Welcome to the thirty-second edition of Rushmore’s premier celebration of sport, the Copa Rushmori! This post should, hopefully, tell you all you need to know about the tournament OOCly, & the post following will delve into more IC information. We hope that you have a wonderful time in this tournament; now, without further ado, let’s get to it!
Pots
The host was not placed in a pot; instead, it was automatically placed in Ekwadup Qusma & given the position of Q1. The top five teams in the Rushmori rankings were placed in Pot 1. The remaining teams in the top twelve of the Rushmori rankings were placed in Pot 2. All remaining teams with a position in the Rushmori rankings were placed in Pot 3. Finally, all unranked entrants were placed in Pot 4.
Host: 7 Qusmo
Pot 1: 1 Nephara, 2 Eura, 3 Sargossa, 4 Valladares, & 5 Savojarna
Pot 2: 6 Pasarga, 8 Darmen, 9 Pridnestrovia, 10 Cassadaigua, 11 Eastfield Lodge, & 12 Taeshan
Pot 3: 14 Mytanija, 15 Olastor, 17 Oberour Ar Moro, 22 Crystalline Caverns, 24 Mareibat, & 25 The Askari Union
Pot 4: UR Tcherec, UR Falkyr, UR Schottia, UR Bernegastad, UR Queer Poco el Mono Ara, & UR Saintland
Groups
The tournament will begin with a group stage. There are six groups of four teams each, of which all group winners & group runners-up will advance to the knockout rounds, as will the four best third-place teams. Teams will be seeded in the knockout bracket, with accommodations to the bracket to promote group diversity, based on their group stage performance.
Ekwadup Qusma: Qusmo, Pridnestrovia, Olastor, & Schottia
Ekwadup Vaspola: Nephara, Darmen, Oberour Ar Moro, & Saintland
Ekwadup Tumata: Sargossa, Cassadaigua, Mytanija, & Tcherec
Ekwadup Serana: Eura, Taeshan, Crystalline Caverns, & Falkyr
Ekwadup Fedala: Savojarna, Eastfield Lodge, Askari Union, & Queer Poco el Mono Ara
Ekwadup Refora: Valladares, Pasarga, Mareibat, & Bernegastad
Venue Schedule
Group Stage
Ekwadup Qusma
Mastad Qusma: Q1 v. Q4 (MD1) & Q3 v. Q4 (MD3)
Mastad Qastyra: Q2 v. Q3 (MD1) & Q1 v. Q2 (MD2)
Mastad Qanza: Q4 v. Q3 (MD2) & Q3 v. Q1 (MD3)
Ekwadup Vaspola
Mastad Atlema: V1 v. V4 (MD1) & V3 v. V4 (MD3)
Mastad Atlema: V2 v. V3 (MD1) & V1 v. V2 (MD2)
Mastad Bronna: V4 v. V3 (MD2) & V3 v. V1 (MD3)
Ekwadup Tumata
Mastad Poldanza: T1 v. T4 (MD1) & T3 v. T4 (MD3)
Mastad Vlyva: T2 v. T3 (MD1) & T1 v. T2 (MD2)
Mastad Polana: T4 v. T3 (MD2) & T3 v. T1 (MD3)
Ekwadup Serana
Mastad Kolla: S1 v. S4 (MD1) & S3 v. S4 (MD3)
Mastad Wexa: S2 v. S3 (MD1) & S1 v. S2 (MD2)
Mastad Dynstruda: S4 v. S3 (MD2) & S3 v. S1 (MD3)
Ekwadup Fedala
Mastad Tracama: F1 v. F4 (MD1) & F3 v. F4 (MD3)
Mastad Trewa: F2 v. F3 (MD1) & F1 v. F2 (MD2)
Mastad Lillina: F4 v. F3 (MD2) & F3 v. F1 (MD3)
Ekwadup Refora
Mastad Regela: R1 v. R4 (MD1) & R3 v. R4 (MD3)
Mastad Ixtuna: R2 v. R3 (MD1) & R1 v. R2 (MD2)
Mastad Estada: R4 v. R3 (MD2) & R3 v. R1 (MD3)
Knockout Rounds
Octofinal I: Mastad Kolla
Octofinal II: Mastad Regela
Octofinal III: Mastad Atlema
Octofinal IV: Mastad Wexa
Octofinal V: Mastad Tracama
Octofinal VI: Mastad Ixtuna
Octofinal VII: Mastad Poldanza
Octofinal VIII: Mastad Vlyva
Quarterfinal I: Mastad Kolla
Quarterfinal II: Mastad Atlema
Quarterfinal III: Mastad Tracama
Quarterfinal IV: Mastad Trewa
Semifinal I: Mastad Qastyra
Semifinal II: Mastad Poldanza
Third Place Playoff: Mastad Atlema
Final: Mastad Qusma
Schedule
Draw: 31 May
Matchday One: 2 June
Matchday Two: 4 June
Matchday Three: 6 June
Octofinals: 8 June
Quarterfinals: 10 June
Semifinals: 12 June
Final & Third Place Playoff: 14 June
Cutoffs will typically be around 13:00 to 15:00 CDT (UTC -5) each day.
Guide for Beginners
Welcome to the Copa Rushmori, especially if this is your first tournament! We hope it will be the first of many. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re just getting started:
How to Win
Results are determined by the three Rs: rank, RP, & random. This means that if you RP - or write stories, often about your team, players, or matches (at least tangentially), but sometimes constructed around other narratives - well for each matchday, you may have a better chance of winning matches; however, it may be much more difficult for you to win against more well-established & higher-ranked opponents than against unranked nations, & you can lose even matches where you’re favoured (or win matches where you’re the underdog).
The most important thing to keep in mind when RPing is that quality trumps quantity; spend time making one good RP, rather than three poor RPs, for each matchday. It’s more enjoyable for people (such as myself) to read, & it will also give you a better RP bonus - &, thus, a better shot at winning.
RP Permissions
Because RPs are such a big part of what we do here, there are certain mores & standards that have developed over the years to facilitate it. One of the most important is RP permissions. Some users are very focussed on realism; others want to craft a highly imaginative narrative that wouldn’t necessarily be possible in the real world. Both approaches are welcome & encouraged, but in order for them to peacefully coexist, RP permissions dictate what can & can’t be written. If you have no RP permissions, it will be assumed that anything goes. (Even if this is the case, it’s helpful to clearly say so.)
However, you can impose restrictions on how your opponent writes about your match; for example, you can choose whether or not your opponent can godmod (i.e. write something that would be obviously impossible in real life) scoring events, injuries, or other events, whether they can injure your players at all, or whether they can give your players yellow or red cards (or how many they can give). All you have to do is write out your RP permissions at the end of a post containing your roster, & I will enforce those permissions by negating your opponent’s RP bonus if I deem their RP to be in violation of your permissions. (This also means that you should read your opponent’s permissions & stick to them if you’re writing a match report, too.)
Rosters
&, yes, roster posts are a very good thing to do! In fact, if there’s just one RP post you make, I hope it’s a roster. Posting good rosters will be handsomely rewarded in RP bonus, which is how you can boost your odds of (though you can’t guarantee) winning more matches - &, likewise, not posting a roster will be penalized. You can make your roster as simple or as fancy as you want, but it’s important to at least post one; otherwise, it’s very difficult for your opponents to write a story when they don’t know anything about half the players on the pitch.
The bare minimum for a roster is eleven names, as each team fields eleven players, including one goalkeeper. However, additional names, such as those of reserves, managers, or coaching staff, or additional information, like team history, player biographies, or team kits, can also be provided. Generally, whatever you think will help your opponent RP with you is welcome to be included in your roster.
Style Modifiers
Finally, your roster should, ideally, also include one last bit of information: your style modifier. This is pretty simple; some teams like to attack, & some teams like to defend. (Or, alternatively, some teams are better at attacking than defending or vice versa [or, perhaps more accurately in some cases, some teams are worse at attacking than defending or vice versa].) You can determine your team’s strengths, weaknesses, & tendencies, too.
Your style modifier ranges anywhere from -5 to +5. -5 is ultradefensive; here, the only thing that might be better than a one-nil win is a scoreless draw. On the other hand, +5 is ultraoffensive; here, we start to see scores that might look more familiar in sports like baseball or ice hockey. You can, of course, go somewhere in the middle, too, & 0 is neutral, with an equal mix of offense & defense. Again, because of rank, RP, & randomness, as well as your opponent’s style modifier, this isn’t the be-all end-all; defensive teams can score & concede goals, & offensive teams can have solid defensive performances or weak offensive performances. However, your style modifier determines your team’s aggregate tendencies over the long run.
One thing it does not determine, however, is your team’s margin of victory (or loss), or how likely it is to win, lose, or draw. A high style modifier will simply tack on one (or more) goals to both teams’ totals - for example, it might convert a 2-1 win to a 3-2 win, but it won’t change a 2-1 win to a 3-1 win or a 3-3 draw - while a low style modifier will simply take away one (or more) goals from both teams’ totals - for example, it might convert a 2-1 win to a 1-0 win, but it won’t change a 2-1 win to a 2-0 win or a 0-0 draw.
& that’s it! If you have any more questions, whether about NS Sport & its particular brand of RP in general or about this tournament specifically, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Together, I hope we can make this a fantastic tournament!
You are welcome to begin posting in this thread. Good luck to all, & welcome to Qusmo!
KF Trosoc 48 47 0
Southern Star 23 21 0
Port Sebastian 70 70 1
Klyde 10 3 0
FK Metropola Borograd 5 2 0
Hoima Warriors 27 7 5
Pascal Mashu 49 43 23
Loconstead United 39 18 7
Mliona-Lpaka AFC 
Spartangrad
Brinemouth
Mâ Âlâmëómë 
Ramusok United 
Dwile Warriors
Lonngeylin Coast
Holdenberg) - Age 31 - 42 caps, 22 clean sheets
Eastweald) - Age 26 - 16 caps, 10 clean sheets
1830 Cathair) - Age 31 - 97 caps, 8 goals
Brinemouth) - Age 25 - 34 caps
Ramusok United) - Age 29 - 58 caps, 2 goals
Kingsgrove) - Age 26 - 33 caps, 1 goal
Jungle Strike) - Age 23 - 9 caps, 2 goals
Nacional (
Fontvielle Impact
Bohemians Metropolis
Metropolis Alligators
AS Bezieres
Tannenberg FC
Olympique de Fontvielle
Ajax Carloburgo
Canalave Dragons
AC Izotz Zubia (Audioslavia)
Deportivo Junín
Tanrısal (Pasarga) (
Marinos Metropolis
, 
(Abanhfleft)
(Cosumar)
(Dunnes)
(Fhulghamous Peninsula, playing in the Fleftic Premier League)
