It's about 50-50 in terms of the starting players this year for who has started in an NWWC finals in the past. How relevant that is in determining whether a national team should be afforded the same consideration for seeding as in the previous year (based on their finals placement) is a matter of opinion and not one where anyone can be 'right'. In a team competition, as I said in response to Melsyo, I think that point makes a lot of sense and I'd agree with you. In the context of a national tournament, where there is a constant factor (the nations do not change and the best players from that nation that are willing to play are playing), I don't find that logic as convincing. I think the seeding should be appropriate to each team's performance in the previous edition.
Going back to my point earlier, 60% of your team didn't play in the final for last NWWC, so you're saying your seeding should be relevant to 6 other players who performed last year and aren't playing this year. That makes no sense.
And you saying that it's a national tournament shouldn't make seeding any different. If there were 2 favourite teams (like other years) they would be on different sides of the brackets. However, there seems to be 1 stronger team (or 3 equal teams, whichever way you want to spin it). Previous NWWCs should come into how seeding is done. It should be done on how teams performed in Groups.
Also I doubt ENG would have kicked up as fuss if it was GER vs FRA in the semi's. And I highly doubt FRA would too. (but this might be because of an ENG vs FRA final).
I honestly don't see why the brackets are up for debate. And by the sounds of it, it was made by a 2ic that was going against what he was told to do.
But saying previous years NWWC results should be taken into account when seeding the knockouts is stupid, when you even said yourself that half the team (starting lineup) is different.
Play the tournament how it was originally set, if ENG lose, it's not because you had a harder seed. It's because you weren't good enough. If you carry on trying to get an ENG vs FRA final, it's just gonna seem like you're trying to grab yourself a guaranteed silver. Which would be extremely sad.
Previous NWWCs have never seeded based on group performances, beyond placements set for 1st and 2nd place in each going into knockouts, and were always set to avoid FRA v ENG in semis. Whether you think that's right or not it's how it's been and imo the proper justification is to say it's on the basis of the previous year's results rather than the strength of the teams. I don't see why you think the perspective that national teams are different in terms of continuity (they are) than regular teams is odd, but as I said I think both points of view regarding that are valid.
I have never said I or anyone else from ENG won't play based on this setting. As others have mentioned, we asked the admins about it 3-5 weeks ago and never followed up - it is the administration that decided to resurface the issue after the group stage, not us trying to 'grab a guaranteed silver'. That doesn't even make sense anyway, since (again, as has been repeated several times), nobody ever said ENG ought to be on the opposite side of the bracket to GER, only to FRA.
swap wont happen cause votes are even, so don't bother anymore @Gibby
My last few posts have not even been arguing in favour of a swap, just arguing against the idea that this is something anyone in the ENG team brought up to try and get an advantage.
Imagine Eng players have been sat here continuing their own argument :feelsbadman:
I'm not a player you numpty. Just trying to understand why your 2ic went behind you back, and also is trying to cheese a free silver.
Nobody went behind anyone's back. When we first saw that it would be FRA v ENG in the semis, we as a team were confused and asked the admins if it was intentional, why it was made that way and if they intended to change it (this being in week 1 or-so of the tournament). They said they wouldn't change it and we didn't follow up since then. Us being willing to play against GER in the semis and then into FRA in the finals should be enough to absolve you of the idea that anyone is trying to 'cheese a free silver', but you don't seem to have retained that information from my past few posts - seems more like you're just creating extra drama for drama's sake.