Sportsmanship is rarely an issue in "soft" tournaments (i.e that have sportsmanship as a % of your score). However, that doesn't stop issues arising when it comes to the final round of the competition.
The problem with the "top tables" (of the top six players) is that it is blatantly obvious that whoever wins on them, in the final round, is going to take out first, second and third place. Now, even if these guys have had normal sports scores for the entire tournament, it isn't a surprise when things start to go downhill. It's been a long day, the room is crowded full of gamers and you know you are 30 minutes away from potentially placing. You might casually forget a rule or you might slow down your game turns. This may be deliberate or instinctive. Now I know most people would say that it's never worth doing that, but you can't say it won't happen. Even to the best of us.
In my personal opinion, it is important to have a judge/T.O nearby at all times for these matches. The "bottom tables" often have relaxed final games. They know that they don't have a chance at placing, so they are way more easy on the rules. However, rules debates/arguments on the "top tables" can often lead to the losers feeling cheated. As an organiser, this is the absolute LAST thing we want. It was one of those unfortunate moments where you need to be as neutral as possible, especially since some decisions can majorly change games. Furthermore, it is important to talk to each of the opponents after such games so that you don't leave the losing player/players feeling bad.
I want to know if you guys have had any encounters with "top table tempers" as I have called it?
Comment below with your thoughts.
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