armies were called to vote on whether they liked the idea. They immediately reacted positively, with nine armies agreeing with it and none being against it. Thus, for the first time in a tournament, armies are now dependent on a wheel. The wheel of names website was used, as it is one of the most popular of its kind, having 848,481,758 wheel spins at the time of the post.
The idea of using a wheel for LCXV being born
Advantages
We have seen that the wheel has created some very interesting matchups that would not have happened if the traditional way had been implemented. It creates more suspense for the participating armies and their troops, as they don’t know their next opponent until the time when the wheel is spun. It has also been a creative idea to further include the casino theme in the tourney. Additionally, similar ways are used in some real-life tournaments, for example, the football Champions League draw. Some people could argue that teams are placed in pots there based on their performance. Here, the wheel was implemented after the Qualifier round, so that means only the best armies remained in the tournament anyway.
The Semi Finals wheel
Disadvantages
With the use of the wheel, the matchups are based on luck. Previously, in the traditional way, it was purely based on the army’s performance. Some armies may be luckier and face easier opponents, while others could have tougher matchups. This means that some armies may proceed further than they would in the usual format. At the same time, others may be eliminated quicker. The winner of the tournament will not be affected though, as the strongest army will win the tournament either way. Whether they face weaker or stronger armies, the army that is worthy of the trophy will find a way to win it.
The administration deemed that the advantages of using a wheel outweighed the disadvantages. Thus, after the army board approved it, it was applied to the tourney for the Quarter Final and Semi Final rounds.
How much different would the matchups be without the wheel?
Wheel matchups
Matchups without the wheel
If it weren’t for the wheel, the Rebel Penguin Federation would face Void Troops in the Quarter Finals. Additionally, the Army of Club Penguin would be against the Water Vikings. In the Jackpot Conference, the Aliens would face the Help Force, something that is planned to happen anyway, even through the wheel, but in the Semi Finals. Lastly, the Doritos of Club Penguin would face the Templars.
Assuming that the same armies won in the Baccarat Conference, RPF would face WV in the Semi Finals. That’s the same thing that happened with the wheel. In the Jackpot conference, the winner of Aliens versus HF would battle with the winner of DCP versus TCP. Assuming DCP would shut down anyway, that means TCP would advance to the Semi Finals. Thus, the Grand Finals would consist of RPF or WV against HF or Aliens, or TCP. In the wheel version, four out of the five armies mentioned before compete for a spot in the Grand Finals.
This means that the wheel hasn’t changed the tournament ending much, but it mainly affected the earlier rounds. The strongest army would be able to defeat the other armies regardless of the system used. The only thing that changed is that smaller armies may have managed to progress further, while others may have been eliminated earlier. Considering that the eight best performing armies participated in the wheel ruffle, there isn’t a huge difference in strength between most of them. Thus, the chances of the wheel being unfair to someone were limited.
What is the community’s opinion?
Club Penguin Armies reached out to a lot of, perhaps too many, members of the CPA community in order to receive their opinion. Active people from various armies across the community were interviewed. Let’s see what they think about the wheel system.
k y l e, Club Penguin Armies Local: The idea is cool okay like don’t get me wrong spinning the wheel for the first round qualifiers okay that’s a fun twist to the way it’s ran. After that though it’s pointless, you create a bracket and put armies in those brackets just for show and not to actually use it. Spinning the wheel for every single round is silly unless you just completely remove the bracket from the tournament and just say ties will be decided through the wheel with no bracket used for the battles etc.
Berlim, Penguins of Agartha Leader: In my opinion, CPA LCXV wheel was a great addition. Although i prefer the traditional model, spinning the wheel makes things more enthusiastic and cool. I think the wheel should be added more times, but not to all tournaments. I really liked the idea of CPA wheel!
Lawless, Portal Hoppers of Club Penguin & Romans Leader: Honestly I like it and I like the anticipation that comes beforehand, I’m pretty nosy so its fun hearing friends in different armies saying ‘I hope we get x y z’ and not ‘oh god were against rpf next round’ LOL, but yeah I like it and I like the hype it brings into the chat (never seen CPA vc so active btw omg) and the fact you have absolutely no idea who youre against until a week before is fun but also motivating because youre not inclined to give up if youre due to go against an OP army youll probably not bother to train against LMAO.
Lort333, Club Penguin Armies Developer: In my opinion it’s not a bad idea at all, while the randomness may have affected the smaller armies in getting a bit further into LC, in the end it’s still the best army that wins, and since this LC is gambling themed, it’s a good addition indeed.
Lydia, Water Vikings HCOM: I thought the wheel spin was a quirky twist but the issue is it just basically makes brackets worthless (like toilet paper) I feel like if the wheel spin gets implemented again it should have something different than brackets.
Link3000, Rebel Penguin Federation Leader: I dont have a very strong opinion in all honesty, and I also havent really given it much thought. On one hand, it could potentially give an advantage to smaller armies, depending on the spin they might be able to advance further than they would’ve otherwise. On the other hand since the seedings are based on the top ten rankings, they’re not really unfair. I dont know if it’s something that should be implemented in every tournament, maybe not the bigger ones, but something to try every now and then.
Sheriff, Aliens Leader: I feel it was a really interesting twist and gave the tournament a much needed change
Zenishira, Help Force HCOM: I have mixed feelings about the wheel. The good thing about the wheel is that it can put you up against an opponent you know you’d beat. The bad thing about the wheel is that it can put you up against an opponent that’s gonna wipe the floor with you. Granted, compared to last year’s double elimination method (which expanded the length of the whole tournament, like Jesus Christ), it’s better. It’s nice to shake up the classic formula once in a while, since we all crave novelty.
image, Scarlet Republic Leader: Honestly yeah I quite enjoy the wheel. I think it led to some interesting matchups in the Quarter & Semi Finals. Definitely wouldn’t mind seeing it again in a future tournament
Pingo, Boxmen of Boxland Creator: I mean, it has benefits and not benefits.
The wheel stops you from pretty much already knowing when are you realistically gonna get eliminated, with every occasional tournament having pretty much every significant favourite on one side, and then the other side looks like it was copied from an s/m beachbrawl-like tournament with only half of those armies showing up or maxing more then 10. The Wheel stops this by just telling you AFTER you beat down your enemy penguin discord server, which is a good idea.
HOWEVER, in the same way that football cups might occasionally chuck in two first division title favourites in the 5th round, this too can happen, with RPF vs WV being pushed forwards to the semifinals then an in theory Final. My solution? Add pots. Every army that qualifies to the next stage uses its number on the first round draw to latter be split up between the ones with the biggest numbers and the ones with the lowest numbers. Instead of drawing both opponents from the same wheel, you two those 2 wheels to decide instead, confirming an even more painfull experience for the s/m commun- sorry uh i mean, confirming big army bashings in the finals.
Sometimes, a websites wheel has a legit bias to a certain corner of the wheel, so my solution would be to spam every army’s name 15 times on the wheel so it would be almost impossible to know where it will land-Yoni773, Army of Yoni773 Creator: I quite liked the idea as it gave people the excitement of who they were gonna face next. Although if there was to be a wheel again I would prefer it if there was also a wheel on what day and time the battle would take place
Lia, Void Troops HCOM: Personally while i think it is a fun addition to the tournament it does give a lot of armies participating a easy way into finals which is incredibly unfair, a lot of people have been preparing for this tournament with the expectation that they would be matched fairly, the wheel doesn’t allow for that to happen everytime!! it’s fun though and i like the idea, just maybe not for legends cup.
History, Club Penguin Armies Local: I think its a cool twist and makes tournaments far more interesting than the standard in order tournaments. Hence why I believe it is a good twist.
Billy Bawb, Templars Leader: In my opinion, the CPA LCXV wheel was a good addition because you would have to prepare your army for an army that would be unknown. It makes armies think about more things they have to work on (The better the army, the more). I think CPA should keep the wheel.
Kailey, Army of Club Penguin HCOM: I think the idea was cool and a creative way to determine who’s battling who but tbh I prefer the old way
Spotty, Club Penguin Army Judges Head Judge: It was nice to see a difference with how a tournament is setup. However, I believe that some armies had an easier ride than others due to the line-ups being completely random. Especially with Legends Cup being the most prestigious tournament of the year I believe that it should have been kept traditional with the battles being based on the seedings so that each army had more of a fair chance to proceed further.
Aurora, Club Penguin Armies Local: It’s a change of pace from the usual format.
It seems like some people believe that the addition of the wheel was a good idea and they liked it. Others believe that it shouldn’t have been added or that it should have been used in another tournament. Most people found it to be a cool, creative idea. Do you agree with them? What is YOUR opinion about the addition of the wheel in the Legends Cup tournament? Should it be reused in a different tournament in the future?
Jojo Teri
Chief Executive Producer
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Professional Club Penguin player