Season Two is already almost ending, and we have our next invitee to announce. This month charged by like a Wind Soldier.

Next Monthly Cup Invitee: TheFishou

Having taken fourth place in the GO Faeria Clash this past April, TheFishou is returning for another chance at glory. A Frenchman from team GamersOrigin, TheFishou is a former poker and Magic: The Gathering player who has recently been known for his accomplishments in Hearthstone. We look forward to him impressing us once again.

Last week's invitee and global community manager for Alienware, AWLenard, has been continuing his "Road to the Cup" streams on the Alienware Twitch channel . Make sure to keep an eye out for him next week, and stop by to say hello!

Season Two Ending

July is here, and the next Ranked season will be upon us soon.

At the end of each Ranked season, player Ranks are reset as follows:

Current player rank → Rank after each reset

[u]Ranks 20 to 25 → Rank 25[/u]
[u]Ranks 15 to 19 → Rank 20[/u]
[u]Ranks 10 to 14 → Rank 15[/u]
[u]Ranks God to 9 → Rank 10[/u]

Rewards are given as follows:

Rank 20 or better receives:

• 1 Pandora Coin[/*]

Rank 15 or better receives:

• 3 Pandora Coins[/*]
• Unique seasonal card back[/*]

God ranks receive:

• 5 Pandora Coins[/*]
• Upgraded version of seasonal card back[/*]
• Top 8 are automatically invited to the $3000 Monthly Cup[/*]

This season, you may notice some fancy glowing animations on these card backs.

Remember, the Ranked season ends on the first Monday of every month at 12:00pm Noon CEST. That places this season's end on July 4th, which is also the last day of the Steam Summer Sale that is currently in full swing!

We'll be closing the Vote For Your Favorite in the Monthly Cup at 11:59 CEST the night before on July 3rd - so get your votes in while you can for your favorite player to compete.

[u]Note: Pandora currently does not have seasons, and the current temporary ranking system is still under evaluation and development.[/u]

First Monthly Cup: July 9th

We already have our 16 players from the open qualifiers this month and 3 special invitees. We'll know the next 12 after this coming Monday.

The following days will proceed as follows:

• 11:59pm (Just before Midnight) CEST July 3rd: Top 4 Votes are locked in[/*]
• 12:00pm (Noon) CEST July 4th: Top 8 Gods are determined[/*]
• July 8th: Final Invitee announced[/*]
• July 9th: Monthly Cup takes place[/*]

A common question we're asked is, [u]"How does it work if someone is already qualified and is Voted into the Top 4, or makes it into the Top 8 Gods?"[/u]

Excellent question. The precedence goes in the ordering that players have qualified. Open qualifiers are determined first, then Votes, then God Ranks. Anyone having already qualified will cede their spot to the next player in the next list.

For example, popular Korean player Gravekper has recently qualified in the tournament last weekend , but is currently number 4 in the Vote list. Should he remain in the Top 4, he will be passing his spot to the next in line on that list. Simple as that.

Of those 16 qualified players, anyone who is also in the Top 8 God ranks will then pass their spot to the next in the list. In the end, we will end up with 32 unique players for our Monthly Cup.

Then we get ready for the next one! For those interested. the Open Qualifiers for next season's Monthly Cup will take place July 16th and July 30th.

Coil Gaming's Lunar Rumble

While there's no Monthly Cup tournament this weekend, there's still an outlet to satisfy your desire for competition.

Coil Gaming will be hosting the 6th Lunar Rumble this Saturday .
Head to that Battlefy link to sign up for free and compete for in-game gold, Pandora coins, and most importantly - fun!

It would be a great way to feel out the initial results of the latest balance patch .

Have a great weekend.
- Gary (@Atmaz )

[ 2016-07-01 17:37:57 CET ] [Original Post]