Pen Spinning World Cup 2012

The Pen Spinning World Cup 2012 (WC12) was an international, online team-based pen spinning competition held from January 14th, 2012 to June 2nd, 2012. Sixteen teams entered with six spinners each. FPSB won the tournament, defeating UPSB 3–0 in the final.

History

The competition officially started on January 14th, 2012. The group allocation was published on January 16th. After three group-stage rounds, eight teams advanced to the knockout stage.

Two roster changes were approved during the group stage: Tigeroat replaced Spinnerpeem for THPSC on February 10th, and DAsm replaced Dantes for KZPSC on February 13th. Neither outgoing spinner appeared in the published match lineups.

GPC and JEB won all three of their group-stage battles. In the quarterfinals, GPC advanced against PSH after a 1.5–1.5 draw, winning the aggregate judging vote 14–13. FPSB and UPSB both won their semifinals 3–0, before FPSB won all three matches in the final.

Scoring System

The official rulebook, written by Zombo, used five judging criteria. Each criterion was worth up to five points, for a total of 25 points; half-point increments were permitted. Judges were encouraged to supply numerical scores and short comments.

Criterion	Maximum	Focus
Execution	5	Smoothness, control, quality of individual tricks, and pace or flow.
Difficulty	5	Difficulty of tricks and the linkages connecting them.
Creativity	5	Creative use of existing material and original concepts or tricks.
Presentation	5	Visual style, combo structure, variety, linkages, and camera presentation.
Theme	5	Suitability for Artistic or Technical, or the relationship between the two spinners in a Double.
Total	25

Artistic

Artistic matches emphasized creativity and presentation, including original or unusual material and visually effective spinning.

Technical

Technical matches emphasized difficult tricks and linkages, precision, attention to detail, and avoiding excessive repetition.

Double

The Double category evaluated the relationship between two spinners: their transitions, rhythm, trick selection, and style. The video could alternate between the two spinners multiple times. Transitions mattered, but were not intended to outweigh the spinning itself.

Votes and battle scores

Each judging committee submitted its decision for each match. The side receiving the most votes won that match; judges could also vote for a draw. Each team battle contained three matches, and the team winning the most matches won the battle. Published battle scores counted a drawn match as half a point for each team.

These battle scores were distinct from the group-table points: a team received 3 points for a battle victory, 1 point for a drawn battle, and 0 points for a defeat. The GPC–PSH quarterfinal shows the use of aggregate judging votes to decide a tied knockout battle.

Tournament Structure

• Group stage (rounds 1–3): four groups of four teams. Every team faced each of the other three teams in its group once. The top two teams in each group qualified.
• Knockout stage (rounds 4–6): quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Losing teams were eliminated.
• Battle format: one Artistic single, one Technical single, and one Double. Four spinners represented each team in a battle, leaving two roster members unused.
• Lineups: team managers submitted their selections privately to the organizers.
• Video requirements: singles were to last 10–25 seconds. In doubles, each spinner's total spinning time was to be 10–25 seconds, with at least one continuous sequence of ten seconds. Material had to be previously unreleased.

The Double rules normally required the two spinners to film separately, even if they were in the same location. Exceptions could be requested with the opposing team's agreement.

Judges

Judging was organized through community committees rather than a single fixed panel. Each participating community was required to provide a head judge and a committee of at least two judges. The committee discussed its decisions, and the head judge reported its votes to the organizers. External judges from non-participating communities could also be requested.

During the group stage, judges evaluated battles outside their own team's pool. During the knockout stage, only judges from eliminated communities were to evaluate the remaining battles.

Participants

The starting rosters contained 96 places across 16 teams. The tables below list all starting members and managers, followed by the two approved replacements. Thus, 98 distinct spinner names are represented across the initial rosters and subsequent substitutions; managers who were not spinners are listed separately.

BRPSB
~L~
Dimpse
Darkinhex
DarknesS
Mirektusheaux
PiReS
Manager: Darkinhex

FPSB
Anikis
Fel2fram
Futhark
Gisele8
Ivabra
Lindor
Manager: Smile

GPC
deathfish
Josh_Pr
kirua
Minwoo
Sponge
Swob
Manager: Pudels Kern

HKPSA
741
Ccw
Killer
kin
Middle
Won
Manager: OnLy

IPSB
Avocado
Axel
Far
LIMIT
Nadhif
Ukiya
Manager: GLAND

JEB
imiga
Kay
Menowa*
Meves
ocha
ZUNDA
Manager: ORE

KMSC
Alvaris
Kipple
Lucky
Tose
VikroaL
Yorch
Manager: VikroaL

KZPSC
Dantes
Eight
Kenes
Simon
Vladlesha
WatS
Manager: NonSmoker
Replacement: DAsm (for Dantes)

LPSA
Baaron
colddi
Impulse
Kima
Lekunga
Wai
Manager: taichi1082

PPP
Antraksus
Frasio
Lawliet
Precel
pruCe
Rude Boy
Manager: Rude Boy

PPSC
::MYSYCRY::
PSVorteX
Xound
Xperryment
{TH}Ar
{TH}Enzo
Manager: Chobi

PSH
Airgear
cLear
co2
EaglE
snow
Tin
Manager: EaglE

SPSB
Cyan
GREYSVANDIR
Nikitosi4
Rauber
Sly
Zaxap
Manager: Cyan

THPSC
BaiMai
coffeelucky
Dongza
oOShinRaOo
Spinnerpeem
Supawit127
Manager: life
Replacement: Tigeroat (for Spinnerpeem)

TWPS
CrawLing
lindsky
ppm
schung
Train
x1213
Manager: x1213

UPSB
Eriror
Hippo2626
i.suk
neoknux_009
Pen Ninja
Twine
Manager: iColor

Results

Bold indicates the winner of an individual match. Drawn matches are explicitly marked. For a decisive battle, the score in the caption is shown with the winning team's total first; it is not a sum of the judges' /25 scores. Original battle numbers are retained.

Round 1

Results from the official event site.

Group A

GPC vs SPSB
Winner: GPC (3–0)

Category	GPC	SPSB
1.1 Artistic	Josh_Pr	Sly
1.2 Technical	kirua	Cyan
1.3 Double	deathfish & Swob	Nikitosi4 & Zaxap

PSH vs BRPSB
Winner: PSH (2.5–0.5)

Category	PSH	BRPSB
2.1 Artistic	snow	DarknesS
2.2 Technical (draw)	Airgear	Darkinhex
2.3 Double	EaglE & cLear	Mirektusheaux & Dimpse

Group B

JEB vs KZPSC
Winner: JEB (3–0)

Category	JEB	KZPSC
3.1 Artistic	imiga	Simon
3.2 Technical	Menowa*	Kenes
3.3 Double	ZUNDA & Meves	WatS & Vladlesha

HKPSA vs PPP
Winner: HKPSA (2–1)

Category	HKPSA	PPP
4.1 Artistic	Killer	pruCe
4.2 Technical	kin	Lawliet
4.3 Double	Ccw & Middle	Precel & Antraksus

Group C

FPSB vs PPSC
Winner: FPSB (2–1)

Category	FPSB	PPSC
5.1 Artistic	Futhark	Xperryment
5.2 Technical	Lindor	{TH}Ar
5.3 Double	Ivabra & Gisele8	{TH}Enzo & Xound

LPSA vs KMSC
Winner: KMSC (2–1)

Category	LPSA	KMSC
6.1 Artistic	Baaron	VikroaL
6.2 Technical	colddi	Alvaris
6.3 Double	Lekunga & Wai	Kipple & Tose

Group D

THPSC vs IPSB
Winner: IPSB (2–1)

Category	THPSC	IPSB
7.1 Artistic	coffeelucky	Far
7.2 Technical	Supawit127	Nadhif
7.3 Double	Dongza & oOShinRaOo	Avocado & LIMIT

UPSB vs TWPS
Winner: UPSB (2–1)

Category	UPSB	TWPS
8.1 Artistic	Hippo2626	schung
8.2 Technical	Eriror	CrawLing
8.3 Double	Pen Ninja & i.suk	lindsky & ppm

Round 2

Results from the official event site.

Group A

GPC vs BRPSB
Winner: GPC (2–1)

Category	GPC	BRPSB
9.1 Artistic	Swob	Darkinhex
9.2 Technical	Sponge	Dimpse
9.3 Double	kirua & Josh_Pr	Mirektusheaux & ~L~

PSH vs SPSB
Winner: PSH (3–0)

Category	PSH	SPSB
10.1 Artistic	co2	Sly
10.2 Technical	cLear	Zaxap
10.3 Double	Airgear & Tin	GREYSVANDIR & Rauber

Group B

JEB vs PPP
Winner: JEB (2–1)

Category	JEB	PPP
11.1 Artistic	ocha	Precel
11.2 Technical	ZUNDA	Lawliet
11.3 Double	Kay & imiga	Frasio & Rude Boy

HKPSA vs KZPSC
Winner: HKPSA (3–0)

Category	HKPSA	KZPSC
12.1 Artistic	Won	WatS
12.2 Technical	741	Kenes
12.3 Double	Killer & Middle	Vladlesha & Eight

Group C

13. FPSB vs KMSC
Winner: FPSB (2–1)

Category	FPSB	KMSC
13.1 Artistic	Fel2fram	Alvaris
13.2 Technical	Gisele8	Tose
13.3 Double	Anikis & Ivabra	Yorch & VikroaL

LPSA vs PPSC
Winner: PPSC (2–1)

Category	LPSA	PPSC
14.1 Artistic	Lekunga	::MYSYCRY::
14.2 Technical	Kima	Xound
14.3 Double	Baaron & Impulse	{TH}Ar & {TH}Enzo

Group D

THPSC vs TWPS
Draw (1.5–1.5)

Category	THPSC	TWPS
15.1 Artistic (draw)	BaiMai	x1213
15.2 Technical	Tigeroat	lindsky
15.3 Double	Supawit127 & oOShinRaOo	schung & ppm

UPSB vs IPSB
Winner: UPSB (2–1)

Category	UPSB	IPSB
16.1 Artistic	neoknux_009	Far
16.2 Technical	i.suk	Nadhif
16.3 Double	Twine & Pen Ninja	Ukiya & LIMIT

Round 3

Results from the official event site.

Group A

GPC vs PSH
Winner: GPC (2.5–0.5)

Category	GPC	PSH
17.1 Artistic	Minwoo	snow
17.2 Technical	kirua	EaglE
17.3 Double (draw)	Sponge & deathfish	Airgear & co2

18. BRPSB vs SPSB
Winner: SPSB (2–1)

Category	BRPSB	SPSB
18.1 Artistic	Mirektusheaux	Sly
18.2 Technical	PiReS	Rauber
18.3 Double	DarknesS & ~L~	Zaxap & GREYSVANDIR

Group B

JEB vs HKPSA
Winner: JEB (3–0)

Category	JEB	HKPSA
19.1 Artistic	Menowa*	Killer
19.2 Technical	Meves	741
19.3 Double	Kay & ocha	Middle & Won

PPP vs KZPSC
Winner: PPP (3–0)

Category	PPP	KZPSC
20.1 Artistic	Antraksus	Eight
20.2 Technical	Precel	Simon
20.3 Double	Frasio & Rude Boy	Kenes & DAsm

Group C

FPSB vs LPSA
Winner: LPSA (2–1)

Category	FPSB	LPSA
21.1 Artistic	Futhark	Baaron
21.2 Technical	Fel2fram	Impulse
21.3 Double	Gisele8 & Lindor	colddi & Wai

KMSC vs PPSC
Winner: KMSC (2–1)

Category	KMSC	PPSC
22.1 Artistic	Yorch	Xperryment
22.2 Technical	Kipple	{TH}Enzo
22.3 Double	Alvaris & VikroaL	Xound & {TH}Ar

Group D

THPSC vs UPSB
Winner: THPSC (2–1)

Category	THPSC	UPSB
23.1 Artistic	BaiMai	Hippo2626
23.2 Technical	Supawit127	Eriror
23.3 Double	oOShinRaOo & coffeelucky	neoknux_009 & Twine

TWPS vs IPSB
Winner: IPSB (2–1)

Category	TWPS	IPSB
24.1 Artistic	Train	Axel
24.2 Technical	x1213	Nadhif
24.3 Double	schung & CrawLing	Far & Avocado

Group-stage totals

The following totals are calculated from the published results using the rulebook's 3/1/0 group-points system. Bold teams qualified for the quarterfinals. Teams tied on points are listed alphabetically; the row order does not claim to reproduce the official tiebreak ranking.

Group A

Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
GPC	3	0	0	9
PSH	2	0	1	6
SPSB	1	0	2	3
BRPSB	0	0	3	0

Group B

Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
JEB	3	0	0	9
HKPSA	2	0	1	6
PPP	1	0	2	3
KZPSC	0	0	3	0

Group C

Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
FPSB	2	0	1	6
KMSC	2	0	1	6
LPSA	1	0	2	3
PPSC	1	0	2	3

Group D

Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
IPSB	2	0	1	6
UPSB	2	0	1	6
THPSC	1	1	1	4
TWPS	0	1	2	1

Round 4 — Quarterfinals

Results from the official event site.

IPSB vs KMSC
Winner: KMSC (2–1)

Category	IPSB	KMSC
25.1 Artistic	Axel	Kipple
25.2 Technical	Nadhif	Tose
25.3 Double	LIMIT & Avocado	VikroaL & Yorch

GPC vs PSH
Winner: GPC (1.5–1.5; 14–13 on aggregate voting)

Category	GPC	PSH
26.1 Artistic	Minwoo	Tin
26.2 Technical (draw)	Sponge	Airgear
26.3 Double	Josh_Pr & Swob	cLear & EaglE

FPSB vs HKPSA
Winner: FPSB (2.5–0.5)

Category	FPSB	HKPSA
27.1 Artistic	Fel2fram	Ccw
27.2 Technical	Ivabra	kin
27.3 Double (draw)	Futhark & Gisele8	741 & Killer

JEB vs UPSB
Winner: UPSB (2–1)

Category	JEB	UPSB
28.1 Artistic	Kay	Hippo2626
28.2 Technical	Menowa*	Pen Ninja
28.3 Double	imiga & ZUNDA	i.suk & Eriror

Round 5 — Semifinals

The archived event post preserves the lineups; the contemporary SPSC announcement records the results. FPSB and UPSB both advanced with 3–0 wins.

FPSB vs KMSC
Winner: FPSB (3–0)

Category	FPSB	KMSC
29.1 Artistic	Anikis	Alvaris
29.2 Technical	Gisele8	Kipple
29.3 Double	Ivabra & Fel2fram	VikroaL & Yorch

GPC vs UPSB
Winner: UPSB (3–0)

Category	GPC	UPSB
30.1 Artistic	Minwoo	neoknux_009
30.2 Technical	Josh_Pr	i.suk
30.3 Double	deathfish & kirua	Hippo2626 & Eriror

Round 6 — Final

FPSB won the final 3–0 and was announced as world champion on June 2nd, 2012.

FPSB vs UPSB
Winner: FPSB (3–0)

Category	FPSB	UPSB
31.1 Artistic	Anikis	Hippo2626
31.2 Technical	Fel2fram	i.suk
31.3 Double	Gisele8 & Ivabra	Twine & Pen Ninja

Finishing stages

Finish	Teams
Champion	FPSB
Runner-up	UPSB
Semifinalists	GPC, KMSC
Quarterfinalists	HKPSA, IPSB, JEB, PSH
Eliminated in the group stage	BRPSB, KZPSC, LPSA, PPP, PPSC, SPSB, THPSC, TWPS

The semifinalists are listed together rather than assigned separate third and fourth places; the documented final round contains only FPSB vs UPSB.

Schedule

These are the announced lineup, video-deadline, and result dates, not necessarily the timestamps when compiled results appeared online. The original rulebook planned a May 19th conclusion, but later announcements extended the final to June 2nd.

Round	Lineups	Videos due	Results scheduled
1	21 January	28 January	4 February
2	11 February	18 February	25 February
3	3 March	10 March	17 March
4 — Quarterfinals	24 March	31 March	9 April
5 — Semifinals	14 April	28 April	5 May
6 — Final	12 May	26 May	2 June

All dates are in 2012. The round 4 announcement retained an inconsistent numeric date of 7 April beside “April 9th”; the official account clarified in a comment that Monday, 9 April was correct. An official comment on the round 2 results page stated that results were submitted on Saturday and compiled on Sunday.

Prizes and Sponsors

The event was supported by Penwish, Modrod, and the International Pen Spinning Association (IPSA). Announced prize types included medals, plaques or trophies, pens and parts, and cash.