Grifball has seen lots of exciting improvements and additions in its first year, such as overshield changes, the Rookie League, and Bum Rushes to name a few. This season is no exception and has brought us something completely new. A best-of-3 series for the championship round of the playoffs. However, unlike past changes to Grifball, this one has seen plenty of people believing this isn’t the best way to do it. In hopes of learning something about the Best-of-3 series, I went straight to the source for an interview with none other than the Commish, PP Moocow PP.

The Holmcross : State who you are, your position in the American Grifball League of America (AGLA), and what your responsibilities include.
Moocow: I’m MooCow and I am the Commish/League Admin or whichever you would like to call me. (I am the guy that runs the Grifball League). My responsibilities are coordinating all league functions as well as moderating the site. There is too much to go into real detail of what is done on a day to day basis.

TH: Could you explain the Best-of-3 Series for the Championship game of the playoffs and why the decision was made to make it best-of-3, as opposed to a single game?
MC: This decision was one made more by the community than by me. Most vocal members felt it would be a little more fair and exciting if you had to beat the team twice to prove your dominance.

TH: How much did public opinion factor into the decision verses how much the committee and administrators felt about it? Was it 50/50 or did the staff feel it was necessary for the quality of the game regardless of what the players thought?
MC: Most the influence on this decision was through the community as I was truly indifferent on the matter and felt the community had good reasoning.

TH: What are some of the pros and cons to having a three game series as opposed to only one?
MC: In my personal opinion the only true con is it will take more time. I really am indifferent to this as I am happy either way.

TH: Why is the Best-of-3 only for the Championship and not every round? It’s not exactly streamlined throughout this way.
MC: I felt that best of 3 for every match would be extremely time consuming and exhausting on players. It also adds to excitement for only the last round to be best of 3.

TH: Do you expect to see any changes to the playoff format for the next season?
MC: Maybe, there might be some minor altercations, but it really depends on who will be running the league.

TH: Do you have any final comments to add? Maybe a shout out or call out?
MC: COOKIES!

TH: Thank you for your time. It’s been a pleasure talking with you, and I’m sure the readers appreciate your insight.

Now with those questions answered, I turned to the community. I posted a poll on the Grifball.com forums and got some rather interesting responses.

Which format do you think would be the best one for future playoffs?

A) Single match rounds only ~ 5.7%
B) Single match rounds, best-of-3 finals ~ 51.4%
C) Best-of-3 throughout the playoffs ~ 42.9%

*35 total votes

Most people obviously thought the Best-of-3 was a good addition, however it seemed to be rather split on if it should be for the entire playoffs or only the championship. The comments made by the community made for some interesting points.

“I wouldn’t agree with any of those choices, depending on the playoff format. I believe once you get down to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8, you should have best-of-3.” – Ketnerj

“The way the current playoff bracket breaks down, the “real” games don’t start until about the Sweet 16, but more so the Elite 8. These are the games that would benefit most from series play as opposed to the blowouts of the first round.” – Crowing00

“I actually propose a “Best of 2″ with the winning statistic being total number of goals over the two games, followed by kills over the two games, with roster changes allowed between games.

Ex. Cheap Ass Gamer vs. Bleep Bloop!

Game 1: CAG – 6 (154 Kills), BB! – 3 (204 Kills)
Game 2: CAG – 4 (142 Kills), BB! – 5 (145 Kills)
Total: CAG 10 Goals (296 Kills), BB! – 8 Goals (349 Kills)
Winner: CAG

Ex. Grunts of Fury vs. Separate Intelligence

Game 1: GoF – 5 (184 Kills), SI – 4 (235 Kills)
Game 2: GoF – 4 (192 Kills), SI – 5 (154 Kills)
Total: GoF – 9 Goals (376 Kills), SI – 9 Goals (389 Kills)
Winner: SI” – HotShotX

Well there you have it. The sides may be undecided on how to implement the Best-of-3 series, but the one thing most seem to agree on is that it is a welcome addition to the league. So if you make it to that special round this season and lose that first round, don’t worry about it. Just pull out that league authorized rematch card. It’s better than an expired ice cream coupon any day of the week.