Australian Premier League

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The Australian Premier League (APL) is the largest online football gaming competition, for Australian users of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series.

Australian Premier League

General Information
Created 18th December, 2005
Website http://www.auspes.com
Forums http://www.auspes.com/forums
Administrators Frashed
frashed@auspes.com
Christakis
chrisk@tpg.com.au
Christos_17
christos@auspes.com
League Information
Division 1 Holder Let.It.Be
Division 2 Holder Bjoe

Contents

[edit] The Competition

The competition involves members registered on the website competing against each other over the internet. Some of the most talented Pro Evolution Soccer players in Australia participate in this competition. Members play as predetermined teams that are based on real life football clubs. The competition is similar to actual football leagues, as members are split into divisions that compete over the length of a prearranged season. During December 2006, the website started using the PC and PlayStation 2 video game Pro Evolution Soccer 6. The competition in the past has used previous titles from the series, most recently Pro Evolution Soccer 5.

[edit] Divisions

The competition is divided into two tiers, based on performance over previous seasons. Division 1, the top tier, consists of members who have performed successfully in past seasons. Division 2 consists of the second tier players. However, when a new player registers an account on the website, they are only eligible to begin playing in Division 2, therefore it usually also consists of those who are new to the APL. At the completion of a season, the three lowest placed members in Division 1 are relegated to Division 2 for the next season. Conversely, the three highest placed members from Division 2 will be promoted to Division 1. The player that finishes top of Division 1 is awarded the Australian Premier League title. This practice is similar to the promotion and relegation systems used by football leagues around the world such as the FA Premier League and La Liga.

[edit] Seasons

A regular APL season occurs every month of the year (therefore 12 leagues per year). During a season, members will play each other member of their division twice. To make it fair to all players, one player hosts the first match and their opponent hosts the second match. The results of these games are then issued by the host of the match on the APL website through the member's user panel. Once a result is issued, points are automatically awarded to members based on the outcome of the game. The points system used is the standard system used by real life football leagues:

  • 3 points for a win
  • 1 point for a draw
  • 0 points for a loss

A season will end at a predetermined date, and will conclude when all matches are completed in each division. If a player has not completed the required number of matches, they may be penalised by not being able to participate in the following league. The final league standings are published on the APL website at the conclusion of each league. They are determined by the sum of points awarded to members during the season. In the event that multiple members receive an equal number of points, goal difference will be used to calculate the final standings.

[edit] League Winners

Here is a list of previous winners from both Division 1 and Division 2, who have been recorded:

[edit] Division 1

[edit] Division 2

[edit] Special Competitions

The APL has additional competitions held on special occasions.

[edit] The APL World Cup 2006

This was a tournament (commenced on the 23rd June 2006 and concluded on the 6th August 2006), which was held concurrently with the actual World Cup in Germany 2006. The 32 nations competing in the real World Cup were also to be used in the APL tournament, however because all positions could not be filled by members, the total number of teams was reduced to 24. The exact same system used for the real World Cup was used, consisting of a group stage and knockout stages. Due to the reduction of nations to be participating in the competition, each group (A-H) consisted of 3 teams instead of the usual 4. Weaker teams were omitted to create a more fair competition.

The competition did not have a set deadline for completion, but lasted longer than expected due to player inactivty, resulting in many forfeits.

All results and final tables can be found on the APL Forums. [1]

[edit] The APL Champions League

There is also a tournament run every 4 months, named the 'Champions League' due to the similarity with the UEFA Champions League. This version however showcases the best talents of the APL and pits them against each other.

A total of 8 players compete in this competition, decided on the APL Rankings, whereby the top 8 players with the most points obtains a place in the tournament. However, the APL Champions League has not yet taken place, but is destined to make it's debut in the near future.

[edit] Teams

The APL features 20 of the top club sides from across Europe. The use of teams is limited to those available in the Pro Evolution Soccer series. The current pool of teams that members can play as includes:

[edit] Team Selection

Members will select a club before a new season commences, and will play as that club for the duration of the season. Upon registering for a new season, each member will be presented with three randomly drawn clubs from the list above. The member must then choose one of those three clubs to adopt for the season.

In the past, the APL has used various other systems of team selection. Originally, members could select any team they wanted. However this led to the majority of members choosing the same few teams, and resulted in a lack of variety in opponents. Another system randomly allocated teams to players. However many members complained that they were either continually given weaker teams or not given the opportunity to play as their favourite teams.

The current system of team selection incorporates both random and human elements into the process. Since it's introduction during the May 2006 league, the APL Forums have seen a reduction in complaints about team selection. Although it has its opponents, the majority of members seem content with the current system of team selection. [2]

For the October '06 League, members were treated to being able to use the team of their choice, as it was set to be the last season which would use Pro Evolution Soccer 5 for competition. The use of the next game in the series Pro Evolution Soccer 6, will make its introduction during the December league and for the first time, the website will allow PlayStation 2 players of the game to register due to the compatibility between PC and PlayStation 2 gamers online in the new version.

[edit] See also

Pro Evolution Soccer
Pro Evolution Soccer 5
Pro Evolution Soccer 6
Konami

[edit] External links

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