An End Of Season Tournament

I’ve been in some congenial consultation with David Forsyth about a possible end of season competition involving teams from our respective Fantasy Leagues, it’s format will be a joint solo venture. As both our respective seasons will finish within a month of each other, we’ve both agreed it could end our seasons quite nicely. For me personally it gives a little more purpose to those last few league games when qualification for a competition is still a possibility. 
 
Competition Format
 
As with all competition a few ground rules needed to be addressed so things can run smoothly given we both play by differing rule sets. We agreed that we would just play our own particular rules and play each match over 2 legs, one leg played by each of us and the winner will be determined by the aggregate score, and away goals counting double in the event of a draw. If no winner can still not be decided a replay would be played to a conclusion in a one off replay. The player to play the replay will be determined by a couple of methods depending on the teams involved. We’ve named it the B&B Trophy, which is an acronym for The Brookfield and Bonfire Alliance Trophy. David's Brookfield League in it’s 13th season, and consists of 30 teams equally split into 3 Divisions. My Bonfire Alliance League is in it’s inaugural season and is a 16 team affair split into 2 Divisions. Qualification for the Trophy will be decided by the respective leagues, and 4 teams from each will then contest the B&B Trophy. The object of the exercise is to produce a winning team, from either league, a bit of fun to pass the time, David and I are the means the teams employ in their quest for glory. One of us will win for sure, but that team may not be from our respective league.
I’ve included these competition rules in the next section for your perusal as way of an explanation to how it all works, and maybe put a few ideas out there if you want to try something similar with a remote opponent.
 
South Heighton are the first Bonfire Alliance team to qualify as Championship Champions
 
 
 
Competition Rules
 
 
The following are the conditions and rules that David and I have agreed upon.


1 - The competition will consist of 8 teams. 4 from each of the Brookfield and Bonfire Alliance leagues respectively.

Qualification

2 - Qualification for the Trophy is determined by their respective Leagues.

The Draw

3 - Each round is drawn from 2 pots. Each pot will contain either Brookfield or Bonfire Alliance Teams not both. Ensuring all Quarter Final matches are Brookifield v Bonfire Alliance.

4 - If in the event of pot being empty during the Semi Final draw, the draw will continue from the same pot.

5 - If a player has 2 of his teams drawn against each other in the Semi Final he must choose which team to play.

6 - If a player has 2 of his teams in the Final both teams will be put into pot 1, and both players names will be put into pot 2. A draw is made from each pot, the drawn player from pot 2 will then play with team drawn from pot 1 in the final match.

Match Format

7 - All matches are contested over 2 legs. The scores from both legs will be revealed simultaneously.

8 - The aggregate score will determine a winner. In the event of the scores being level, away goals will count double. If the scores are still level a replay will ensue.

If the replay is between teams from different leagues the replay will be played by the player drawn out of a pot. That player will then play a single game to it’s conclusion using extra time and a shoot out mechanism if required, according to their leagues particular rule set.

If a replay is between 2 teams from the same league (excluding the final), the match will be replayed by the player from the other league.

Playing Rules

9 - Each player will play his respective leg to his own league rules and equipment, including any replays

Rule Exceptions

10 - No home advantage rules to be applied.
 
 
Flimside the Brookfield Division 1 Champions hoping to add The BB Trophy to complete a unique double
 
 
 
Some Considerations
 
If you’re contemplating playing a similar competition there are possibly one or two things to consider. As all matches are over 2 legs the scores for each leg will need to be revealed simultaneously as a way of negating any leg being influenced by prior knowledge. The draw needs to be done by the mutual consent of participants, in my view if everyone is involved even if it’s a compromise there’s usually little room for complaint.
Finally the probability of a player having to play a match between 2 teams from his opponents league is a distinct possibility in the semi final, or final, and these matches need to be played with the same integrity as any other. David and I are pretty much old school in this regard, we play for the enjoyment, so that integrity would never be questioned.
 
More Than 2… No Problem
 
So there are 3, 4, or more friends who want to be involved in such a solo venture, well no problem, just get together sort out your format, and play to your hearts content, just try and organise a format that involves everyone for as long as possible, maybe allow players who have had their teams knocked out play replays in later rounds, or play a third leg as a matter of course which only comes into play in the event of a draw after 2 legs. I’m sure that there are many and varied ways that non combatants can be involved to keep their interest.
Or maybe you’d like to join us, details and a contact email is on the B&B Trophy page of this blog.
 
What’s Next?
 
As our tournament gets underway I’ll post a separate page with the results, and maybe odd posts with match reports and our thoughts on the venture. If successful you never know it may become a permanent fixture in our respective league seasons.
 
Keep On Flicking
 
Ian and David

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