Forum

EXPLANATION: “WILDCARD”
Every team has a specific number of Wildcards per competition, which are used if a team has to postpone a scheduled match without their opponent’s agreement. A Wildcard has to be used no less than 15 minutes before the game is supposed to start. A Wildcard can be used by selecting the Wildcard function located on the top of the match page. Please try to contact your opponent if you use your Wildcard on particularly short notice.

A Wildcarded match must be played no more then 14 days after the Wildcard was taken.

If one team has already wildcarded a match, the other team can also wildcard it if they have a wildcard available. Matches cannot be wildcarded more than once per team.

We got a couple of complaints this season that 15 minutes is too few to use a wildcard and can potentially screw over a team, especially in the last two weeks. I myself am not entirely happy with it either, because it is very complicated and hard to understand for newcomers.
This is, however, no attempt to change the rule by any means. I just want to hark what you guys think of the current rule (especially the 15 minutes limit) and which improvements you would like to see, if any.

Potential changes I could see:
a) Increase the time you can use a wildcard to e.g. 1 hour before the schedule (Forces teams to plan more ahead, no last minute wildcards possible anymore which can be both, good and bad)
b) Give a team a minor warning, if the wildcard is used shortly (e.g. less than 1 hour) before the schedule (last minute wildcards still possible but only if the team can afford the minor warning. “Fair” teams that play by the rules could still use two wildcards on short notice without getting a major warning, “unfair” teams that have other violations may not be able to afford these)

Double post :/

The very purpose of a wildcard is to postpone your game at the latest moment possible, due to someone not showing up or other circumstances one could not foresee.

If a team is being “screwed over” by (ab)use of a wildcard, it would become a match complaint for admins to deal with, and a blow to the image of the abusing team. (Please do be harsh with minor warnings in such cases.)

Other than that, I say reduce it to 5 minutes.

Keep it as is, imo. Last minute problems can always pop up, and not every opponent will agree to reschedule or allow mercs. Last minute wildcards are annoying, but losing a match because something out of your control pops up half an hour before the game is far more annoying – and overall detrimental.

A little historic perspective: The wildcard deadline used to be 24 hours in advance of the match. After input from the community it was changed to the current 15 minutes, for the reasons described by Monkeh and others.

It’s pretty much been covered but it’s fine the way it is.

It’s never nice to get all pumped up and ready for a game, get warm up done, get mentally prepared and then hear that 10-15min into your last warmup game your opponents arn’t playing. They’ve lost a man and can’t use their line up so are Wildcarding. Even if like me you might’ve lost time at work to get home earlier for a match you still have to think that as much as it sucks for you it’d suck more for them if they were forced to play with a merc grabbed at the last second or forfeit the game. Especially with the palaver that goes on in getting a merc agreed with teams. Worst of all if you’re the team that suddenly needs a Wildcard usage because militant ferrets gnawed through the fibre optics and severed internet for half the country but cannot use it because there’s less than an hour to go.

How come you can’t use wildcards in week 7 if there is a catch-up week?

Why should we be forced to play on a week not suitable to us because our opponents can’t be bothered to schedule a game with us?

E.G, i went through every single game in our season and made a post on the match page stating dates and times we could play, some responded some didn’t. Most of them responded and a few got default dates, ofc because we were smart and posted dates and times we could play all the games were fine for us to play. However some of them still got no response from the opponent.

Thursday we were ready and waiting to play our opponent, they wildcarded 15 minutes before the game which is fine, we figured we’ll just play it in the catch up week because we only have one day we can play our final official in the next week.

Apparently that’s not possible, though, because we have to get both teams permission and its unlikely they’ll agree to it, so how is this fair on us? The one team this season that’s been actively trying to arrange games on time? To get forced to either play on a day we really can’t because our opponents won’t agree to change the date?

So basically, they won’t “force” anyone to play in the “extra week” but they will force them to play in a week they are unable to play in because a team can’t get its act together and organise a game properly, despite being given many options, dates and times, as long as the opponent doesn’t agree to an extension they get fucked over because of etf2ls rules.

The whole “Can’t play in the catch up week” thing is retarded. Why is it there if i have to get permission from an admin to play in it?

I honestly don’t give a shit about when the wildcard is taken or when its allowed to be taken, i just care that people get fucked over when they’ve tried hard to arrange everything fine.