Today we're bringing you some updates on The Calling events for Auckland and Melbourne scheduled for the next two weeks. Everything is on track for this weekend for The Calling Auckland, and we've got some updated details on the event for you! Sadly, Melbourne went back into lockdown at the end of last week, so we also wanted to give you a sense of how we're planning to handle the decision of whether to postpone The Calling Melbourne.
Auckland
There have been some changes to the schedule to fit in with venue availability, ensure the event has an appropriate number of total Swiss rounds, and to make sure that the event has the cleanest possible cut to Top 32. The Sealed Swiss portion of the event is now six (6) rounds. This is intended to ensure that all players with 5 or more wins make the Top 32. The first round of Monarch Draft will now begin on Day 1.
With the extra time available on Day 1, we will be running a three-round Second Chance Sealed event with First Edition Monarch product for players who don’t make the Top 32 cut (with an opportunity to win additional First Edition Monarch boosters for players who get 2 or more wins!).
The revised schedule is up and available on the main tournament page, including the event primer. Also, with the situation playing out in Melbourne, we are seeing a few players requesting refunds. These tickets are going back up on the site as the requests are processed, so if you're looking to go but missed out on a ticket, you might just get lucky if you check back on the ticketing site occasionally!
The Calling Auckland
Melbourne
Unfortunately, with Melbourne having gone back into lockdown a few days ago, the situation is considerably more uncertain there at the moment. We're very mindful that a lot of players have booked travel and accommodation for the event, and many have taken time off work too, so you'll need reasonable warning about whether the event is going ahead on schedule. Given that, we wanted to let you know how we're looking at things right now.
The current lockdown is scheduled to run through to this Thursday, with the government needing to make a decision mid-week about what happens next. Based on what happens with this, we'll make an announcement this Friday on whether we're looking to continue with the event or if we're postponing it. Our basic framework is;
- If restrictions are being extended (e.g. lockdown, caps on event numbers, travel restrictions) up to or past 11 June then the event will need to be postponed
- If restrictions are being lifted then the event can go ahead as planned (this would be ideal!)
- If the situation is ambiguous (e.g. restrictions are being extended for a few more days with another reassessment at the end of the period), we'll most likely need to postpone the event
The last point presents the awkward possibility that we have to make the decision to postpone the event, and then find that restrictions get removed a couple of days before the event would have started. The important thing, however, is that we feel we need to let all the people who are travelling have clarity on what is happening with enough time to make alternative arrangements, rather than leaving things to the last minute.
We're really sorry to see the situation playing out in Melbourne. To everyone in the community over there - stay safe, and we are going to make sure you have an event to play in, it's just a matter of when!