Slhoka
Smash Lord
May 9-10
Noisy-le-Grand, France
Noisy-le-Grand, France
[collapse="TL;DR information"]
- May 9-10
- Near Paris, France
- 256 players !
- Great venue, with a giant screen in an auditorium to watch finals
- Free drinks
- Amazing staff
- Streaming by SaltyPlayground !
It's finally here ! The long-awaited HFLAN fully dedicated to Smash ! This time, the whole venue is for us, meaning we can reach up to 256 entrants ! So let's make it one of the largest tournaments in Europe !
What is hf.lan?
[collapse="what is HFLAN"]One of the best tournaments series in Europe, awaited by all those who attended one of the previous editions. The reason for this is that it was one of the best-run tournament the French community has ever seen. Here's a short summary of what was done at hf.lan and will be there again :- A large venue (the tournament takes place in the canteen of a huge engineer school)
- Many setups : the hf.lan series fits in the average TV/players ratio at French tournaments : close to 3. It means you almost never have to wait in order to play.
- Free drinks during the whole event.
- Free or really cheap food for the lunches of Saturday and Sunday.
- Couches : in front of many TVs (not all of them), there were large couches to be comfy while you play.
- The top 8 games will be played in a 400+ seats auditorium, on a large movie screen.
- Cheap hotels near the venue
- One of the most dedicated staff there could be.
When? Where? Who?
[collapse="When?"]When ?May 9-10, 2015
The venue is going to open on Saturday morning, and will close on Sunday evening. You can stay during the night, but if you want to sleep, there are better option.
We may be able to extend it to friday the 8th, but that's unlikely at this point.[/collapse]
[collapse="Where?"]Where ?
Noisy-le-Grand, France.
This city isn't far from Paris and easy to reach with the public transportation system.
The venue
ESIEE Paris
2 boulevard Blaise Pascal
Cité Descartes
Noisy-le-Grand
The venue is the same as RoF3's venue : an engineer school, and a huge one that is ! We're using the canteen, which is really large and easily provides enough space. Couches are set in front of some TVs in order to play comfortably. In addition to the canteen, the auditorium will also be used for the most hyped sets. It has space for 400+ people, features a giant screen as well as a scene at the bottom for the players. You can see more pictures of the venue in the photo albums of previous HFLANS.
[/collapse]
[collapse="Who?"] Who ?
We are usually limited to 64 players, as we shared the venue with SC2 and LoL players during the previous HFLANs.
This time, it's the Melee edition : with no other games than Smash, we can reach the 256 player limit !
The hosts
The tournament is hosted by the members of the school's gaming club. They do not enter de tournament, but play smash often and follow the activity of the international scene. While one might think that not being a part of the smash community could make them care less about smash players, the reality is actually the opposite. Their dedication is absolutely remarkable, and they always listen to the players' need to make the tournament a better experience. They will take care of the logistics, budget, and pretty much everything but running the tournament in itself.
That will be the part handled by LeFrenchMelee, the French Melee players association, represented by several staff members and two tournament directors, BSeeD and Slhoka.
Player Fund
For Republic of Fighters 3, we set up a fund in order to bring aMSa to the tournament. For HFLAN, we want to pick another player. We are almost set with the player choice, and the fund should begin in a few days, as soon as his identity is revealed. To give you a hint : HFLAN is quite the grassroots events, and we want to reflect that with the fund. Therefore, the player we pick won't be sponsored. He'll be a well known community member, some sort of people's champion, but above everything else, he'll be a homie.[/collapse]
Events, Schedule, Stream, Ruleset
[collapse="Events"]EventsThe following information may change.
The Melee tournament will feature singles and doubles.
Singles: 256 players:16 bracket pools of 16, top 4 making it to a 64-man bracket
Doubles: 128 teams: 8 pools of 16, top 4 making it to a 32-team bracket.
Amateur brackets may take place if the schedule allows it.
We are also discussing the addition of other Smash games to the tournament. If it happens, however, because the venue limitation is 256 persons, and since that's what we're aiming for the Melee event, it will be mandatory to enter Melee singles to enter any other event. Sorry about that, we hope you understand this choice.[/collapse]
[collapse="Schedule"]Schedule
Tentative schedule :
Saturday
8:00 am - Venue opens
10:00 am - You have to check in BEFORE 10. Don't be late !
10:30 am - Melee Singles Wave A + Smash 4 singles + PM for those who don't enter Smash 4 and are in Melee wave B
12:00 pm - Melee Singles Wave B + PM Singles
2:30 pm - Melee Doubles + PM + Smash 4 singles to top 4
6:00 pm - Melee Singles bracket
8:00 pm - Smash 4 top 4
10:00 pm - Salty Arena (should finish around 1 am)
Sunday
10:00 am - Melee singles (what's left to top 8) then doubles if they didn't reach the top 8
12:00 pm - PM top 4 or 6
2:00 pm - Melee doubles top 8
4:00 pm - Melee singles top 8
[/collapse]
[collapse="Stream"]Stream
The event is going to be streamed by SaltyPlayground, guaranteeing a quality stream as you could see at Republic of Fighters 3 or Avalon 7. A stream schedule will be released prior to the event.
[/collapse]
[collapse="Ruleset"]Ruleset
The ruleset isn't ready yet, but it will be similar to what's usually done at French tournaments : the starter stages will be Battlefield, Dreamland, Final Destination, Fountain of Dreams, Yoshi's Story. Pokémon Stadium will be a counterpick.
Also, wobbling will be allowed, while coaching won't.[/collapse]
[collapse="Equipment"]Equipment
Our aim is one setups for every 4 or 5 players. It would mean 50 to 64 setups, and, in addition to helping the tournament run faster, it would allow everyone to find free TVs whenever they want.[/collapse]
Registration, Fees and Prizes
[collapse="Registration"]RegistrationRegistration will take place on the HF-Lan website. It isn't open at the moment, because the registration for another LAN (without Smash) was just launched. We'll update you on the day registration opens.[/collapse]
[collapse="Entry Fees and Prizes"]Entry fees and prizes*
*All fees and prizes are subject to change
Entry fees
Venue fee : 8€
Singles tournament : 10€
Doubles tournament : 7€ per player
Prizes
The pot should be separated as follows (in brackets, the amount assuming 256 players and 128 teams)
Singles :
1st - ≈50% (1250€)
2nd - ≈24% (600€)
3rd - ≈12% (300€)
4th - ≈6% (150€)
5th - ≈3% (75€)
7th - ≈1% (25€)
9th - 10€
Doubles :
1st - ≈50% (900€)
2nd - ≈24% (440€)
3rd - ≈12% (220€)
4th - ≈6% (100€)
5th - ≈3% (50€)
7th - 20€[/collapse]
Food, housing, and travel information
[collapse="Food"]FoodThe hf.lan staff serves free drinks, including Red Bull sometimes. Additionally, they serve hot dogs, crêpes and snacks for a cheap price.
They also also serve pizza for dinner on Saturday. Warning for the Italians : these pizza aren't complying the pizza definition in Italy.
The staff also serves coffee and croissants in the morning.
And if you want something else, there are also quite a few shops in the neighbourhood where you can buy food.[/collapse]
[collapse="Housing"]Housing
On Saturday evening, the venue will be open and you will be able to stay there. However, we will not have a sleeping room, and therefore, you're likely not to have a great night because of the noise or the light.Also, there are no showers at the venue, so please book and hotel room ;_;
However, there are two hotels located less than 5 minutes away from the venue : the first one costs ≈30€/night for 3 persons, and the second one costs ≈65€/night/2 persons. It is strongly advised to book a bit before the tournament as the hotels were quickly full for previous editions.
If you need housing before or after the tournament, Parisian smashers may be able to help you. Please contact the LeFrenchMelee team if you need housing (see Contact section).[/collapse]
[collapse="Travel information"]Travel information
The venue is located 500 m away from the RER Station on the A line. From there, a trip to Paris takes 20 mn and costs 4€.
For more information regarding public transportation in Paris, you can use the website of the local transport authority.[/collapse]
Other events
[collapse="Other tournaments"]Other tournaments
Because this HFLAN is going to be huge, the Parisian community is planning other events in case you want to stay in France a bit more !
- on Friday the 8th, the DX Ranking will host a 32-player special edition of it's monthlies !
- on the weekend after HFLAN (may 16-17), we'll have a 64-player tournament, with a comeback of an old Parisian tournament series !
More information about both of these soon ![/collapse]
[collapse="Besides Smash"]Besides Smash
The tournament will not take place in Paris, but so close it is pretty much the same. Paris is a beautiful and very lively city, and sightseeing can be great there. If you plan to attend the tournament and want some information about great places to visit, make sure to contact Slhoka (see Contact section).[/collapse]
[collapse="Travel information"]Travel information
Paris is pretty easy to reach by plane, train or bus regardless of where you come from.
Once you are in or near Paris, the public transportation network will allow you to travel more efficiently than with a car.
Airports
The closest airports are Paris-Orly (ORY) and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG). From those airports, you can easily reach Paris in less than an hour with a commuter train, and it will cost between 15€ and 20€ return.
Another airport is Beauvais-Tillé (BVA). This one is a bit far from Paris but you can get cheap flights from other places in Europe if you travel with Ryanair. From there, you'll need 1h30 to arrive in Paris with a shuttle which will cost you 30€ return.
Train
- Coming from the North of Paris : Gare du Nord
- Coming from the UK : Gare Saint-Lazare
- Coming from the East of Paris : Gare de l'Est
- Coming from Switzerland or Italy : Gare de Lyon
- Coming from Spain : Gare Montparnasse
Once you are in one of these stations, you'll have no trouble going to the venue with the subway.
Bus
There are two Eurolines bus stations in Paris :
- Coming from Spain and Portugal : Paris Charenton
- Coming from everywhere else : Paris Gallieni
Once you are in one of these stations, you'll have no trouble going to the venue with the subway.
Travels in Paris
For all your travels in or near Paris, I advise you to use one of these websites :
Transilien.com (available in english and spanish)
RATP.fr (available in many languages)
Directions to the venue
The venue is located in the east of Paris, near the RER station "Noisy-Champs", on line A. Going there costs about 8€ return.
[/collapse]
Contact
LeFrenchMelee (can be answered by both BSeeD and Slhoka)
Facebook : LeFrenchMelee
Twitter : LeFrenchMelee
E-mail : lefrenchmelee@gmail.com
Slhoka
Facebook : pierre.slhoka.leroy
Twitter : Slhoka
E-mail : pl.pierre.leroy@gmail.com
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