Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:01 am
Uncle,
Actually it's a pretty good question, because the name filler is something of a misnomer.
In Event One, "Fillers" are actually "replacement managers". Anybody who has a team in Event One is entitled to the points they earn, even the replacements. They are now part of the tour and may continue to play as if they entered via the sign up page, although they are not obligated to continue (as in fact, no one actually is). The risk of entering as a filler is that if all 96 managers would have entered their teams, the managers acting as fillers are not entitled to be entered into a league and would miss out. However, if they get their team entered when requested, they are now for all intents and purposes, tour participants.
The same situation is basically in effect for Event Two. I will simply replace the missing managers names on the sign up sheet with the replacement managers, and I will recruit a new batch of "fillers". I will run the randomizer and make league assignments, and any no-show managers will again be replaced, and any replacements become tour participants.
After Event Two, because you need scores from four qualifying events to advance to the semis, any "fillers" who are participating for the first time are true "fillers" only and are not eligible to reach the semi-finals.
There is always a bit of attrition during the course of the tour. There will not always be a number of managers cleanly divisible by 12. The league has to be filled somehow, so in the end, yes, a manager with no ability to reach the Tour playoffs can siphon off wins from the qualified managers. However, that doesn't prevent any manager from the opportunity to notch his own wins.
If I can read between the lines here, yes, I recognize the fillers list has a few heavy hitters on there. However, I have no control over any of that and my singular goal is simply to see the leagues filled in a timely fashion.