My Experience in Running my Own Online Bracket: Da sKor Zone
by Dom Garruti (sKorZ)
Running a bracket can be difficult for some people. There are always flaws going towards it, DQs, Advertising, etc. What I’ve learned from seeing SoulArts and Player 4(Reggie) is that you never know what can happen when running brackets. Online brackets though, we have people like Shuby and Melabunni that are the pinnacles of online brackets. Which was where my idea of revolutionizing brackets comes in. I remember telling Shuby in his chat that he was my main inspiration for creating Da sKor Zone. As I head towards my 10th edition of my bracket Da sKor Zone, I’ve come to learn many things.
The main difference in my opinion between offline and online brackets is that in online brackets, you never know who’s going to join. Offline it’s different since everyone in your region is in it unless people invade or it is a larger tiered event like a regional. Invasions in brackets, as much as they are hype, can also be overwhelming to many TOs. The main things I’ve had issues with were seeding, finding people to help, and most importantly in my opinion, a stream. My guy Mousemont has been my personal streamer for many of my brackets. There were times when they couldn’t and that’s where it’s hard.
Unfortunately, before I’d say the 7th or 8th edition of my bracket, it was hard figuring everything out. DQ timers, rulesets, and setting up the bracket itself without start.gg being an absolute pain was difficult as hell. One of the main issues was my stage list. I’m not going to lie guys, I’ll admit I let a lotta people down with that, but things have been fixed thanks to people like Xobell and Onyx. I am able to confidently say that my bracket has gone back to normal. As for the bracket itself, we’ve had a variety of winners. Names include SGT HAMILTON, Hikari, Many, and last week, CoolCactus. We’ve had really good sets and a wide variety of players. Geodash, rm8, Revenge of the Duke, LittleMacMain are all prime examples of people who have experienced my bracket. Crashouts, inwereely close sets, and feel good moments was what made my bracket sort of out there in the smash scene. One thing I like doing is having a post bracket interview with the winner and/or someone who did really well in a sense where it was a breakout-esk run. However, things took a turn for me late December. Due to many things that have happened to me, it became way harder to do certain things for my bracket.
But I know in my head what I need to do. Since then, Da sKor Zone has gotten stronger. As I get to the end of this, I want to thank my admin team and the players who've supported my bracket. It’s been a wild ride, but I can honestly say that I’ve had a lot on my plate and I’ve conquered it with every might I’ve had to make this tourney better. I hope what I write today inspires others to use their creativity to progress with TOing and to help improve one’s skills of running their own online/offline bracket. That is my Ted Talk chat!!
