More Details on the Standard Pauper Double League

A week ago, I wrote about the possibility of running another Standard Pauper "league-style" event, where players are responsible to play out one match each week against their assigned opponent in a five week Swiss style tournament that would cut to a Top 8, Single Elimination bracket to determine final ranking. Then, after the initial five weeks are over, for those who did not place in the Top 8 (along with anyone else who didn't participate the first time), would have the opportunity to compete in a second chance Swiss tournament that would also run five weeks before cutting to a Top 8 bracket. Finally, the two 1st place winners would battle for the ultimate prize in a best-of-5 match to determine the Grand Champion of the Double League.

We've had a lot of interest in the league, and even some donations already lined up (see below), so I'm happy to announce that the Standard Pauper Double League is official, with a tentative start date of Sunday, October 26th.

First, I'm pleased to announce that we've already gotten official support from CardHoarder, who agreed to fund 30 tickets worth of credit. Thanks so much to them, and to Chris Baker, who lobbied them for their support. They are also sponsoring the Sunday Standard Pauper weekly PRE (SPDC), so definitely show your support for them by sending them your business. I will plan on matching that donation, which means we're already up to $60 worth of prizes - not too shabby for a free event! I also know that joekewwl has pledged to support the event as well, so I expect that that number will continue to rise.

Second, I've had some people ask about why making Top 8 in the first go-around disqualifies you from taking part in the second five weeks of the event. For me, the rationale is simple: anyone who makes the Top 8 is walking away with some decent prize money (although I don't have the exact prize structure finalized yet). And I'd rather extend that opportunity to as many players as possible, even if it means that those few who earn that Top 8 spot the first time miss out on the opportunity to participate in the second half of the event.

Finally, the event will be using the Gatherling database on pdcmagic.com to manage pairings during the Swiss rounds. This has the advantage of letting players report their results, see standings, and view pairings all in one easy and convenient place, without having to wait for me to update anything. For the Top 8 Playoffs, I will be using a simple online bracket system that will have to be manually updated - but that's a much smaller number of players, and thus much easier on my end to track and manage.

If you have other questions or comments, feel free to ask below. I will continue to work out all the final details and make an announcement early next week with all the pertinent info. In the mean time, get on Magic Online and start testing out those Standard Pauper brews!

See you next time...