ISML 2019

{{Ismlnewinfobox Hachiman Hikigaya (1st title) }} ISML 2019 was the 12th edition of  International Saimoe League. The competition ran from July 5th until December 22nd and featured a reduced capacity of 72 contestants, with all groups featuring just four players instead of six. The returning champion for that year was 2010 champion Mio Akiyama, who easily reached the playoffs due to K-On's historical presence in the contest.
 * last=Prev: 2018
 * next=Next: 2020
 * image1 = isml 2019 champions.png
 * caption1 = Violet Evergarden and Rimuru Tempest became the first pair of characters to win the tournament as debutants and Aquamarine gem winners.
 * start_date = 2019 July 05
 * end_date = 2019 December 21
 * participants = 72 (Main, Both divisions)
 * website = https://2019.internationalsaimoe.com
 * aquamarine = {{violet}} Violet Evergarden
 * topaz = {{Rin tohsaka}} Rin Tohsaka {{sub|(#4)}}
 * amethyst = {{Yukino}} Yukino Yukinoshita {{sub|(#4)}}
 * sapphire = {{sagiri}} Sagiri Izumi
 * emerald = {{Kurumi}} Kurumi Tokisaki
 * ruby = {{Mai bunny girl}} Mai Sakurajima
 * diamond = {{Kurisu}} Kurisu Makise {{sub|(#2)}}
 * aqua_(m) = {{slime}} Rimuru Tempest
 * topaz_(m) = {{Riku dola}} Riku Dola
 * amet_(m) = {{sakuta}} Sakuta Azusagawa
 * sapp_(m) = {{kiyotaka}} Kiyotaka Ayanokouji
 * eme_(m) = {{tomoya}} Tomoya Okazaki
 * ruby_(m) = {{touma}} Touma Kamijou {{sub|(#2)}}
 * dia_(m) = {{yuuta}} Yuuta Togashi
 * tiara= {{violet}} Violet Evergarden
 * female runner-up= {{Rin tohsaka}} Rin Tohsaka
 * female third_place=
 * female fourth_place=
 * female semi-finals={{Mai bunny girl}} Mai Sakurajima (3rd) {{Mashiro}} Mashiro Shiina (4th)
 * female quarter-finals= {{rikka}} Rikka Takanashi (5th) {{emilia}} Emilia (6th) {{Kurumi}} Kurumi Tokisaki (7th) {{sagiri}} Sagiri Izumi (9th)
 * scepter= {{slime}} Rimuru Tempest
 * male runner-up= {{sakuta}} Sakuta Azusagawa
 * male third_place=
 * male fourth_place=
 * male semi-finals={{Archer}} Archer (3rd) {{tomoya}} Tomoya Okazaki (4th)
 * male quarter-finals= {{Levi}} Levi Ackerman (5th) {{riku dola}} Riku Dola (6th) {{yuuta}} Yuuta Togashi (7th) {{touma}} Touma Kamijou (10th)
 * winter = {{Kaguya}} Kaguya Shinomiya
 * spring = {{fumino}}} Fumino Furuhashi
 * summer = Gray
 * fall = Ishtar
 * tournament_of_champions = Rem (1st title)
 * image2=Image:Logo-600-0.png

The competition ended with Violet Evergarden winning the Tiara in her first year of eligibility after defeating Rin Tohsaka in the final, and Rimuru Tempest winning the Scepter over Sakuta Azusagawa in an all-debutant title match. Both champions also won the Aquamarine gem award, which is considered a sign of being a tournament favorite.

The 2019 contest had 10 new characters who won the main gem awards - 4 necklaces and 6 pendants - which is the highest since 2015's 12 awardees.

External links:
 * ISML 2019 charter
 * Moegirl link (Chinese)

Nominations
The main tournament will consist of 72 contestants per gender.
 * Subtracting all directly qualified contestants (14 female and 6 male), this means that only the top 58 females and top 66 males will qualify.
 * Nomination tiebreakers:
 * Characters who haven't played in the ISML Main Tournament yet will be given priority.
 * Last ISML preliminary round appearance
 * Last ISML regular season appearance
 * Newest anime media release
 * Staff selection

For those unfamiliar with ISML's nomination system:
 * Nominations last seven days. Results will be revealed usually seven days after the round ends.
 * Each voter is given a ballot with 20 entries. To nominate a character, simply type its name AND its series. Name order / spelling / language / aliases don't matter as long as it's clear who you're referring to.
 * All characters must make their animated debut on December 31, 2018 or earlier.
 * Ballots must fulfill several important conditions in order for their nominations to be counted; failure to meet all of them will result in a voided ballot.
 * Invalid entries are discarded independently and will NOT void your entire ballot unless it fails to meet the minimum requirements below.

IMPORTANT CONDITIONS:
 * Must represent at least five (5) anime series (spin-offs and crossovers do NOT count as separate series)
 * Must nominate at least two (2) males and females each
 * Three (3) characters maximum per series/franchise. Don't exceed this limit, otherwise the staff will discard them all if you do because they can't choose.

ISML champions from 2011-2018 CANNOT be nominated because of the champions ban rule; they will be placed in a separate tournament of champions instead. They are as follows:
 * Female: Mikoto Misaka,  Kanade Tachibana,  Ruri Gokou,  Kotori Itsuka,  Eru Chitanda,  Shana,  Megumi Katou, and  Rem.
 * Male: Lelouch vi Britannia*,  Kazuto Kirigaya*,  Houtarou Oreki*,  Hideyoshi Kinoshita*,  Accelerator,  Sora,  Koro-sensei, and  Hachiman Hikigaya.
 * despite being exhibitions, they're retroactively counted as official male champions

Main event
The regular season is split into seven periods. During each period, all contestants are split into groups of 4 members (down from last year's 6). All groups will play a single round-robin. Each period will consist of 4 match days (3 for group matches & 1 for gem round).
 * Aquamarine: 72 players, 18 groups.
 * Topaz: 64 players, 16 groups.
 * Amethyst: 56 players, 14 groups.
 * Sapphire: 48 players, 12 groups.
 * Emerald: 40 players, 10 groups.
 * Ruby: 32 players, 8 groups.
 * Diamond: 24 players, 6 groups.
 * Qualification Criteria:
 * Aquamarine - Emerald: Top 3 advance, 4th to wildcards
 * Ruby: Top 2 advance, 3rd-4th to wildcards
 * Diamond: 1st-2nd advance to playoffs; two 3rd placers with the best group performance also advance; rest are relegated to wildcards
 * Ranking Criteria:
 * Period wins (and any draws)
 * Head-to-head record
 * Period CVPD (Cumulative Vote Points Difference)
 * Period CVP (Cumulative Vote Points)
 * Staff selection

Gem & Wildcard Rounds
After each period, there will be an extra round to decide who wins the necklace and pendant, and determine who will be eliminated in the wildcard rounds.

Necklace & Pendant
 * 8 contestants will be selected based on the following criteria:
 * Group position
 * Period wins (and any draws)
 * Period CVPD
 * Period CVP
 * Staff selection
 * Instant runoff voting (IRV) format
 * Winner gets the award, a Shiny New Poster™, and will automatically qualify for ISML 2020.
 * Winners will be banned from other gem rounds for the rest of the year.

Wildcard Rounds
 * The worst-performing contestants will play here for another chance to stay in the tournament.
 * Format and number of players vary per period.
 * Approval voting: Aquamarine (18 players), Topaz (16)
 * Range voting: Amethyst (14), Ruby (16)
 * Single transferable vote (STV): Sapphire (12), Emerald (10), Diamond (10)
 * Bottom 8 contestants will be eliminated; the rest will survive (or advance to playoffs for Diamond)
 * Contestants eliminated in Aquamarine wildcards may qualify for the Divine Circlet and Divine Crown exhibition tournament.

Playoffs
The winner gets the Heavenly Tiara (female) or Lapis Scepter (male).
 * 16 contestants
 * Single-elimination bracket
 * 1st-14th are seeded based on Diamond group position, then Diamond wins, then regular season CVP. 15th-16th are based on their position in the diamond wildcard round.
 * Consolation matches will also be played during this period. They will be used to determine the final positions from 3rd and below. More details here..
 * This means that a contestant's final position may NOT reflect which stage they were eliminated in. For example, a player who failed to make playoffs has a chance to finish 8th (at most) overall.

Schedule
''All voting rounds begin and end at 15:00 UTC (23:00 Beijing, 11:00 New York). Results are displayed ~18 hours after voting ends. Assuming there's no delays, each round will last 3 days including voting, results, and downtime. Gem rounds last ~5 days.''

To account for delays, the dates are based on post creation dates from the official ISML forum instead of the charter.
 * Nominations: July 08 - 15; results released in July 19
 * Aquamarine: July 26 - August 06
 * Topaz: August 13 - 26
 * Amethyst: August 31 - September 13
 * Sapphire: September 18 - October 01
 * Emerald: October 06 - 19
 * Ruby: October 24 - November 06
 * Diamond: November 11 - 24
 * Playoffs: December 02 - 21

Direct Invites
These contestants are automatically qualified for the regular season, and thus do NOT need to be nominated.

Qualified
Female

Male RD - This year will be their Regular season debut (first appearance). OLD (Old Debutant) - Character's anime series is at least two years old at the time of their qualification.This means that the character has had chances to get past ISML nominations, but failed. [Note 1] The ISML name of U-1146 (Cells at Work!) uses Neutrophil, a type of White Blood Cell. [Note 2] The ISML name of Bruno Bucciarati (JJBA Part 5) is spelled Bruno Buccellati instead, referencing his namesakes (an Italian pastry and a jewellery company from Milan.)

Did Not Qualify
Female

Male

Regular Season
For detailed results, click here.

This section will display the group results and the wildcard rounds of each period. Contestants are ordered from 1st-4th, and are shown in icons only. May not work properly on mobile.

Legend:


 * (3210) - 3-2-1-0 win pattern (Most common)
 * (2211) - 2-2-1-1 win pattern
 * (2220) - Three-way tie at the top with 2 wins each
 * (3111) - Three-way tie at the bottom with 1 win each
 * N or P - Qualified for necklace / pendant
 *  - Type of gem won
 * Letters and gems are ordered by position.
 * Example: NN means the group's top two qualified for necklace, N means 1st place qualified and 2nd already won aquamarine, NN means 1st won topaz and 2nd-3rd qualified for necklace, means 1st place won ruby and 2nd place won emerald, etc.
 * If a contestant finishes higher than a gem winner, but does NOT qualify for that gem round, they will be labeled as x. Examples: x, Nx, xN etc.

Seeding
Characters are seeded based on the following criteria:
 * Diamond group position
 * Diamond wins
 * Regular season CVP
 * Seeds 15-16 are determined solely by their position in the diamond wildcard round.

Win-loss records for the entire regular season are displayed for references only.

Final Rankings (1-20)
For full rankings and consolation matches, see ISML 2019/Consolations & Final Rankings.

Winner's Gallery
Necklace & Tiara