Playoff update from Bernie's memo:
Going forward, 24-team leagues will now culminate in an expanded 3-round playoffs. I know, right?
* - This affects the 2010 Season and All-Time Greats VI player sets ONLY. Currently running 24-team leagues that are about to start their playoffs next week will NOT change to this new 3-round format; all others will.
Previously, the winners of each of the 4 6-team divisions in a 24-team league met in a 2-round postseason (Semi-Finals, Finals). Now, 4 Wild Card teams are being added to the mix, of course defined as the 4 best records out of the non-division winners. They'll match up with the 4 Division Winners in a 5-game Quarter-Finals, after which 4 teams will advance to the 7-game Semi-Finals, and then the 2 left standing will meet in the 7-game Finals.
Got it? Best-of-5, Best-of-7, Best-of-7. Just like the big leagues!
We'll still be awarding 7 total prize credits (1 more than twice that of 12-team leagues), but with a significant modification to reward you for winning your division:
- The 4 division winners: each receive 1 free credit
- The loser of the Finals: receives 1 more free credit
- The winner of the Finals: receives 2 more free credits
Additional notes:
- There will be no clause preventing a Division Winner from meeting a Wild Card team from their own division. With the additional round and qualifying teams, it'd be just too confusing.
- It was necessary to keep the current 4-division structure the same for a variety of logistical and technical reasons.