An intermediate-to-advanced-difficulty tournament for 64 players made of waterfall gauntlet pools going into a Top-32 five-phase stepladder double elimination bracket
Schedule
All times shown below are given in 12-hour US Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). When the tournament is not in progress, the Platinum Cab will be available on Free Play:
- Friday, August 14th, 2026:
- 10:00am – 12:00pm: Stream setup and gameplay tech check
- 11:45am: Pools Level 1 players check in.
- 12:00pm – 11:00pm: Waterfall Gauntlet Pools Levels 1 to 11
- Saturday, August 15th, 2026:
- 10:00am – 10:45am: Stream setup and gameplay tech check
- 10:30am: Top-32 Stepladder Double Elimination Phase I players check in
- 10:45am – 11:00pm: Top-32 Stepladder Double Elimination Phases I to IV
- Sunday, August 16th, 2026:
- 10:00am – 11:00am: Stream setup and gameplay tech check
- 10:30am: Top-32 Stepladder Double Elimination Phase V players check in
- 10:45am – 3:00pm: Top-32 Stepladder Double Elimination Phase V
For each stage of the tournament, all players are expected to check in at least 15 minutes prior to the start of their pool or Double Elimination phase. A more detailed schedule will be posted closer to event day.
Points of Contact
If you’ve any questions, comments, or feedback about this tournament or its rules, feel free to contact anyone here via Discord or other social media!
| Organizer | Discord Contact | X Contact | Bluesky Contact |
| Eijiken, DDR Head TO | eijiken | Eijiken | @eijiken.bsky.social |
| Rofl, DDR Co-TO | roflcopterpilotx | – | – |
| VivaLaMoo, EO | vivalamoochicken | VivaLaMoochickn | @vivalamoo.bsky.social |
Hardware
For this tournament, we’ll be playing on the brand new Universal (sometimes nicknamed “Platinum”) Model cabinet!
A DDR Universal “platinum” Model cabinet. Photo credit Juwubeat on Wikipedia.
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Qualifying and Seeding
Seeding will be done by cumulative EX on two sets of WHITE-era songs with manual adjustments by TO’s as appropriate after the qualifying period closes.
Set A: For All Players! Play Two, Then Take Your Pick!
All players are required to submit qualifiers from Set A! In this set, you are tasked to play three songs as follows:
- Grand Chariot,
- Special Summer Campaign, and
- Your choice of:
You may play the qualifier songs:
- on any difficulty on Single, and
- individually or together in any order.
You may submit qualifiers as often as you want during the qualifying period. Your score for Set A is your cumulative EX score on Grand Chariot, Special Summer Campaign, and the better of your EX scores between The Wind of Gold and Sterling Silver (U1 overground mix) (after a +3 EX points boost for parity):
| Song Title | Difficulty with Highest Possible EX Score | Note Breakdown (steps + Freeze Arrows) | Maximum EX Possible | Score Boost for Parity Before Calculating Cumulative EX Score | Reference |
| Grand Chariot | Expert 13 | 518 + 13 | 1593 EX | +0 EX | RemyWiki |
| Special Summer Campaign | Expert 15 | 513 + 25 | 1614 EX | +0 EX | RemyWiki |
| Sterling Silver (U1 overground mix) | Expert 14 | 508 + 10 | 1554 EX | +3 EX | RemyWiki |
| The Wind of Gold | Expert 14 | 458 + 61 | 1557 EX | +0 EX | RemyWiki |
A maximum 4,764 EX points are available to earn in Set A.
Set B: For Top Players, Two More Challenges
High-scoring players who earn on Set A a cumulative EX score of 4,714 points or higher (i.e. MAX score minus 50) are invited to complete qualifiers for Set B! In Set B, players are tasked to earn as high a score as possible on the following two charts played as a set:
- out of focus – Single Challenge 16
- Magnetic – Single Challenge 17
To submit these qualifiers as a set, you must play them in the same credit, but you may play them on any stage of your credit, in any order, and as many times as you want during the set. You may submit Set B qualifiers as many times as you want during the qualifying period.
Your score for Set B is your sum EX score on these two charts from your best set. A maximum of 3,921 EX points (split 1,728 and 2,193, respectively) are available to earn in Set B.
Submitting Qualifiers, and Qualifying Period Information
Score photos are required for all qualifier submissions. Click HERE to submit your qualifiers! For Set B qualifiers, in addition to taking photos of individual song scores, make sure to take a picture of your full set results at the end to show you played them in the same set.
Click HERE to view the leaderboards! The qualifying period runs until July 31st, 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT (UTC-4). Late submissions will not be accepted, and players who do not submit qualifier(s) will be given a 0 score as appropriate and/or manually seeded at TO discretion.
Seeding Players
After the qualifying period closes, and before TO’s make manual adjustments as appropriate, players are first seeded by their Set A scores, with all players who earn MAX minus 50 EX points or better considered tied. Ties in Set A scores are first broken by Set B scores, with ties then broken by whoever submitted their Set B score first.
Tournament Format
The DDR World Single tournament at Project Storm this year comprises a series of waterfall-format gauntlet pools that lead into a top-32 stepladder five-phase double elimination bracket, with the winner of the tournament determined by the winner of the fifth and final phase of the double elimination bracket.
Waterfall Gauntlet Pools (“Pools” hereafter)
In Pools, the bottom 34 seeds (seeds 64 to 31) are placed sequentially from lowest seed to highest seed in eleven pools as one group of four players and then ten groups of three players as seeds 64 to 61, 60 to 58, etc. to 33 to 31.
Beginning with the first pool, 4 players assemble for a 12-card draw in a given difficulty range using the latest patch of https://ddr.tools/#game-ddr_world at the time of the event.
For the specific card draw settings we’ll use, please review Appendix C. For the full difficulty breakdown by pool in each round of Pools, check out “Card Draw Distribution by Tournament Stage” HERE.
Players then take turns forming a 4-song gauntlet by protecting songs from the card draw in seed order. Players then play 5 songs in 2 credits consisting of 1 warmup + their 4-song gauntlet in the order of their protects. Players play paired in the order 2nd-4th seed and 1st-3rd seed, with higher seed getting first choice of pad side or warmup song, and lower seed getting remaining choice.
During Pools, not all gameplay options are allowed. For more information, please review Appendix B.
After everyone has played, the player with the highest cumulative EX Score wins the pool and advances to the next pool as the lowest seed, where the process repeats again, with ties broken first by most 1st-place finishes on songs and then by one or more 1-song tiebreakers until ties are broken. This continues until the end of the eleventh pool, where the winner and runner-up are reseeded into the Top-32 Stepladder Double Elimination bracket as the 31st and 32nd seeds, respectively.
Top-32 Stepladder Double Elimination (“Double Elim” hereafter)
In Double Elim, the winner and runner up of the eleventh pool in Pools are reseeded as seeds 31 and 32, respectively, and join the top 30 seeds for a five-phase stepladder double elimination bracket. Players are placed sequentially from lowest seed to highest seed into each phase as one group of eight and then four groups of six as seeds 32 to 25, 24 to 19, 18 to 13, 12 to 7, and then 6 to 1.
Beginning with the first phase, 8 players assemble to complete a double-elimination bracket amongst each other. Players are initially matched in each phase as 1st-5th, 2nd-6th, 3rd-7th, and 4th-8th, all on the winner’s side.
Before each match, the players next to play will visit the TO desk to perform a 7-card draw. Before the card draw, the higher seed is offered the first choice of pad side, protect order, or veto order, the lower seed offered the next choice, and the higher seed given the remaining choice.
For the specific card draw settings we’ll use, please review Appendix C. For the full difficulty breakdown in each phase of Double Elim, check out “Card Draw Distribution by Tournament Stage” HERE.
After the set is drawn, protects and vetos are resolved in the order players chose. In each match, the song order is dynamically chosen, with the song protected first played first, and the loser of each song picking next any song not yet played (in a tie, the most recent loser chooses again, or the player with the first protect chooses again if no player has lost a song yet). The first player to two song wins by EX score wins the match (ties earn both players half a win); if both players are tied after three songs, 1-song tiebreakers using the phase’s card draw settings are drawn and played until the tie is broken.
During Double Elim, not all gameplay options are allowed. For more information, please review Appendix B.
Matches are played until only two players remain, with one on the winner’s side, and one on the loser’s side. At this point, the phase ends, with the remaining player on the winner’s side advancing into the next phase on the winner’s side as the “7th” seed, and the player on the loser’s side advancing into the next phase on the loser’s side as the “8th” seed.
From the second phase onward, this process repeats, with the next 6 highest seeds scheduled to play, and players initially matched in each phase as 1st-5th, 2nd-6th, and 3rd-”7th”, with a 4th seed bye on the winner’s side, and the “8th” seed placed on the loser’s side.
Special Rules for the Fifth and Final Phase of Double Elim
In the fifth and final phase, the bracket is run to completion to determine the tournament winner. “Top 4” matches in this phase-Winner’s Final, Loser’s Semifinal for 4th, Loser’s Final for 3rd, Grand Final, and Grand Final (Bracket Reset)-are run as best-of-5 matches, with the first to three song wins winning them and matches tied after five songs broken by 1-song tiebreakers. Card draws for “Top 4” matches are 9-card draws, with one protect and veto each afforded to each player, and the song order dynamically chosen as described earlier.
Prizes
A CEO-themed wrestling belt will be awarded to the winner, and medals will be awarded to the rest of the Top 8. Prize money will also be awarded; a schedule for this will be provided closer to the event date.
For current information on the prize scheduling for this tournament, please reach out to VivaLaMoo.
Additional Rules
Keep the Pads Clean!
Help us keep the pads safe and clean to play on! The use of substances like baby powder that help the player move faster is permitted but must be applied off the pads. Players are expected to clean up the pads after they are done with their match; failure to do so may create a safety hazard and lead to song loss, match loss, or full disqualification.
Tournament Late / No-Show Policy
All players in Pools are expected to check in 15 minutes before the start of their Pool, and all players in Double Elim are expected to check in 15 minutes before the start of their phase.
Unless TO’s are given a reason for late arrival to the venue, players may be penalized as follows in Pools:
- Players more than 5 minutes late following the start of their pool will have their song protect forfeited, and a random song chosen for them by TO’s;
- Players more than 15 minutes late following the start of their pool will have a zero score recorded on the first two songs of the gauntlet;
- Players more than 25 minutes late following the start of their pool will have a zero score recorded across all four songs.
Additionally, unless TO’s are given a reason for late arrival to the venue, players may be penalized as follows in Double Elim:
- Players more than 5 minutes late following the start of their phase will have their first match’s protect and veto forfeited and chosen for them by TO’s,
- Players more than 15 minutes late following the start of their phase will have their first match be forfeit 0-2, leading to moving into Loser’s Bracket.
Finally, during Double Elim, unless TO’s are reasonably aware and notified of the absence of a player during a phase that is holding up the progression of the tournament (e.g. bathroom break, or due to conflicts with other tournaments), players during a given phase of Double Elim may be declared a “bottleneck” and be penalized as follows:
- Following identifying a player as a bottleneck, players more than 5 minutes late will have their protect and veto forfeited to their opponent for the affected match,
- Players more than 15 minutes late will have their impacted match be forfeit 0-2, leading potentially into moving into Loser’s Bracket or elimination from the tournament.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
None at this time! We will fill this out over time as we receive player questions and feedback.
Glossary
Protect (during card draw) – Lock in a song from the card draw that cannot be vetoed. In Pools, this chooses a song to play during the gauntlet; in Double Elim, this prevents the song from being vetoed.
(in) seed order – From highest seed to lowest seed, or in increasing numerical seed order. For example, in Pools Level 1, where seeds 64, 63, 62, and 61 play together, seed 61 protects first, followed by seed 62, then 63, and then finally 64.
Veto (during card draws in Double Elim) – Remove a song from the card as something that can be played.
Appendix A: EX Score
This explanation courtesy RGTM. Thank you!
EX Score is a scoring scheme that uses an alternate scoring method for its judgment, as opposed to the default money score. In DanceDanceRevolution, EX score is calculated as follows:
| Judgment | Points |
| MARVELOUS | 3 |
| PERFECT | 2 |
| GREAT | 1 |
| GOOD | 0 |
| O.K. | 3 |
| Miss | 0 |
In the form of an equation, EX score is calculated like this:
EX SCORE = { [ 3 × (MARVELOUS + O.K.) ] + [ 2 × PERFECT ] + GREAT }
Since GOOD and MISS values are 0, they are not included as variables.
The MAX EX (maximum EX score) of a chart is determined by the following equation:
MAX EX = 3 × [ (# of Steps) + (# Freeze Arrows) + (# Shock Arrows)]
 | Example:In the score from the picture on the left:EX SCORE = { [3 × (258 + 43)] + [2 × 130] + 120 } = { [3 × 301] + [2 × 130] + 120 } = { 903 + 260 + 120 } = 1283MAX EX (Trigger CSP) = 3 × (579 + 46 + 0) = 3 × 625 = 1875 |
Appendix B: Gameplay Options Restrictions
As of May 22nd, 2026, you are allowed to use all gameplay options available to you on the four-page “Options” menu to help you earn your best score. However, use of “Judgment Timing” (not “Visual Timing”) is restricted as follows:
“Judgment Timing” Option Restrictions
Any value of “Judgment Timing” from -19ms to +19ms inclusive is allowed during Pools, and any value of “Judgment Timing” from -9ms to +9ms inclusive is allowed during Double Elim. However:
- Under no circumstances will players be permitted to stop and replay a song because they did not set their options correctly, including for “Judgment Timing.” You must complete the song with the options you entered gameplay with, or accept the score that would be a consequence of walking off the pad. This is the same rule as playing with the wrong Flare gauge enabled.
- If your “Judgment Timing” is set to a value outside the -19ms to +19ms range during Pools or the -9ms to +9ms range during Double Elim, and it is noticed after the song, you may be given a zero score on the song.
T.O.’s may, at their discretion, ask you to set your Judgment Timing to 0ms for one or more songs, give you a zero score, or disqualify you if they believe you are using “Judgment Timing” specifically to disrupt other players.
Appendix C: Universal Card Draw Settings
At all stages of the tournament, we will use https://ddr.tools/#game-ddr_world to administer card draws. At all phases of the tournament, “Chart Filters” will be uniform as follows:
- Style: Single
- Difficulties: Expert, Challenge
- Include: Shock arrow charts, Absent from European cabinet
Additionally, “Re-order by pick/ban” and “Picks must match draw options” will be checked.
Appendix D: Pools Example Gameplay
Coming from winning the Level 4 pool, YUNI joins AFRO, EMI, and RAGE for the Level 5 pool. In this pool, they get to play GOLD-era 13’s.
They are first presented this card draw:
Seeded highest-to-lowest AFRO, EMI, RAGE, and YUNI, AFRO goes first and picks Finale; EMI goes second and picks Heavy Rain; RAGE goes third and picks No Matter What; and YUNI goes last and picks ギャ・ギャ・ギャ・ギャラクシー！
The gauntlet set, in order, is:
- Finale (max 1,221 EX – ref here)
- Heavy Rain (max 1,380 EX – ref here)
- No Matter What (max 1,215 EX – ref here)
- ギャ・ギャ・ギャ・ギャラクシー！(max 1,620 EX – ref here)
EMI and YUNI are 2nd and 4th seeds respectively in this pool, so they play first. EMI, as the higher seed of the pair, chooses to play on P2, giving YUNI the choice of warmup song.
YUNI chooses that they warm up with Yuni’s Nocturnal Days. Afterward, they play their 4-song gauntlet in order!
Scores are recorded along the way. After their set, everyone’s scores are as follows:
| Player Name | Seed In Pool | Finale EX Score | Heavy Rain EX Score | No Matter What EX Score | ギャ・ギャ・ギャ・ギャラクシー！ EX Score | Cumulative EX Score | TIEBREAKER – Number of 1st-Place Song Wins |
| AFRO | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| EMI | 2 | 1180 | 1375 | 1178 | 1574 | 5307 | – |
| RAGE | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| YUNI | 4 | 1100 | 1379 | 1142 | 1550 | 5171 | – |
AFRO and RAGE are now on deck to play. As the higher seed, AFRO chooses the warmup song of DDR MEGAMIX, and RAGE chooses to play on P1.
The two log in and play their warmup song and then get into their 4-song gauntlet. Scores are recorded along the way. After their set, everyone’s scores are as follows:
| Player Name | Seed In Pool | Finale EX Score | Heavy Rain EX Score | No Matter What EX Score | ギャ・ギャ・ギャ・ギャラクシー！ EX Score | Cumulative EX Score | TIEBREAKER – Number of 1st-Place Song Wins |
| AFRO | 1 | 1203 | 1365 | 1200 | 1539 | 5307 | 2 |
| EMI | 2 | 1180 | 1375 | 1178 | 1574 | 5307 | 1 |
| RAGE | 3 | 1172 | 1353 | 1272 | 1505 | 5302 | 0 |
| YUNI | 4 | 1100 | 1379 | 1142 | 1550 | 5171 | 1 |
Song winners are highlighted for clarity. To everyone’s shock, AFRO and EMI have tied for 1st in the pool with 5,307 total EX across all four songs! Reviewing the tiebreaker criteria, as AFRO has the most 1st-place song finishes over EMI at 2 to 1, AFRO wins the pool and advances to the Level 6 pool!
Appendix E: Double Elim Example Gameplay
ALICE and BABY-LON are preparing the Winner’s Final match of Phase 3 of the Double Elimination stage. In this stage, 17’s from all mixes are eligible to be drawn.
BABY-LON seeded higher during qualifiers, so of the choices protect order, veto order, and pad side, he chooses to take protect order, opting for 1st protect. ALICE chooses veto order and opts for 2nd veto. BABY-LON is finally given the choice of pad side and opts for P2.
They are presented with the following card draw:
The card draw is resolved as follows:
- BABY-LON protects first and chooses Spanish Snowy Dance CSP.
- ALICE protects second and chooses Golden Arrow CSP.
- BABY-LON vetoes first and chooses DDR TAGMIX-LAST DanceR ESP.
- ALICE vetoes second and chooses Tohoku Evolved ESP.
The card draw now looks like the below:
As they are in the middle of their phase, neither player gets a warmup. The match proceeds as follows:
- With Spanish Snowy Dance protected first, it is played first. BABY-LON wins by 25 EX. Score 1-0 BABY-LON.
- Having lost the first song, ALICE may now choose from any of the four remaining songs not played or vetoed (Golden Arrow, FUNKY SUMMER BEACH, mathematical good-bye, Chromatic Burst). ALICE chooses FUNKY SUMMER BEACH and wins by 5 EX! Score 1-1 tied.
- Having lost the second song, BABY-LON may now choose from any of the three remaining songs not yet played or vetoed (Golden Arrow, mathematical good-bye, Chromatic Burst). BABY-LON, looking to take a risk, chooses Golden Arrow-ALICE’s protect!-and loses by just 1 EX! The match ends 1-2 in ALICE’s victory.
With ALICE winning over BABY-LON, ALICE advances to the Grand Finals of this phase on the winner’s side, and BABY-LON now must play in the loser’s side in Loser’s Final. With BABY-LON winning Loser’s Final, instead of ALICE and BABY-LON playing again in Grand Finals, they both instead advance to Phase 4 of Double Elimination, with ALICE reseeded “7th” in the group, and BABY-LON reseeded “8th”.
Appendix F: New Version Contingency
While Project Storm staff are as of June 1st, 2026 currently not aware of a new version release for DanceDanceRevolution, should a new version be released to our hardware at any time between this date and the event weekend, the tournament rules will be updated-and players notified-as follows:
Game Is Updated More Than 4 Weeks Out
If our hardware is updated to a new version before Friday, July 17th, at 12:00am midnight EDT, then at all stages of the tournament, songs eligible to be drawn new to this version will be available to play at all stages of the tournament.
Game Is Updated 2-to-4 Weeks Out
If our hardware is updated after midnight on the 17th and before Friday, July 31st, at 12:00am midnight EDT, then during all Pools and in Phase I of Double Elim only, songs eligible to be drawn new to this version will be available to play. In Phases II onward of Double Elim, these songs will not be eligible to be drawn.
Game Is Updated Less Than 2 Weeks Away
If our hardware is updated after midnight on the 31st EDT, then during Pools Levels 1 to 9 only, songs eligible to be drawn new to this version will be available to play. In Pools Level 10 onward, and in all phases of Double Elim, these songs will not be eligible to be drawn.
Assumptions About The Update
We assume that, unless otherwise noted above, all else will be equal about gameplay (e.g. the use of EX Scoring, the system and timing of Marvelous-Perfect-Great-Good-Miss-OK judgements, etc.). Changes to these are unknowns for us, so we’ll let you know of further changes as appropriate.