Zoochat (Tea)Cup 2025

I can't really participate much other than Group C, as I've been to four (technically five) of the six (seven) competitors there. Nonetheless, I'll be happy to share my thoughts as and when I can.
Personally, I have only visited two competitors worth of zoos (Chester, Whipsnade and London) and have participated in the last two polls, which I intend to continue doing in the matches where and when I feel like I have enough information to make an informed decision. So I wouldn't worry about restricting yourself to voting only when you have been to both zoos, however if that's what you would prefer to do then sharing thoughts is enough of a contribution.
 
Either way, may I ask why it was deemed necessary to break a deadlock. Surely a draw is a perfectly fine result, or does every match need a winner due to a detail I have missed? Again, not being critical of your format, just making sure that I fully understand it.

I was curious about this as well. Draws happen in competitions and as long as it's not the playoffs/championship they don't worry too much if it is a tie as they have eventual tiebreakers when it comes to moving out of the pool.

Forgot to get back to both of you on this, sorry!

The relevant information *is* explained within the quoted text in my opening post, but I'll see if I can explain it a bit better now :) basically, at the end of the first stage the top three contenders in each league progress to the next round; placement is determined initially by "total matches won", and if there is no tie-break required the matter ends there. So for instance, with numbers and collections invented off the top of my head.....

Sofia - 4/5 won
Lisbon - 3/5 won
Bratislava - 3/5 won
Marwell - 2/5 won
Riga - 2/5 won
Rome - 1/5 won

.... the three collections progressing would be Sofia, Lisbon and Bratislava. However, if the scores went as follows....

Sofia - 4/5 won
Lisbon - 3/5 won
Bratislava - 3/5 won
Marwell - 3/5 won
Riga - 1/5 won
Rome - 1/5 won

...then we'd need a tie-breaker between Bratislava and Marwell, in which case "overall average score across all matches played" comes into play - and if Marwell had a higher average than Bratislava, the former would progress whilst the latter would not.

As this scoring/progression format (devised, as previously noted, by @CGSwans ) doesn't allow for half-points for a tie, the Plzen/Pairi match needed a definitive winner - but equally, retaining the genuine "points-percentage earned" minimises the impact this will have on the potential progression of either collection.

I can't really participate much other than Group C, as I've been to four (technically five) of the six (seven) competitors there. Nonetheless, I'll be happy to share my thoughts as and when I can.

Again, there is no reason to abstain from participation :) a large part of the motivation for the Cup is to provoke discussion and debate, and to help people learn more about a wide variety of zoological collections! Even if you don't ultimately vote, your questions and feedback may help others to make their own minds up, and encourage people to share their own knowledge and experiences.
 
Another two very enjoyable matches end - although neither result is a massive surprise, both produced a wide range of opinions and discussion, with the ZSL vs Burgers thread being a particular highlight.... and rather proving the importance of people posting their own thoughts and reasoning, given the late-game surge which ZSL enjoyed.

Even though the match was a loss for ZSL, those late-game percentage points may spell the difference between progression and defeat in the long run!

Chester vs Artis - LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Chester - 98/140 points - 70.000%
Artis - 42/140 points - 30.000%

London & Whipsnade vs Burgers - MISCELLANEOUS MAMMALS

London & Whipsnade - 72/165 points - 43.636%
Burgers - 93/165 points - 56.364%

And the next two matches for your enjoyment and participation:

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Copenhagen vs Zagreb

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Tierpark Berlin vs Stuttgart

Should be an interesting pair of matches!
 
A pair of somewhat more subdued matches, as far as number of votes go - most likely due to how clear-cut the results were from early on! On this note, I will say that even if the result seems fairly obvious it is still very much worth voting, as even a single vote will impact the overall average if there are *any* votes defying the trend in one way or another.

League B - Copenhagen vs Zagreb - ECTOTHERMS

Copenhagen - 31/120 points - 25.833%
Zagreb - 89/120 points - 74.167%

League D - Tierpark Berlin vs Stuttgart - ASIA

Tierpark Berlin - 99/125 points - 79.200%
Stuttgart - 26/125 points - 20.800%

I suspect that the next pair of matches may produce a wider level of discussion and debate, as I think they are much less "obvious" at first glance:

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Basel vs Paris Zoo & Menagerie

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Pairi Daiza vs Leipzig

I look forward to seeing what you all think, and reading your arguments one way or another :)
 
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Just realised I started the next League D match prematurely rather than a League C match :rolleyes::D but no matter - I'll just have to remember to run a B and C match next time round!
 
Very happy to read that the Zoochat Cup has restarted and I can knock myself a cup on the head for having missed its start.
 
Very happy to read that the Zoochat Cup has restarted and I can knock myself a cup on the head for having missed its start.

Plenty of matches yet to come, so in the great scheme of things you're still coming in right at the beginning :) and of course, the more people participating the better!
 
As hoped, a pair of hotly-discussed matches, with one being somewhat more closely-fought than the other - but both producing exactly the sort of discussion, debate and engagement which I have been hoping for!

League A - Basel vs Paris Zoo & Menagerie - HOOFSTOCK

Basel - 68/150 points - 45.333%
Paris - 82/150 points - 54.666%

League D - Pairi Daiza vs Leipzig - SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

Pairi Daiza - 43/145 points - 29.655%
Leipzig - 102/145 points - 70.345%

I have equally-high hopes for the standard of discussion and debate in the coming pair of matches, which bring a few more competitors onto the playing field.....

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Copenhagen vs Budapest

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Beauval vs Frankfurt

Lets see what you all think!
 
A pair of very interesting matches, which ended up a bit more one-sided than I initially expected, but which nonetheless produced a decent amount of stimulating discussion and conversation:

League B - Copenhagen vs Budapest - ASIA

Copenhagen - 60/105 points - 57.143%
Budapest - 45/105 points - 42.857%

League C - Beauval vs Frankfurt - MOUNTAINS AND POLES

Beauval - 82/125 points - 65.600%
Frankfurt - 43/125 points - 34.400%

The next pair of matches see a chance for redemption falling into the lap of Frankfurt after their loss this time round, and what I suspect to be a very hotly-discussed match between two much-lauded titans of the European zoological scene.....

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Chester vs Zurich

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Frankfurt vs London & Whipsnade

We shall convene here once again in three days :D


= edit note =

The above League C results have been amended to remove a dubiously-justified 5-0 vote and revert a vote I originally amended to balance this out.
 
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I suspect it would be rather difficult to have two matches as diametrically-different as these two have been; perhaps the biggest landslide victory thus far seen for a collection in one match, whilst the other came incredibly close to a draw at several points and enjoyed the highest-yet level of voter participation.

Both produced plenty of excellent discussion, debate and interesting points being raised - exactly what I hoped my revival of the Zoochat Cup would provoke, and which I very much hope will continue to occur in future matches!

League A - Chester vs Zurich - ECTOTHERMS

Chester - 99/195 points - 50.769%
Zurich - 96/195 points - 49.231%

League C - Frankfurt vs London & Whipsnade - TEMPERATE FOREST AND WOODLAND

Frankfurt - 26/135 points - 19.259%
London & Whipsnade - 109/135 points - 80.741%

Time will tell whether the next two matches provide as much enjoyment and value - although I strongly believe that they *will* do so!

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Prague vs Copenhagen

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Leipzig vs Stuttgart

Enjoy :)
 
A pair of somewhat quieter matches than last time, but no less interesting or illuminating for it:

League B - Prague vs Copenhagen - SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Prague - 111/140 points - 79.286%
Copenhagen - 29/140 points - 20.714%

League D - Leipzig vs Stuttgart - ISLANDS AND AUSTRALIA

Leipzig - 49/135 points - 36.296%
Stuttgart - 86/135 points - 63.704%

The next round contains some fairly heavy-hitters as far as zoological collections go, so hopefully the discussion and debate will be enjoyably intense!

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Zurich vs Vienna

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Zoo Berlin vs Beauval

Enjoy :)
 
Two fairly open-and-shut matches, but with plenty of interesting discussion and debate to keep things exciting - have to say I'm pretty pleased all round!

League A - Zurich vs Vienna - CARNIVORES

Zurich - 40/115 points - 34.783%
Vienna - 75/115 points - 65.217%

League C - Zoo Berlin vs Beauval - HOOFSTOCK

Zoo Berlin - 69/150 points - 46.000%
Beauval - 81/150 points - 54.000%

The next two matches contain both familiar faces and new contenders, all with a lot to prove....

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Wroclaw vs Zagreb

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Pairi Daiza vs Nuremberg

Debate, discuss and decide!
 
Two fairly different matches this time round - both were fairly open-and-shut from early on, but one attracted far more attention that the other... which in turn meant that the League B match was perhaps closer than it otherwise would have been, due to a single strong vote in favour of Zagreb having fewer total votes to "muffle" its impact.

This, incidentally, provides a good example of why it is very much worth voting even if the overall result seems both obvious and inevitable!

League B - Wroclaw vs Zagreb - AFRICA

Wroclaw - 90/120 points - 75.000%
Zagreb - 30/120 points - 25.000%

League D - Pairi Daiza vs Nuremberg - HOOFSTOCK

Pairi Daiza - 59/150 points - 39.333%
Nuremberg - 91/150 points - 60.667%

The next pair of matches feel like they have a lot of potential for debate and discussion:

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Zurich vs Basel

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Zoo Berlin vs Frankfurt

I look forward to reading what everyone has to say :)
 
A pair of fairly clear-cut matches which as a result generated relatively little discussion - much to my disappointment - with the only notable point being the fact that in both cases an unjustified (and in one case, apparently deliberately disruptive) 5-point vote was made and discarded from further consideration.

League A - Zurich vs Basel - WATER

Zurich - 46/115 points - 40.000%
Basel - 69/115 points - 60.000%

League C - Zoo Berlin vs Frankfurt - BIRDS

Zoo Berlin - 91/115 points - 79.130%
Frankfurt - 24/115 points - 20.870%

The next two matches contain some heavy-hitter collections, and a pair of categories which contain a lot of scope for discussion, debate and interpretation:

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Prague vs Zagreb

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Tierpark Berlin vs Nuremberg

Enjoy - but remember that if you *do* want to leave a 5:0 vote in either match, it needs to be accompanied by sufficient explanation :)
 
Two rather brutally one-sided matches which had obvious victors from early on:

League B - Prague vs Zagreb - ISLANDS AND AUSTRALIA

Prague - 106/130 points - 81.538%
Zagreb - 24/130 points - 18.462%

League D - Tierpark Berlin vs Nuremberg - PRIMATES

Tierpark Berlin - 105/140 points - 75.000%
Nuremberg - 35/140 points - 25.000%

The next two matches have already started, with links quoted below:

I've started the next two matches a few hours early, as I've just got in from a Cyndi Lauper concert and I'm far too tired to stay up to do the usual wrap up post and unveiling of the new matches :p:D

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Chester vs Basel

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Cologne vs London & Whipsnade

The other two matches still have a few hours to run, so time yet to vote! I'll summarise the results come the morning.

Enjoy!
 
Another pair of relatively quiet matches, with a marked reduction in overall participation, but nonetheless worthwhile:

League A - Chester vs Basel - TROPICAL FORESTS

Chester - 81/110 points - 73.636%
Basel - 29/110 points - 26.364%

League C - Cologne vs London & Whipsnade - WATER

Cologne - 89/125 points - 71.200%
ZSL - 36/125 points - 28.800%

Hopefully the next pair of matches will produce more discussion and debate; one of them in particular strikes me as rather rich in scope and potential, so I can but hope!

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Budapest vs Antwerp & Planckendael

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Tierpark Berlin vs Leipzig

We shall see - no matter what, I hope you all enjoy participating in the matches to come :)
 
Despite a minor amount of voting in poor faith - which was disregarded from the final totals - the two matches went pretty smoothly, with less discussion than I would have liked but nonetheless some interesting points made:

League B - Budapest vs Antwerp & Planckendael - BIRDS

Budapest - 45/130 points - 34.615%
Antwerp & Planckendael - 85/130 points - 65.385%

League D - Tierpark Berlin vs Leipzig - TEMPERATE FOREST AND WOODLAND

Tierpark Berlin - 80/110 points - 72.727%
Leipzig - 30/110 points - 27.273%

The next two matches present some nice broad categories, and some heavy-hitter collections coming head-to-head... a combination which I very much hope produces a boost in overall participation levels and the depth of discussion!

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Vienna vs Basel

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Beauval vs London & Whipsnade

As always, you have three days to decide which way the pendulum swings :) enjoy!
 
As I hoped, a pair of matches which prompted a lot of discussion and debate, and generally a boost in overall engagement:

League A - Vienna vs Basel - GRASSLANDS AND DESERTS

Vienna - 63/125 points - 50.400%
Basel - 62/125 points - 49.600%

League C - Beauval vs London & Whipsnade - ASIA

Beauval - 59/130 points - 46.385%
ZSL - 71/130 points - 54.615%

Hopefully this trend will continue with the next pair of matches:

European (Tea)Cup - League B - Budapest vs Prague

European (Tea)Cup - League D - Pairi Daiza vs Stuttgart

A general reminder that if one wishes to leave a 5:0 vote, it must be accompanied by sufficient explanation/justification in order to be counted - an extraordinary vote with an inherently one-sided impact requires extraordinary evidence!
 
Some pretty interesting discussions arose from this pair of matches, as I hoped might happen, even if the end results of the matches themselves were fairly predictable from early on:

League B - Budapest vs Prague - CARNIVORES

Budapest - 31/125 points - 24.800%
Prague - 94/125 points - 75.200%

League D - Pairi Daiza vs Stuttgart - MISCELLANEOUS MAMMALS

Pairi Daiza - 50/140 points - 35.714%
Stuttgart - 90/140 points - 64.286%

The next two matches look to be pretty interesting ones, as I think neither has an obvious victor....

European (Tea)Cup - League A - Zurich vs Paris Zoo & Menagerie

European (Tea)Cup - League C - Beauval vs Cologne

But as ever, it is up to you lot to decide :)
 
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