Greetings glory hungry spaceship captains!

I am pleased to announce that the 15^th Alliance Tournament will be kicking off on July 29, 2017. While more details regarding all aspects including the ruleset for this year’s tournament will be published at a later date, there are a few things I can confirm now, and some changes for this year I can share with you. 

The format of AT XV will be similar to last year’s Alliance Tournament. 64 alliances will duke it out in a double elimination format where all matches matter. Additionally, we will be moving from the three-weekend schedule used in AT XIV back to a four-weekend schedule. This means that during the first weekend of the tournament, we will be running the matches in two systems simultaneously, with a broadcast by EVE NT. The second weekend will have a single match being played at a time with a broadcast again from EVE NT. The final two weekends will be run with a broadcast from CCP’s EVE TV, with the grand final taking place on August 20.

To fly with an alliance in the Alliance Tournament XV you will need to have been a member of that alliance by downtime one week from now (2017-05-16, 11:00 UTC). As we are giving a window for players to move themselves to their home alliance, we will not be making any exceptions for anyone that has not joined their alliance after this date. If you are unable to move alliances before the deadline, please file a support ticket before the deadline under CCP Community Team. Please make sure to include "AT XV" in the title of the ticket when submitting it. If you have other membership issues (such as being kicked accidentally from corp) after the deadline, please also file a support ticket. As always, each alliance may only field one team.

There will be future Dev Blogs in the coming weeks which cover the rules, broadcast schedule and sign up details, so stay tuned! For those who want to go back and relive past glory, matches from previous Alliance Tournaments are available on the EVE Online YouTube channel.

Important Dates

• Team Signups Open: Now!
• Alliance Member Cutoff: 2017-05-16 @ 11:00 UTC
• Team Signups Close: 2017-05-23 @ 23:59 UTC
• Feeder Rounds: 2017-06-10 to 2017-06-11
• Alliance Tournament XV: Weekends during 2017-07-29 to 2017-08-20

Team Signups

Signups for teams are open as of this news item, and prospective teams can have their alliance executor fill out this form. Signups are open until 2017-05-23 23:59UTC. We will be offering places similar to last year, with the top 16 teams returning from AT XIV having the option to directly enter the tournament at a cost of 2500 PLEX. Any slots unused by returning teams will be distributed in the secret auction.

16 additional spots in the tournament will be available in a secret auction that opens as of this news item and closes on 2017-05-23 23:59 with the team signups. Minimum bid for the secret auction is 2500 PLEX, and bids are only accepted in increments of 250 PLEX. Initial bids are made via the signup form. In the event of tied bids, the bid submitted first will be accepted. Auction results will be announced on 2017-05-24.

The final 32 positions in the tournament will be awarded based on feeder rounds using the AT XV rules (including a maximum team size of 10 pilots) but with minor differences. The format of the feeder rounds will depend on the number of teams entering. These rounds will be played on 2017-06-10 and 2017-06-11 on Thunderdome. Entry to the tournament through the feeder round costs a 2500 PLEX deposit, which will be refunded if the team competes and does not win their matches in the feeder round.

Teams (including all those participating in the feeder rounds) will be granted access to Thunderdome from 2017-05-24 so that teams can practice. For more information on Thunderdome and its availability in the leadup to the feeder rounds and the tournament, please keep watching the EVE Alliance Tournament Discussion forum.

When signing your team up, please indicate which methods you would like to use. If you have any issues signing up or have other questions, please file a ticket under CCP Community Team. Please make sure to include "AT XV" in the title of the ticket when submitting it.

EVE TV's Player Commentator Team

We will once again be opening up the application process for players who would like to be PVP commentators. These elite players are handpicked by us to fly out to Iceland for the tournament finals played over the final two weekends, joining the team here at CCP HQ to help us run the live broadcasts.

As a commentator you'll be on the set discussing the tournament, tactics, teams and talking with developers about EVE live on air. You'll also take shifts in the commentary booth providing live commentary on the matches themselves. You need to know your PvP and you need to know how to keep on talking! Finally, you’ll be helping us create some extra videos about the tournament and the teams participating during the week between the two final weekends.

Alliance Tournament XV will broadcast on EVE TV for two consecutive weekends starting on Saturday, August 12 and ending with the grand finale on Sunday, August 20. Flights (from all Icelandair destinations) and accommodations are supplied by us. All you need is a little spending money.

Are you interested? The next step is to check this short list and make sure you match what we're looking for!

• Can you come out and play? Selected players will need to hold a valid passport (we will require scans to confirm this at a later stage) and be available to fly to Iceland on Wednesday, August 9 and return home on Monday, August 21.
• A sense of humor is a must: commentators will need to be sharp-witted, knowledgeable, presentable and comfortable with talking on camera and into a microphone. To increase your chances of getting through, we highly recommend submitting any pre-made or purpose filmed video you have of yourself (link to a YouTube clip!) as part of your application. Samples of you commentating e-sports matches are even better!
• You need to know your PvP: We don't despise industrialists, mission-runners and miners but as this is a PvP tournament and you need to be well versed.
• You must be 18+ to apply.

If you are interested in taking part, please email us at evetv@ccpgames.com by 23:59 UTC (Eve Time) on Sunday May 28, 2017 with the following information. Those lucky enough to be selected for the second round of eliminations must be available to attend voice chat interviews on Saturday June 3, 2017. The chosen commentators will be announced on the o7 show.

• Character and real name.
• Date of birth.
• Nationality and current country of residence.
• Tell us about yourself, both in game and out. Remember what you're applying for and sell yourself to that effect.
• You must confirm you are available during the broadcast weekends to fly to Iceland. If you need to book time off work / school please don't do it until we accept you; but please check that it is possible, if there is any doubt here please let us know.
• Remember you're applying to be on TV! Include any multimedia you think shows you off, all of the people chosen for the last Tournament had sent in videos and at least one example of themselves commentating!
• Applications close soon, so get mailing!

 

A final note: The Tournament from the perspective of a commentator is an amazing experience. You get to take part in a unique production, fly to Iceland, get a tour around the CCP office and chat to developers like almost no other players will ever get the chance to. But with great power comes great responsibility; planning and promotional shows take place during the weeks up to the final show and you may not be asked to fly to Iceland if you fail to take part or become unavailable during this time!

On behalf of the Tournament Team

-CCP Logibro