A new format ? No. This is a traditional Backgammon Tournament format. It's TTTs that are not the norm. 

Maybe it's because I getting older, maybe it's because I'm becoming a normal person (heaven forbid) but I decided that I should run, once in a while, trad tournaments.

The Traditional Knockout Format I've elected to use is a Main Tournament with Consolation Round. O.k. What does that mean ? I hear you ask. We start with 16 players. They all play one match in the 1st Round of the Main Tournament. If you win you go through to the 2nd Round of the Main. If you lose you then go into the 1st Round of the Consolation Tournament. This means that players, who might have been online for ages waiting for the Tournament to start, are not down and out if they happened to get bad dice in their first match. There is nothing more frustrating than looking forward all day to playing in a Tournament then being knocked out after just 5 minutes. So, with this system, every player is guaranteed at least two matches. Cool.

The number of points played for increases as the Tournament goes on. The Main starts off as 3 points, then 5, then 5 again then a 7 pointer in the Final. The Consolation is 3, then 3 again then a 5 pointer. The idea of this is that Lady Luck will have less chance of having her way as the Tournaments progress. It also should have the effect that both the Main Tournament and the Consolation Tournament should finish at about the same time. This did happen and both Tournaments finished bang on 2 hours after they started.

Things appear to get a little bit complicated if we do not have a full 16 players. byes happen. But if players read the little brown writing in the 1st Round columns it's all fairly easy to understand. Effectively if you get a bye in the first round, lose your first game in the 2nd Round of the Main, you still get entered into the Consolation. got that ? If that's as clear as brown mud to you read it again - slowly ! 

Like in TTTs on PM I've gone for Un-Rated - this makes Knockouts open to all. The Doubling Cube is used throughout. Also used throughout is the Crawford Rule - I'm billing these Knockouts as Traditional Tournaments and all the major Tournaments use Crawfords - (Does this mean Crawfords is now traditional ?) And Non-Private matches throughout so Spectators and your Host can watch matches.

I sent out the email about this new event just 24 hours before it started. But it's U.S. Labor Weekend and, due to a backlog, emails were taking up to 6 hours to get through to the Mailing List. Thank goodness for the age of the Internet - can you imagine how many trees would have suffered being pulped for the sake of a few million greeting cards ?  

The Report of the Tournament
I'd asked all players to be in the TTT Room 30 minutes before start time. I'd also asked them when they registered what drink they would like. So drinks were served at 19.30 GMT in the TTT Room. Very civilized !

By start time, we had 11 players registered. I'd been hoping for a full 16 players so I didn't have to work out who got bye etc. but as it happened it was better - this way I would have to work out who got byes ! 

I'd hurriedly set up my T.D. macros (pre written scripts that I can post up at the press of a button) before the Tournament so I was able to inform all players who was to play who. 3 matches happened in the 1st Round of the Main, 5 players got byes into the 2nd Round of the Main and 2 of those 2nd Round Main matches got underway as well. Only Titan30 was left without an opponent to play.

Topaz, Stallion and Big_Dave were the winners from the 1st Round of the Main leaving Kisssmyring, Susi and Hotstuff to play in the Consolation Tournament. 

In the 2nd Round of the Main Watchmaker had beaten El_Diablo and now had a wait for his next opponent - Topaz or Stallion. Meanwhile Mac_the_Dice had beaten Grant101 and shortly after Big_Dave beat Titan30. Watchmaker was still waiting for Topaz or Stallion.

The Consolation Tournament now started picking up as players arrived from the Main. Susi and Hotstuff were the casualties and both suffered losses again. I know Hotstuff is new to this Knockout format, though not TTT, but I'm not sure of Susi's experience. Either way I hope both enjoyed themselves. So Grant101 and El_Diablo both joined Kissmyring and Titan30 in the Semi_Finals of the Consolation.

Meanwhile, back up in the Main,  Watchmaker was still waiting for Topaz versus Stallion ! Big_Dave and Mac_the_Dice played their Semi_Final in the Main which was won by Big_Dave who sat down for a 2 match wait to find out who he would play in the Final of the Main. At long last Topaz overpowered Kissmyring and the other Semi-Final got underway. 

Back down in the Consolation it was Grant101 and El_Diablo who won through to the Consolation Final. With a Semi-Final in the Main still happening the Consolation Final got underway. 

Soon the Semi-Final of the Main was won by Watchmaker and the Final of the Main also commenced. 

I sat down for a long wait and watch of the two Finals. But they were both over very quickly. Grant101 won the Consolation and Watchmaker won the Main. Congrats.

 

WINNER OF KNOCKOUT 01 GV_Watchmaker CONGRATULATIONS you win a  Celtic Backpacker Backgammon Boards Set And Bravo too to Grant101 Winner of the Consolation