Notice of Cancellation of ARC WORLD TOUR 2020

Rolling Hills Estates, California – March 30, 2020 -- Due to the global pandemic of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), Arc System Works America, Inc. (Minoru Kidooka, CEO), has decided to cancel ARC WORLD TOUR 2020 in its entirety.
The health of our competitors, staff members and community members are our top priority. This decision also comes at the face of increased difficulty in facilitating a fair competition throughout the tour. We regret to inform those who have been eagerly anticipating this tour of its cancellation. We thank you for your understanding.
We will be making decisions regarding future ARC WORLD TOUR events (2021) based on global conditions as Coronavirus news develops.
ARCREVO Japan 2020 and ARC WORLD TOUR 2020 Finals are under discussion to be held as independent events, with participants’ safety as our top priority. Please wait for further announcements on these details.

■Changes as a result of the ARC WORLD TOUR Cancellation

The changes below will occur due to the cancellation of this year’s World Tour:

▼ARCREVO Japan 2020
Planned for July 18th, 2020. As stated above, this event is under discussion to be held as an independent event.
The date and location of the events have not been determined at this time.

▼ARC WORLD TOUR 2020 Finals
This event was slated to take place in Los Angeles, CA. at the end of the year. As stated above, the plan is to hold an independent event within the same timeframe.
The date and location of the events have not been determined at this time.

▼ARCREVO Korea 2020 and DAREDEVIL Events
Cancelled entirely.

▼Online Tournaments
We are planning to facilitate this event independent of the world tour.

▼ARC WORLD Tour Points(AWTP)
No AWTP will be rewarded at Premiere Tournaments, DAREDEVIL Events, or any online tournaments.

We sincerely apologize to our fans, players, sponsors, and supporting tournament organizers. Thank you for your understanding.

Arc System Works America, Inc. CEO Minoru Kidooka

Arc System Works, in conjunction with Cygames and Marvelous USA, presents Arc World Tour 2020, an international fighting tournament!Work your way up the leaderboards for a chance to earn a piece of the $100,000 prize pool!
This year’s tour features BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Granblue Fantasy: Versus!
Based on responses and feedback to the 2019 tour, we’re back bigger and better in 2020!

Earn Arc World Tour Points and take your place at the top of the global leaderboard!
Starting March 2020, players can earn valuable Arc World Tour Points (AWTP) at the tour’s premier events!
Once the tour comes to an end in October, the top 15 points earners for each game will secure a spot at the Arc World Tour 2020 Finals, which will take place Winter 2020 in Southern California. A Last Chance Qualifier tournament will also be held at the Arc World Tour 2020 Finals, allowing 1 winner for each game to qualify for the Finals.
More ways to earn Arc World Tour Points
In addition to the Premier Tournament, players can also earn valuable AWTP by entering Daredevil Events! Daredevil Events are community-driven tournaments where players can earn additional AWTP, outside of Premier Tournament. For more information please see the Daredevil Event section.
Take the fight online and climb up the leaderboards
Throughout the tour season, there will be a series of online tournaments where players can earn AWTP in addition to cash and virtual prizes!
Be sure to check back here frequently for all the latest updates regarding online tournaments or follow us on our social media!
*The online tournament will only be held for PlayStation®4 version of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.

Rules

How to Qualify for the Arc World Tour 2020 Finals

To earn a spot at the Arc World Tour 2020 Finals, be one of the top 15 points earners on the tour’s leader boards or win the last chance qualifier tournament being held at the finals. Points can be earned at the tour's Premier Tournaments and Daredevil Events.

All players must have a Smash.gg account to ensure they receive their hard-won AWTP. To create a Smash.gg account, click on the following link: https://smash.gg/

Players must register for every event using the same Smash.gg account. Entering AWT events under multiple Smash.gg accounts may result in the disqualification of Points earned or disqualification from the tour at the sole discretion of ASW staff.

Premier Tournaments

We are excited to announce the events happening from across the globe from March to October 2020, which will be part of the Arc World Tour 2020. Check out the list below for the events that will be happening near your region!

Arc World Tour Points

There will be two tiers of Premier Tournament for Arc World Tour 2020: Platinum and Gold. Each type of Premier Tournament will have different amounts of Arc World Tour Points (AWTP) available. Details of the AWTP awarded are shown in the table below.

Daredevil Events

Daredevil Events are community-organized tournaments that are eligible to award AWTP. Events that have registered to be a part of the Arc World Tour 2020 through Smash.gg will be able to give out AWTP based on the number of entrants for each game at their event.
The DAREDEVIL tournament is scheduled from April to October 2020.

Please see here for the Daredevil Events Application Process.

For an event to qualify as a Daredevil Event, it will need to meet the criteria listed below.
Any tournament wanting to be a part of the Arc World Tour 2020 will need to do the following on Smash.gg:
1) Post tournament information, and adhere to Arc World Tour Tournament Regulations
2) Open sign ups/tournament registration
3) Create brackets and report final results

For approved Daredevil Events, the number of AWTP that will be allotted will be based on the size of the brackets reported on Smash.gg.
Arc System Works (ASW) is not involved in and assumes no responsibility for Daredevil Event and the organizers for said events will be wholly responsible for all decisions connected to the administering and running for their respective event.
Players entering Daredevil Events acknowledge that ASW does not sponsor, endorse, or are involved in the administration of said events and that by entering a Daredevil Event, players release ASW of any liability arising from the player’s participation in the applicable Daredevil Event. Any complaints, comments, or concerns regarding a Daredevil Event should be directed to the organizer of the event and not to ASW. ASW reserves the right to disqualify ranking points earned by players at a Daredevil Event if it is suspected that the event organizer has incorrectly calculated the AWTP, engaged in match fixing or manipulated the final outcome, misrepresented entry numbers, or other circumstances that cause ASW to question the integrity of a tournament’s results.

Online Tournaments

The PlayStation®4 version of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle will be updated to include Sony’s new online tournament feature, allowing players to enter events directly from the game’s main menu. Sign up for tournaments and get notifications for upcoming matches all from within the game.
Comprised of three seasons, the Arc World Tour 2020 online tournament series starts April and ends in September. Players will be eligible to earn AWTP by competing and placing in Stage 2 and 3 of these events.
Details on point totals are below.



For Online Tournaments, players are restricted to entering the online season dedicated to their region. Only placements in the online season that corresponds with each Player’s primary address will count towards their final point total. Entering online seasons that do not correspond with their region may result in the disqualification of points earned at the sole discretion of ASW.

More information coming soon. Be sure to check back here frequently for all the latest updates regarding the online tournaments or follow us on our social media!

*The online tournament will only be held for PlayStation®4 version of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.

Tournament Regulations

1 on 1, double elimination.
Granblue Fantasy: Versus is played Best of 3 (First to 2).
*For the winner's final, loser's final, and the grand finals, the rules will be changed to best of 5 (First to 3).
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is played Best of 5 (First to 3).
*For the winner's final, loser's final, and the grand finals, matches are still played to best of 5 (first to 3).
All titles are to be played on the PlayStation®4 platform.
The default language settings for text for each game will be set according to the country in which the tournament is hosted. Voice language settings can be changed by players should the option be available.
The mode to be used will be the "VS Mode" of each title.
The game will be updated to the latest version of the game at the point when the tournament is held.
The control settings can be changed freely within the game. However, any controller function such as rapid pressing (turbo) or hardware-based macros are not allowed.

Players are allowed to change their characters in the beginning before the first match, or opt for a “blind pick.” For a blind pick, players must declare their first character to the staff before the match begins. Once the match starts, only the loser of the match is allowed to change their character.
In accordance to the tournament bracket, the player on the top or left of the bracket will be player 1, and the player at the bottom or right of the bracket will be player 2.

Any player who is late for their match will be automatically considered to have lost that match. This includes players who do not respond for their matches when being called up by the tournament organizers.
All players are to check their button controls in "VS Mode", before the start of the match.
Once the match begins, until the round is over, if the pause or share button is pressed, the player who pressed the button will be automatically granted a loss for that round. This includes any controller malfunction after the button check has been conducted.
If a player has been found to be using a wrong character during a match, that player will be automatically granted a loss for that entire match.
If it is deemed that a player is deliberately delaying the progress of the match by the organizers, there will be a possibility of that player being disqualified.

*Rules are subject to change without notice.

Point Restrictions

AWTP will be calculated per player by their top 14 tournament placings.
Players will be limited to earning points via the following restrictions:

1. Best performance in 1 Platinum Event
2. Best performance in 3 Gold Events
3. Best performances in 7 Daredevil Events
4. Best performances in 3 Online Seasons

In the event that two players are tied for an invite to the Arc World Tour 2020 Finals, the tie will be broken via the following regulations, in the following order of priority:

1. Total Points from best 2 performances in Platinum or Gold Events
2. Total Points from best 7 performances in Daredevil Events
3. Total Points from best 3 performances in Online Seasons
4. Average Points earned per Platinum or Gold Events attended
5. Average Points earned per Daredevil Events attended

Players may enter and compete in as many events as they wish. However, only their best performances will be considered for their final point calculations. For instance, in the event a player enters two Platinum Events, only their single highest placement will be counted towards their final total. These restrictions are also separated by title. A player's best 14 tournament performances for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle have no impact on their highest 14 tournament performances for Granblue Fantasy: Versus, and vice versa.

Prize Pool

With $100,000 total up for grabs, the stakes have never been higher! Payout goes to all finalists who qualify for the Arc World Tour Finals in the following format:

1st Place $25,000
2nd Place $10,000
3rd Place $5,000
4th Place $2,500
5th Places $1,500
7th Places $750
9th Places $500
13th Places $250

Title Specific Regulations

  • BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

    Match Duration
    180 seconds
    Set Format
    Best of 5 games (First to 3)
    Stage and BGM
    It is recommended that both are set at AUTO. However, both can be changed if both players agree.
    Characters
    No restrictions.
    NOTE
    Character order can be changed between matches, including rematches.

    In the event where the progress of a match is deemed impossible due to reasons such as technical difficulties, the players will have to replay the match.

  • Granblue Fantasy: Versus

    Match Duration
    99 seconds
    Set Format
    Best of 3 games (First to 2)
    Stage and BGM
    For the first game, stage is set at RANDOM. However, both can be changed if both players agree.
    The player who loses the first game have right to select the stage and BGM.
    Characters
    No restrictions.
    Character Colors
    The "Color 17" cannot be used. However, it can be chosen if both players agree.
    Weapon Skin
    The "Weapon Skin 02" cannot be used. However, it can be chosen if both players agree.
    "Original Skins" cannot be used for Premier Tournaments.

    In the event where the progress of a match is deemed impossible due to reasons such as technical difficulties, the players will have to replay the match recreating only the number of rounds won.

  • BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Ver. 2.0
    BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle features a dream-team roster of characters never before gathered in a single 2D fighting game. Featuring fighters pulled from the BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH EXE: LATE, Arcana Heart, RWBY, Senran Kagura Estival Versus, and Akatsuki Blitzkampf universes, Cross Tag Battle‘s 2v2 tag based combat is perfect for fans of fighting games and newcomers alike!
  • Granblue Fantasy: Versus
    Launched in 2014, Granblue Fantasy is the global smartphone and browser RPG phenomenon that will be celebrating its 6th year March 2020.
    Cygames is bringing gorgeous visuals, and immersive sound design to the beloved franchise in new genres, and to a new audience. In collaboration with Arc System Works, Cygames is combining award winning game design and unique 2.5D graphics to bring the world of Granblue Fantasy: Versus to life.
    It’s time to take the fight to a new stage in the wondrous world of Granblue Fantasy!