OFB-13

Over the past few years (since the 1750-point rule was introduced), none of the "Newcomer" winners have even attempted to reach the required points; they all disappear somewhere after the tournament.

caliban had over 1800 rating points at the start of FB-11. However, graalzzz, who had less than 1700 points, also played in that tournament. Both of them played as "Newcomer" winners.

Perhaps it would be better to allow a freshly crowned "Newcomer" winner into FB without the 1750-point restriction? (It's almost impossible to reach 1750 points in such a short time, even technically). And in terms of skill, the "Newcomer" finalists demonstrated very good timings for capturing objectives (sinks, etc.).

A direct entry without a restriction for the "Newcomer" winner will, of course, not be granted. But considering an option where they have a chance to get into FB is quite possible. Right now, I see it this way. We have qualifying spots from other tournaments. At the same time, only the winner of the Vinceras tournament on СМ clearly qualifies for FB. The winner of the Dave_HUN "Favorites" tournament declined to participate; this slot goes to Antipleer, who will also participate as the previous FB winner. The winners of the "Battle of Mages" and "Only XL" are not yet known. So, under certain circumstances, it may turn out that we have another slot available (for example, in the final of "Only XL," Antipleer and Dave meet again), and then the most logical solution would be to organize a small mini-tournament for 4 people for this slot. Who could participate:
1. The player who took the next place after the last of the participants in the qualifying matches, provided they had the same number of points (a consolation prize - so it wouldn't be so disappointing).
2. The "Newcomer" winner - Chainik.
3. 3rd place in "Favorites" - Keba.
4. Semi-finalist of "Battle of Mages" - kamukag3e.
5. Someone from the semi-finalists of "Only XL".
... possibly, someone else.

The point is that after the qualifying matches, it would be wrong to bring someone from these qualifying participants into FB, so if another spot appears after the start of the qualifying matches, it will have to be played for separately in any case, and it seems to me that the optimal option would be something like this. By the way, this does not violate the regulations:

At the moment, it is not possible to foresee all combinations (for example, the winners of tournaments that will end later than OFB – "Battle of Mages 3" and "Only XL-6" – may also be among the winners of the qualifying matches; other difficult situations are also possible), therefore, the organizer reserves the right to make situational decisions based on the specific situation, up to and including holding a small additional mini-tournament.