First, I want to remind you that a goal/priority of the league is to try hard to provide post-season action to anyone who’s
- met the set minimum number of games to qualify,
- signed up/asked to participate in post-season play
It is also a high priority to balance the integrity of the main/top 8 playoff along with.
I do not want the path to the championship to be too long or too short. That is, a 3 win march to the championship has proven to be a good balance. Usually it takes about 9-12 months on average, so it’s nice when it’s over before the next year begins.
In other words. In the past, balancing these priorities sometimes leads to some odd (but sometimes fun and agreeable) compromises/exceptions, like play-in games.
This year, we have just a few more than 8 signups for each bracket. In my judgment, all things considered, I’m making the call that the top 8 signups will be seeded in their respective brackets.
I will talk to the signups beyond the top 8 to see how they can maximize enjoyment, but due to the makeup and nature of the signups, I am pretty much unwilling to consider play-in games or the like.
Even as recently as 2023, we have had a 3 player 2nd bracket, so just 2 games being played, for a 2nd bracket winner. This is fine. But I understand if you signed up and find out this is your fate and you do not want to participate, you may certainly back out.
So I’ll PM the appropriate parties, just wanted to get this out first so you’re not like “hey, I signed up, why am I not listed”