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At first, I thought that it might be fairer to impose HCA restrictions on teams qualifying for the World Championship and the second chance qualifiers.
This could allow more European teams to be restricted.
But I'm not sure whether there will be technical difficulties.

Later, I remembered that unlike other continents, the 1st round in Europe is very important.
Therefore, regardless of whether other continents are restricting the top 4 places or more, I suggest limiting the top 2 places in the first-round group in the past 6 seasons.
I believe this should be more fair and acceptable to more people.

Theoretically, the results of the Consolation Tournament will affect the groupings for the continental championship, because the game manual says,

Past performance will be used to seed teams based upon the World Rankings.

All ranking points that national teams receive, they keep for 28 weeks (i.e., two seasons).

Since the 1st round in Europe is crucial, the groupings are naturally important as well.
If the results of the Consolation Tournament can be clearly reflected in the World Rankings, then the Consolation Tournament should be attractive to top teams.
Perhaps the lack of matches for the 3rd and 4th place teams in the 1st round group is a problem.
Maybe we need to study whether the calculation method of the World Rankings can be improved.

How about this idea? The team from each confederation that advances the furthest will have the advantage of a favorable schedule in the first round of the next continental competition.
Is it attractive?

This is the snapshots of the U21 teams. https://imgur.com/a/IIW71NZ
IMO, Cyprus U21 has a "perfect" schedule. #1,#2,#3,#5 teams are separated in the schedule. /country/77/jnt/schedule.aspx
But it seems that the "perfect" schedule is rare.
If only the top three teams are required to be separated in the schedule, I guess that would be more common.

I'm not sure whether there would be technical difficulties and how to implement it, but it feels like it could be possible.

Last edited by little Guest at 3/11/2024 12:36:18 PM

I have easy solution: to limit HCA advantage until the end of the second round of the European Championship and thus play the semi-final matches on a neutral court.

This is even quite realistic that the pool of tickets for the semi-final and final matches would be divided 50% between supporters of each team so audience support should be equal😁

As a result, the winner of the consolation cup would have an easier path to qualifying for the World Championships and even a European Championship medal, but he would have to win this on a court and competition for the trophy would not be skewed.

Last edited by kozlik4 at 3/14/2024 2:28:47 PM

On one hand, there is no desire for certain countries to be eligible to host the HCA, but on the other hand, there is a wish for the consolation tournament to have some meaning.
For the latter, if there are no additional advantages to offer, I suggest providing prestige: adding a trophy for the consolation tournament.
Winning the consolation tournament championship is not easy, and it should be worth recognizing with a trophy.
This way, participating in the consolation tournament would also be meaningful for countries that are not eligible to host the HCA.

Last edited by little Guest at 3/15/2024 10:40:27 AM

After watching several seasons of the NT and U21 Consolation Tournaments and checking the world rankings of countries that do not qualify to host HCA at the beginning of each season, I have changed my mind.

I think teams that are not strong enough to compete for the top four spots and medals in the Consolation Tournament should not be disqualified from hosting HCA, otherwise it will be very boring and demotivating.

This is more important than avoiding strong countries easily winning trophies through the HCA or qualifying for the Second Chance Qualifiers with the HCA.

African teams are a clear example.
The following are the countries in Asia whose NT did not qualify to host HCA in S63, along with their world rankings at the beginning of each season. https://i.imgur.com/7Kg4Tox.png
It can be seen that countries like Hanguk and Malaysia are far from the top 16 in the world rankings, which confirms that it is unreasonable for them to be disqualified from hosting HCA.

I have considered adding a condition related to world rankings, but this may lead to some teams intentionally performing poorly to lower their world rankings.
The Second Chance Qualifiers may also face the same issue.

Therefore, I suggest 1+2+3+4.
1. Using kozlik4's solution (323269.12).
Making the semifinal, final, and the decisive matches of the Second Chance Qualifiers neutral.
2. Countries that have won a trophy in the past 3 or 5 seasons at the World Championships should not be able to host HCA.
3. Adding a trophy for the consolation tournament. (323269.15)
If the top 4 teams enter the consolation tournament, it gives them a goal to pursue.
4. Tournament format.
The Plan2 in (322429.43) or (322429.44) (I prefer latter.) + the 3rd part in (322429.43) (for consistency).

However, I feel a bit sorry for teams currently benefiting, such as Nippon.

Therefore, I suggest giving priority to teams that have not hosted HCA for a longer period in the same round, or when no team enters the knockout phase and the highest standing is the same, before following the original comparison order.

Last edited by little Guest at 3/24/2024 9:38:32 AM