DC Invitational

Introduction

The DCI, or Diplomaticcorp Invitational is a small, two-round tournament that was established in 2006 by Stephen Lytton (Deathblade_penguin).

The idea was to invite the top players to a game of Diplomacy - where the best of the best will face off.

Now in its 3rd year, the tournament has expanded. In 2008 there are 2 rounds consisting of 10 players. These players are some of the best, active and loyal players in diplomaticcorp dating back to the foundation of the club.

Invitations

The criteria for being invited to play in the most coveted game of the dc year has varied over the years with the evolution of the club. The players have been invited to play based on their game stats - including rating, number of games, solos, draws, seconds, NMRs and of course Civil Disorders. Also earning invites have been less tangible yet just as remarkable accomplishments like active GMing, persistence for survival, and other positive contributions to the community.

History

1st Annual DCI, 2006 The 2006 DCI was won by Kevin O' Kelly, with a 2-way Draw in dc089 and a 4-way Draw in dc097.
The final standings of 2006 were

• Kevin O'Kelly
• Greg Olsen
• Derek Eyler
• Michael Sims
• Bruce Ray
• Stephen Lytton
• Tony Tella

2nd Annual DCI, 2007 The 2007 DCI was won by Michael Sims, with a Solo Victory in dc104 and a 3-way Draw in dc131.

The final standings for 2007 were:

• Michael Sims
• Mikael Johannson
• Former Trout (replacing Felix Kam Chung)
• Eric Swaitek
• Kevin O'Kelly (2006 Champion)
• Bruce Ray
• Stephen Lytton

3rd Annual DCI, 2008 2008 took the DCI to the shores of England, in the Stonehenge Variant for dc189. A 6-way draw led the tournament into round two, with the top 7 playing a Standard game. With the top draw in both rounds, Dan Dzikowicz was crowned the 2008 DCI Champion.

The final standings for 2008 were:

• In 1st Position, a relative newcomer (perhaps being unknown helped him in this year's diplomacy) is Dan Dzikowicz.
• In 2nd Position (and first runner up) on 10 points is Jorge Saralegui
• In 3rd Position on 8.5 points is Clark Landry
• In 4th Position on 7.5 points is Mikael Johansson
• In 5th Position on 7 points is Mike Sims (2007 Champion)
• In 6th Position on 4 points is Garry Bledsoe
• In 7th Position on 4 points is Nigel Phillips
• In 8th Position on 4 points is Lee Taylor
• In 9th Position on 1 point is Brian Lam
• In 10th Position on 1 point is Derek Eyler.

The 2008 DCI invites were...

1. Winner of the 2008 Winter Blitz
2. Winner of the 2007 DCI
3. The best 'new' player (Top score Under 3 games completed in DC)
4. A Recomended Player as agreed by the 3 moderators
5. The top 6 'eligible' players as calculated by the DCI formula (pre-ratings)

The top 7 of these players moved on to the second standard game.

The DCI Scoring System

Each Player who has completed a game in DC, is placed on the DCI spreadsheet. They are then given a score calculated by the following formula:

1. A base score for the number of games played (2 points for the first 5 games, 1 point for the second 5 games then .5 per game played)
2. a score for the result acheived in the first and second games played in DC. (20 points for a solo, 10 points for a draw, 5 points for a survivial and 1 point for an elimination)
3. 10 points per Solo
4. a bonus for the percentage of games soloed (20 points for top 75%, 15 points for 50-75%, 10 points for 25-50% and 5 points for 1-25%)
5. 2 points per draw scored
6. a bonus for the percentage of games drawn (20 points for top 75%, 15 points for 50-75%, 10 points for 25-50% and 5 points for 1-25%)
7. 1 point per second scored
8. 3 points for a replacment position taken (after May 20th, 2008)
9. Negative 1 points for every 4 NMR/NBR/NDR or NRR scored.
10. Negative 1 point for every 2 games Civil Disorder.

To be eligible to play in the current year's DCI the player must:-

1. have completed at least one game in DC in the past year OR be known to be active.
2. have not CD or abandoned their most recent game without good cause
3. have completed at least 3 games in DC (unless qualifying as best new player)

4th Annual DCI, 2009

The 2009 DCI played a single round 11-player Crowded Variant in dc274. It was won by Adam Martin-Schwartze (13 SC, Turkey) by having the largest final SC count in a 4-Way Draw. Jorge Saralegui (9 SC, Norway), Joe Hackett (9 SC, France), and Nigel Phillips (4 SC, Russia) shared in the draw.

The invitations were sent to...

1. 2008 DCI champion - Dan Dzicowicz, playing Austria
2. 2009 WB champion - Garry Bledsoe, playing England
3. Top Provisional rated - Frank Martin, playing the Lowlands
4. Top Regular rated - Nigel Phillips, playing Russia
5. Top Companion Knight - Mikael Johannson, playing Italy
6. Top Light Brigade - Jorge Saralegui, playing Norway
7. Best Survivor - Joe Hacket, playing France
8. Best Solo Victory - Matt Kremer, playing Spain
9. Most Promising GM - Adam Martin-Schwarze, playing Turkey
10. Moderator Pick - Drew Ott, playing the Balkans
11. Moderator Pick - Max Victory, playing Germany

5th Annual DCI, 2010

The 5th Annual DCI began in August 2010, and played a single round 9-player Aberration Variant in dc340. It was won by Adam Martin-Schwartze (yes, again!) by having the largest final SC count in a 3-Way Draw. Kevin O'Kelly (Byzantium) and Joe Hackett (Israel) shared in the draw.

1. Adam S. - All around awesome GM but most importantly DCI09 champion
2. Chris M. - Winner of the WB2010
3. Dirk K.- The most active Light Brigade member in 2010 (having taken the most games as a replacement player)
4. Mikael J.- The highest ranking active Companion Knight (aside from Mike who...) - Order of the Oak!
5. Mike S. - The highest ranking player on the site in points, esteemed moderator, all around god
6. Mike Walters - The current highest ranking new player (based on provisional ranking)
7. Kevin O'Kelly - Moderator pick, a scrub who is only one of the HIGHEST ranking Companion Knights, a site stalwart and a pretty darn solid player in his own right
8. John R. - Best new GM based on his superb management of games including the longest game in this year's WB
9. Joe H. - The player who consistently has the highest survival rate for games and has continued that trend this year (and acquitted himself nicely in DCI09)

6th Annual DCI, 2011

The 6th Annual DCI began in August 2011, and played a single round 9-player 1600 Variant in dc405. It was won by Dirk Knemeyer, who unseated Adam as the 2-time champion. Dirk won by barely edging out the Top Draw spot, sharing the spoils with Sun Chung and Jerome Payne.

1. Adam S. - all around awesome GM and amazing guy but most importantly DCI09 champion; oh yeah, and ALSO DCI10 champion; that's right, back-to-back and REIGNING champion
2. Dave K. - Winner of the Winter Blitz 2011
3. Dirk K. - An esteemed diplomaticcorp moderator, a runner-up in last year's DCI and this year's winner of the "hot win streak" position with two, yep two, solos this year
4. Mike S. - STILL the highest ranking dc player, esteemed moderator, all around god
5. Ross G. - the current highest ranking ACTIVE new player (based on provisional ranking)
6. Sun C. - the current ranking "survivor" title holder who is a player who has the most games in the last year with a survival without being eliminated
7. Jerome P. - my vote for best new GM based on his management of 3 games this year including helping out in this year's WB
8. Matt K - The at-large pick, Matt has been around the community a long time and is a high-ranking Companion Knight to boot.
9. Mike H - Our 9th player is none other than Mr. Mike Hoffman who gets the invite for being the most active Light Brigade member in the past year and pretty darn close in the lifetime of the Brigade. The LB is a team of individuals who will take replacement positions in games when the GM is trying to backfill an abandon. This is key because typically these positions aren't always the greatest which leaves that person in a position of accepting a game that could hurt their rating. But that has never deterred Mike from charging in against all odds!

7th Annual DCI, 2013

The 7th Annual DCI was played in dc462, in the fall of 2013.

GM: John Reside Map: Anarchy Champion: Andrew Beaumont Draw: Andrew Beaumont, Michael Sims, Hamish Williams, Dan Dzicowicz

8th Annual DCI, 2015

The 8th Annual DCI was played in dc525, in the spring of 2015. This game started later than the normal fall Invitational, thus there is no 2014 DCI.

GM: Garry Bledsoe Map: Standard Champion: ? Draw: ?

9th Annual DCI, 2017

The 8th Annual DCI began in December 2017, and played a single round 8-player Machiavelli Variant in dc561. It was won by Michael Sims, the first player to win three DC Invitationals and the 2nd player to win the tournament in back-to-back showings.