My 2-cents is to follow the rules as outlined by MBW in the forum post “2021 Player Championship Rules” (viewtopic.php?f=8&t=649874). I don’t know about everyone else, but I always referred to the forum rules whenever I needed clarification on something while playing in Events 1-5.
The rules posted under the Rules tab on the tournament page (
https://365.strat-o-matic.com/tournament/41 ) are indeed different in some key areas, but to be honest, I don’t think I ever looked at those, and certainly didn’t refer to them once play started.
I would suspect a large majority of participants in this year’s tour also relied on the forum rules as their “Bible” during the playing of Events 1-5, thus the nearly 1,100 reviews of that thread since it was originally posted on May 19. Adding support to this line of reasoning is the paragraph in the forum rules under the subhead Communication. It states:
“Most of our communication, signups, etc. will be held on the Players Championship forum, and by occasional private messages. For transparency on overall league matters, let’s discuss things in the forums. For matters pertaining to an individual situation, question, or problem, please use the PM button (personal message).”
Nowhere in that paragraph is there a reference to the tournament page or the rules contained therein.
So, my interpretation is that there will be a three-round non-serpentine draft for the semis. The first two rounds will be a player and Round 3 will be a player AND a unique ballpark, with both player and ballpark selected at the same time unless, as stated in the rules, one wants to defer their ballpark pick. So, ultimately, we’d all be picking three players and a park.
I also believe whatever is decided for the Semis should also be used for the Finals.
As for the polls cited by J-Pav, I would not consider them binding, but more of a way to gauge sentiment and be a possible aid in the rules writing process. Neither poll had an overwhelming number of participants.
As several others have stated, whatever is decided here really makes no difference to me personally. I’d be fine with an Auto Draft for both the Semis & Finals, but having some sort of draft does give those who are seeded higher a reward for their success in the regular season.