Hi all, I have been asked to post a short clarification of the Rules on two topics: no-shows and draws. Please note that this is just my personal understanding as a participant. @Simon : Please clarify where needed.
Draws (Rules, p. 7, 20):
No draw at 3-3. There is only a draw at 4-4. If the score is 3-3, the players continue the match and it either ends 4-4 (draw), 5-3 (win) or 4.5-3.5 (win). The 4.5-3.5 result is the only exception of the rule that you need to have a two game lead to win. This is only expressly mentioned for the set of a Slam (p. 20) but also applies to the regular season matches.
No-shows (Rules, p. 9/10):
-
If your opponent is less than 15 minutes late, the match takes place normally.
-
If your opponent is more than 15 minute late but less than 30 minutes, you can decide whether you want a 4-0 win or want to play the match.
-
But I think few people know that if your opponent is more than 30 minutes late for a match, you win unless the ML team / a supervisor decides that the no-show player was sufficiently excused. That means in such a case the present player cannot agree to still play the match at a later date.
Why, you ask? To my understanding, this has been introduced to prevent the typical psychological pressure on the other player that they should agree to still play the match “because that is normal” or “in order not to make things complicated”.
No, it is not normal that your opponent does not appear to a match without informing you, it certainly shows a lack of diligence, some might even say a lack of respect for the other player’s schedule. The problem is that while some players might feel the same and that they deserve the win if their opponent does not appear, they would also like to avoid an open “quasi-conflict” with a no-show player, in particular if that other player somehow expects them to agree to a replay.
The rule is meant to protect players from such situations by taking the decision out of their hands and letting the ML team decide. If you feel that this is not necessary for you, that is great. But not everybody is always willing to engage and say no, and rules are supposed to protect all players.
The rule also cannot be waived (“let us ignore that rule and still replay the game”), because then the same psychological pressure would develop to waive the rule and replay the game, just with one additional step.
So, the next time your opponent is more than 30 minutes late or does not appear at all, it would be great to follow the above (binding) rule and not to play the match, but to inform Simon Orton and let him and the ML team handle the matter.
Simon Orton will then decide whether the no-show player was properly excused. That is not the case if the player did not immediately inform their opponent that they cannot play the match, it is also not the case if the problem was in general a foreseeable one (e.g. a meeting could take longer or not, but it is clear from the start that it reasonably might: inform your opponent.). In particular, it is of no importance for the question of a proper excuse whether the opponent of the no-show player says they still want to play the match, otherwise the purpose of preventing a psychological pressure situatuon would be undermined again (“come on, can’t you tell the ML team that you still want to play the match?” etc…).
Sorry for the long post, but it is an important topic and hopefully this helps some players in the future. You can find the rule on p. 9/10 of the Rules, by the way (link to Rules: https://memoryleague.com/static/Memory_League_World_Tour_Rules.pdf). @Simon It might be an idea to add that link to the Season rules page, so that more players can take notice :).
𝓝𝓲𝓴𝓵𝓪𝓼 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓢𝓾𝓷 
Arena of Memory 
.
.
)