by Rob ITST » Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:53
If you schedule a match, and your opponent doesn't show up, then you should notify the host.
However, that does not mean that you will automatically get a walkover. Most likely, you will get one, but you should still at least make some attempt to reschedule - especially in a situation like this where your opponent let you know he had something else more important to deal with (seems like he has a sick child) - we all have lives outside of TopSpin. If you just say "You didn't show up, so I want the walkover", then that sounds to me like you want the walkover more than you want to play the match. I'm not saying that is what you are doing in this case, but I've seen it plenty of times.
As far as him playing Modern Warfare - well, I see this a lot too. You are assuming that it is him playing another game, and ignoring your messages, when it could actually be someone else in his house. It might be him, but you can't just assume it is, and then get pissed off. That's another reason we want all communication to be done through our site - lots of people share Xbox Live accounts, but no one else should have access to your ITST account. If he ignores your PM's then we know for sure that it is him who is ignoring you.
He missed the match because he had a problem with his child. Do you really expect him to put TopSpin ahead of his child? I don't think you do, and if you give him the benefit of the doubt, and accept that it might not be him playing another game, then you can probably still play the match. After all, you still have 4 days left to play, so you should at least try to reschedule. You certainly shouldn't get pissed off on the first day of the tournament - you haven't even given the host a chance to give you a walkover yet.
Don't get me wrong. I know how it is when an opponent misses the time you arrange for a match. I'm sure you have more important things to do, and you might not have another time that you can play. The problem is, we ALL have important things to do. But if we can be considerate and understanding of our opponents, then we can usually find a way to get the matches played - even when real life gets in the way.