Group Stage

The 32 players will be split up into 8 groups of 4 players—Groups A through H. Each player will play a game against the other 3 players in his/her group. These games will be a straight Win-Loss-Draw. Each scenario will specify how victory points are earned, which will determine the victory conditions for that game. You will earn 3 points for a win, one point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. That’s right. A win is still a win, and it doesn’t matter if you squeak out a narrow win or waffle stomp your opponent. How much you win your games by will be used as a tie-breaker if needed.

Players will be randomly assigned to a group via a live draw once we have 32 paid players. The 32 players will be divided into 4 separate pots of 8 players. Pot 1 will consist of the top players in the 2023 Masters Qualifying for the South Region. The remaining 24 players will be split up into the remaining 3 pots, grouping these players either by geography (e.g. all Austin players in one pot), or by army (e.g. all elf/sylvan elf/twilight Kin armies into one pot) [exact method to be determined based on the sign-ups]. Starting with Pot 1, the first name drawn will be put into Group A, the second name drawn into Group B, etc. The same will then be done with the remaining 3 Pots. Ideally, the Live Draw will take place on Sunday, February 12th,  but this date may change based on the pace of sign-ups.

Because the draw is random to keep everyone on their proverbial toes, we unfortunately cannot allow challenges. That does NOT mean you cannot smack-talk once you know who your Group opponents are! In fact, this good-natured insult comedy/roasting is an art form in itself, and there may very likely be a prize for the best trash talk before the tournament. Get your creative juices flowing…this could be one for the ages.

Bracket Play

After the Group Stage of games are complete, the top 2 players in each group of 4 (see tie-breakers below) will advance to the Masters Bracket, forming a 16-player, 3 game Swiss format tournament. Players in this bracket will be able to earn points towards qualifying for the US Masters tournament from the South Region. The bottom two players in each group will advance to the Padawan Bracket, forming a separate 16-player, 3-game Swiss format tournament. Your battle scores will reset after the group stage, and the bracket stage will be played using a 0-20 system for battle scores.

Tie Breakers

If two teams tie on points in the Group Stage, these ties will be broken in the following manner:

1. Head to Head results

2. Victory Point differential (Player’s VP – Opponent’s VP)

3. Victory Points scored (Player’s VP)

4. Trial by Combat (or coin flip)

 

The order of finish in the group will help determine your opponent in the first round of the Bracket Stage. If you finish first in your group, you will play someone that finished second in another group. If you finish 3rd, you will play someone that finished 4th in another group. There is a possibility that you could “lock up” a spot in the Bracket Stage after game 2 of the Group Stage. However, to ensure that last game is competitive, there are additional bonuses for finishing top of your group. All Group Winners will have “homefield advantage” in the first game of Bracket play. This means that group winners will automatically be able to choose their side of the table first, and also decide if they deploy first or second. This is ONLY for the first game of the Bracket stage. Additionally, you will earn a few battle points in the Bracket Stage based on the order of finish in your group (see Scoring Page).