It's time!
The brackets have been set and games begin tomorrow. Here is the pertinent info for all those that wish to participate in this year's pool.
Buy In: No buy in. Participation is free. However, the grand prize will be the cumulative amount of sats that have been zapped to all of this account's (@themadnessking) posts throughout the tournament, so the more we all zap the higher the potential prize. You can enter the pool by responding to this post and letting me know (which would be great) or simply by making a pick before the deadline for the first round.
Rules: Traditional Survivor pool rules. Each surviving participant picks one winner for each round of play (excluding first four). Rounds are scheduled as follows:
First Round- March 21-22
Second Round- March 23-24
Sweet 16- March 28-29
Elite Eight- March 30-31
Final Four- April 6
Championship game- April 8
You can only use a team once the entire tournament and you are eliminated if the team you select loses.
Deadlines: I will post the initial matchups for the first round tomorrow. We will exclude teams involved in the first four from first round selections to give people ample time to get their first round picks in and see how many stackers will be competing. We will have quick turnarounds between the first and second round and the sweet 16 and elite 8. I will do my best to post the next round's games as soon as the first round and the sweet 16 end but the onus will be on stackers to get their picks in one hour before the tipoff of the first game of the next round. If you don't get your next round pick in in time you are eliminated. I will do my best to notify stackers who have not submitted picks a couple hours prior to the deadline.
Tiebreaker: There are no pick restrictions. Everyone can pick 1 and 2 seeds the whole way through if they like. However, if we have a tie at the end of the tournament or at the final elimination whoever took a more difficult path to get there will be crowned the winner. Tiebreaker will be the sum of the seeds for all teams each of the tied players has selected. For example: Player A and Player B both get all 6 picks correct including the championship game and thus are tied at the end of the tournament. Player A has selected four number 1 seeds and two number 2 seeds for a total of 8 tiebreaker points, while Player B has selected three number 1 seeds, two number 2 seeds and one number 4 seed for a total of 11 tiebreaker points. Player B wins.
If we reach the championship game and it appears a tie of the tiebreaker is possible each participant will enter a prediction for total points for the championship game and that will serve as the final tiebreaker if the primary tiebreaker ends in a tie.
If the final two or more players are eliminated in a round prior to the championship game and the primary tiebreaker ends in a tie the winner will be determined by lowest point differential loss for the teams selected in that round. If two or more players are still tied after point differential the winner will be determined by total point prediction for the championship game.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Enjoy the tournament and Good Luck!