2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
| 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament | |
 | |
| Host |  Knuffeldierland |
|---|---|
| Nations participating | 32 |
| Athletes participating | 32 |
| Events | Rock paper scissors |
| Opening Ceremony | 24 August 2024 |
| Closing Ceremony | 20 September 2024 |
| Winner |  Slitronia |
| Second place |  Ladonia |
| Third place |  Mercia Goose Island |
| Preceded by | Aenderia 2020 |
The 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament, also known as Knuffeldierland 2024 and colloquially as the 2024 Micronational RPS Tournament or RPS 2024, was a Micronational Olympic Federation (MOF)-sanctioned online rock paper scissors competition hosted by Knuffeldierland, in which 32 micronations, all represented by a single athlete, competed to achieve the title of Intermicronational Rock Paper Scissors Champion. Held between 24 August and 20 September 2024, Johannes I from Slitronia achieved first place and received the title; Matthew Salzer of Ladonia came in second; and Karl "Luxor" Friedrich from Mercia and Caleb "Sapiensursus" Sneeden from Goose Island tied for third place after agreeing to share the title.
A single-elimination (knockout) tournament of best of three, it was the third edition of the Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament, after the 2020 installation, and the second to be associated with the MOF. The matches did not have set times; rather, opponents organised their own games, usually when most convenient for both players. Registration for the event began on 17 August 2024, and all micronationalists were eligible. After the first few days, a noticeable slow-down appeared upon the commencement of September, with no matches being played between 5–17 September. The final was held on the 20 September, and marked the end of the event: With 32 competing micronations, the 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament is likely the largest micronational sporting event in history by number of micronations participating.[a]
Zabëlle "Zed" Skye, creator of the first tournament in 2019, organised and hosted the 2024 games. Associated with his Organisation of Active Micronations and hosted by the Principality of New Eiffel—an erstwhile micronation which he founded—the tournament's success saw it incorporated into the MOF as a planned annual event. However, the MOF Rock Paper Scissors Tournament was cancelled after only the 2020 edition due to a lack of interest in hosting further editions, and rock paper scissors was instead merged into the annual MOF eSports Games in 2021. Around late July 2024, Skye became interested in creating and hosting another intermicronational event, as he had regularly done in the MicroWiki sector in the past, and settled on hosting another rock paper scissors tournament. He formally proposed his idea to the MOF on 29 July, which was approved on 17 August.
Overview
The rock paper scissors competition was a single-elimination (knockout) tournament between 32 micronations, each represented by a single athlete, playing best of three. An eSports event, the matches were played online via a rock paper scissors website, rpsgame.org, though using other websites was not disallowed. The first opponents were allocated based on the similarity of their time zones in the hope that this would enable competing athletes to be available around the same time. As is the case for most micronational eSporting events, the matches for the 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament did not have set times; rather, opponents organised their own matches, usually when most convenient for both players. Any micronationalist was eligible for registration. The games themselves were organised via the tournament's official Discord server—an instant messaging chatroom service. Upon the completion of a match, both players would publicly acknowledge the result of the game on the Discord server and inform an organiser of this; taking a screenshot was encouraged to avoid potential disputes, but no such disagreement ever occurred. The title of Intermicronational Rock Paper Scissors Champion for the winner of the tournament was introduced for the first time.
Background and conception
Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
Zabëlle "Zed" Skye conceived and hosted the first edition of the Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament between 29 July–5 August 2019, involving sixteen micronations. It was associated with his Organisation of Active Micronations and hosted by the Principality of New Eiffel—a micronation which Skye founded. Due to the tournament's success, it was incorporated into the Micronational Olympic Federation (MOF) as a planned annual event upon the invitation of President of the MOF Nicholas Randouler. He appointed Skye as the Vice President of Special Games (later renamed Vice President for Sanctioned Events) on 17 October. However, the MOF Rock Paper Scissors Tournament was cancelled after only the 2020 edition hosted by the Fifth Aenderian Republic—which itself was cancelled partway through on 8 June due to the death of Randouler—following a lack of support. Rock paper scissors was instead merged into the annual eSports Games (then known as the MOF Games), beginning with the 2021 eSports Games formally hosted by the B3 micronations on 1 October 2021.
Planning for the 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
As New Eiffel had dissolved on 1 November 2020 following an almost year-long crisis, Skye declared a new micronation, Knuffeldierland, on 1 September 2023. A plush nation confined to his bedroom in London, Knuffeldierland announced its intention to participate in a MOF event on 13 May 2024. Around late July 2024, Skye became interested in creating and hosting another intermicronational event, as he had regularly done in the MicroWiki sector in the past, and settled on hosting another rock paper scissors tournament. He announced his idea to the MOF on 26 July and was told to create a formal presentation for the event.
He wrote a 176-word proposal on 29 July, and was granted permission for Knuffeldierland to host a MOF-sanctioned tournament of rock paper scissors on 17 August. When he submitted the proposal, he originally intended for there to be sixteen micronations in attendance, like his 2019 tournament. After receiving permission, he organised the entire event in an hour and thirty minutes, creating the rules, designing the logo and launching the Discord server despite being sleep-deprived at the time. He had also just organised and co-hosted the macronational Surrealist Art Gallery with his brother, Janus Smith, four hours earlier. That same day, Skye decided that he instead wished for 32 micronations to compete as he wanted the event to be exceptionally large, although he was not aware at the time that this would be a record. The tournament was set to commence once 32 participants were selected.
Advertising
On 17 August, Skye shot and edited a 30-second long promotional video for the tournament. In the video, which he narrates, Skye states that, despite the differing goals and purposes of each micronation, they can all be united through sport. The narration, accompanied by soft piano music, overlays multiple videos intended to represent various aspects prominent within micronationalism, including agriculture, art, construction, coin collecting, religion and voting in micronational elections—micronational democracy. Skye aimed for the video to be inspirational and heartfelt; the soft spoken narration was inspired by Nike's 2012 "Find Your Greatness" advertisement.
That same day, he posted an invitation link to the event on the MicroWiki Community Discord server, which was accompanied by the video. This was followed by a second advertisement accompanying the video on 19 August. An invitation to the tournament was posted to the official communication venue of the MOF—its Discord server—on 22 August by the organisation's President, Tomáš Falešník, after being asked to do so by Skye. Skye also solicited invitations to several people via Discord's direct (private) messaging feature; both of these helped the 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament reach 32 participants on 24 August, just past midnight (UTC).
Commencement
The 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament began on 24 August 2024 at 9:31 p.m. (UTC). Originally, Skye intended for the tournament rounds to commence once every match had been completed; however, after opponents in the next round sought to play against one another, this rule was changed on 25 August to allow any match to occur at anytime. This decision was based on the procedures of the MOF eSports Games, with the hope that this would "speed up the tournament a little." Three matches occurred on 24 August, followed by ten on 25 August and a further ten between 26–31 August, with no matches occurring on 29 August. However, the tournament slowed thereafter due to time zone constraints; after two matches were held on 4 September, no further games commenced until 18 September, and overall enthusiasm for the tournament began to diminish. Nevertheless, two matches were held on 20 September, including the final, in which Johannes I of the Great Kingdom of Slitronia beat Matthew Salzer of the Royal Republic of Ladonia 3–1. He was subsequently declared the Intermicronational Rock Paper Scissors Champion.
During the tournament, a total of 28 games out of the planned 32 occurred. One match was cancelled in the round of 32 due to inactivity from both players—Carl Miguel Salgado Victa of the Republic of Balzi and "Bingusboy" of Binguslavia—while one player, Sean II and V of the Kingdom of Laskaridia, was disqualified in the round of 16 due to inactivity. Sean II and V was preoccupied with school exams. As Caleb "Sapiensursus" Sneeden of the Goose Island Federation was scheduled to take on the winner of the match between Victa and Bingusboy, he advanced automatically to the round of 8. The round for third place was also not held as opponents Karl "Luxor" Friedrich of Mercia and Sneeden agreed to share the title due to a retrospective lack of interest in the tournament from Sneeden because of personal matters. With 32 competing micronations, the 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament is likely the largest micronational sporting event in history by number of micronations participating.[a]
Brackets
| Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Round of 8 | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| 26 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Lachlan I (ONO)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 27 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Pio Lowe (NRX)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lachlan I (ONO)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Lev (LEV)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lev (LEV)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Felix Frode Sand (FOR)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lachlan I (ONO)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Karl Friedrich (MER)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
 Emiel Sebastiaan Hardy (MHS)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 31 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Karl Friedrich (MER)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Karl Friedrich (MER)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Squirtzle (MSK)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Squirtzle (MSK)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Asa Ward (CUR)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Karl Friedrich (MER)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johannes I (SLT)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
 Tomáš Falešník (SGY)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Sertor Valentinus (WSV)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sertor Valentinus (WSV)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johannes I (SLT)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Johannes I (SLT)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 28 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Răzvan Juncu (RNZ)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Johannes I (SLT)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 27 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Stefan Kutnix I (FIR)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
 Andrew I (PNT)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 28 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Anthony I (SAS)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Andrew I (PNT)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stefan Kutnix I (FIR)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Stefan Kutnix I (FIR)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 20 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Christian Laudani (TOD)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Johannes I (SLT)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Matthew Salzer (LAD)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
 Swena (AET)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Varuna Sriraya (VHM)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Varuna Sriraya (VHM)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Ezekiel Ensor (EST)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ezekiel Ensor (EST)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 30 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Johann Kümmel (BGN)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Varuna Sriraya (VHM)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Matthew Salzer (LAD)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
 Andrew Snye (ATH)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 30 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Matthew Salzer (LAD)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Matthew Salzer (LAD)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Al Mu'tazz billah (ROV)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
 Suryadeva Kapei (MAY)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 20 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al Mu'tazz billah (ROV)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Matthew Salzer (LAD)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 26 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Sapiensursus" (GSI)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
 Manuel III (PRK)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
 Eric I (NLX)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Manuel III (PRK)
| WO | |||||||||||||||||
| 27 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Sean II and V (LSK)
| DQ | |||||||||||||||||
| Sean II and V (LSK)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zabëlle Skye (KNL)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Manuel III (PRK)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| DQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Sapiensursus" (GSI)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
 Carl Miguel Salgado Victa (BLZ)
| DQ | |||||||||||||||||
| "Bingusboy" (BGS)
| DQ | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Sapiensursus" (GSI)
| WO | |||||||||||||||||
 Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu (SGV)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| "Sapiensursus" (GSI)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Participants
The following is the list of participants in the 2024 Micronational Rock Paper Scissors Tournament, including their three-letter MOF micronation identification codes.
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Measured by individual participants, the 2020 MOF Games hosted by the Gymnasium State is the largest with 52 athletes representing 19 micronations.
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