Updates on the Blaster Master tournament

Here's an update on the Blaster Master tournament:

1.  We're going to do a Round Robin format instead of Double Elimination.  Players will be divided into groups of 5 or 6.  Every player will do a match against every other player in that group.  The top 2 players from each group (based on # of matches won) will advance to the 2nd stage of the tournament which is a single-elimination bracket format.  All matches will still be "best 2 out of 3".  The round-robin format will ensure that all players are guaranteed to play a certain number of matches (at least 4 or 5) instead of some people being eliminated early on.  Seeding into the groups will still be done according to PB, such that each group contains an even mixture of high, low, and mid-range PBs.

2.  There is a new method for the Area 7 skip (as of late February) that is faster and much more reliable than the old method.  This works on both U and J versions:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kaEGh9v8c&index=16&list=PLqOfRJKb7o7fDCb2buyM_ysGqSR--nO0d

3.  There were some recent findings about the Japanese version of Blaster Master that make the Crab Glitch much easier.  We plan to ALLOW the J version to be used in the tournament (though you can still use U version if you want), because this will make the speedrun much more accessible to new players and the matches will not come down to who gets the crab glitch fastest (or has the best RNG on the crab if they miss it).
Specifically, it was discovered that (on J version ONLY) if you pause while the room is fading to black (just before the crab boss appears) it will create the same glitched-room effect that you would achieve by doing the 1-frame door exit.  The difference is that it's an 8 frame window in which you can hit pause (any time during the fade out).  This is a broad enough window you can simply mash Start to get the trick.  If you don't want to waste time mashing Start, you can use a similar setup to what we use on the U version -- walking down to the bottom of the room then walking back up again and pressing Start when Jason is about to hit the door.  Here is a demonstration of the J version glitch by ShiningDragoon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cycUGyWwAs&list=PLqOfRJKb7o7fDCb2buyM_ysGqSR--nO0d&index=12

This change will not affect those who play on emulator or who own a flashcart.  However people who only have a standard cart of the U version can still use that version if they want.  But fortunately the J cart is not extremely expensive to buy.

Other than the easier crab glitch, you shouldn't need to change your route.  There are very few differences in the J version:
1.  Unlimited continues.  Because of this you might decide to take an intentional game over after the Area 6 boss to warp to the beginning of Area 6.
2.  When you're taking an intentional game over near the key-door in Area 5 (after beating Area 6 boss) the platform you'd normally die on is missing so you'll have to have Jason jump off the ladder instead, which is a slightly slower way to die.
3.  There is less lag in the J version.  This also has the advantage of making the zombie glitch less likely (i.e. the boss continuing to explode long after it should be dead).
4.	You can hit the Reset button to warp to Area 1 with all your equipment intact, however this "reset warp" is BANNED in the tournament.

Thanks, and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, or need help finding the ROM or obtaining a cart.

--feasel

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Tournament info -- http://challonge.com/blastermaster