Updated August 21, 2024

The winner of the A-Division will be appointed guardian of the Ball & Chain trophy. The top-four (4) finishers in each division will receive a plaque.

There are three (3) different playoff divisions: A, B, and C.

• The top-sixteen (16) players qualify for A-Division. There is no attendance restriction.
• Players ranked seventeenth through fortieth (17–40) qualify for the B-Division. There is no attendance restriction.
• Players ranked forty-one (41) and below qualify for the C-Division playoffs as long as they have attended five (5) regular season meetings.

Start Time

In order to fit finals in a single night, we need to start A-Division as early as possible. By default, we will attempt to start A-Division at 6 p.m.  Once seeding is determined, the commissioners will contact the top-sixteen (16) seeds (and two (2) alternates) to confirm their availability to start by 6 p.m.  If one (1) or more folks are not available we will find the earliest mutually agreeable start time which shall not be later than the standard start time for finals, as determined by the commissioners.

Seeding

1. Consequential tiebreakers: For ties determining entry into A-Division or B-Division, a single game will be played on a machine chosen at random from a bank of at least four (4) short-playing games selected by the commissioners.
2. Inconsequential tiebreakers: For ties that only affect seeding within a division, the following tiebreakers will apply:
   1. highest total score;
   2. highest score from a single round;
   3. the second (or third, fourth, etc.) highest score in a single round;
   4. head-to-head record (if applicable, and consistent, which it may not be for a three-way tie); and
   5. coin flip.

Machine Banks

Prior to playoffs, a selection of machines will be drawn at random to be used exclusively within each of the divisions.

Machines will categorized into one of four categories:

• Electro-mechanical (“EM”);
• Solid state (“SS”);
• Dot-matrix display (“DMD”); and
• Liquid-crystal display (“LCD”)

Each division will receive an equal share of machines within each category, with any excess machines first accruing to A-Division, then to B-Division.

The commissioners reserve the right to restrict games available to certain divisions based on expected play times.

Prior to the random draw, the top-four (4) players will each have the opportunity to choose a machine (subject to any of the foregoing restrictions) to be placed in A-Division prior to the draw.  If the machine choice is ruled out for mechanical reasons before the start of finals, the player who chose it will have the opportunity to swap out any randomly-drawn (i.e., not chosen by one of the other top-three (3) seeded players) machine of the same category with B-Division or C-Division.

A-Division Playoffs

Playoffs for A-Division will consist of three (3) rounds of four-player (4) match play.  Each group will play three (3) games with the top-two (2) players advancing, with new seedings based on their relative seedings entering finals. Scoring is 7/5/3/1.

Round Seedings

Round 1: Players are organized into the following four (4) groups based on their seedings entering finals

• Group 1: Seeds 1, 8, 9, 16
• Group 2: Seeds 2, 7, 10, 15
• Group 3: Seeds 3, 6, 11, 14
• Group 4: Seeds 4, 5, 12, 13

Round 2 (Semi-Finals): Advancing players are reseeded according to the relative place of their original seedings entering finals, and organized into the following two (2) groups based on such new seedings.

• Group 1: Seeds 1, 4, 5, 8
• Group 2: Seeds 2, 3, 6, 7

Round 3 (Finals): Seeding left as an exercise to the reader.

Machine & Position Choice

Each group will play three (3) games. The top-three (3) seeds are each guaranteed one (1) choice of machine. The highest seed will get first choice of machine or position (which they may defer to a later game). Selection will then proceed by seedings in the group. Once a player has made a machine selection, they are forced to select position for subsequent games in the round. At least one machine in the round must be either an EM or SS (i.e., if neither of the first games selected was an EM or SS, the third game must be an EM or SS). As with standard league practice, players may only pick a machine that is open or where the last ball is in progress.

To restate the above more explicitly:

• On the first game, the highest-seeded player receives the first option of machine or position.
  • If they select machine, the remaining players will select positions in descending order of seed, and the highest-seeded player will receive the remaining position thereafter.
  • If they select position, the option to select machine or position will move to the second-highest-seeded player.
    • If such player selects machine, the remaining players will select positions in descending order of seed, and the second-highest-seeded player will receive the remaining position thereafter.
    • If such player selects position, the option to select machine or position will move to the third-highest-seeded player.
      • If such player selects machine, the remaining players will select positions in descending order of seed, and the third-highest-seeded player will receive the remaining position thereafter.
      • If such player selects position, the lowest-seeded player must select machine.
        • Once they select machine, the remaining players will select positions in descending order of seed, and the lowest-seeded player will receive the remaining position thereafter.
• On the second and third games, the second-highest-seeded player and the third-highest-seeded player, respectively, receives the first option of machine or position, unless such player received such option in the prior machine, in which case, the option will move to the next-highest-seeded player, unless such player received such option in the prior game, in which case, such option will revert to the highest-seeded player for the remainder of the round.

Final Standings & Tiebreakers

Final standings within each round will be based on the points achieved during that round:

Positions 1–4 (Finals) will have any ties broken by a single (1) game between the tied players on a machine chosen by highest seed;

Positions 5–8 (Semi-Finals losers) will play a single game to determine the final standings on a machine chosen by the highest seed; and

Positions 9–16 (Quarterfinals losers) standings will be determined by point total with no ties broken. Ties that impact whether or not the involved players will advance will be settled by a one-game (1) tiebreaker. Inconsequential ties will not be broken except for the final-four (4) group, who will also play a one-game (1) tiebreaker, if necessary to settle final positions for 1–4. The highest seeded player will get the choice of machine or playing order.

B/C–Division Playoffs

B–Division and C-Division playoffs will be conducted as two separate six strikes knockout tournaments. Players will be put in groups or three- or four players. Pairings will be balanced. In four-player groups 0/1/2/3 strikes are awarded to 1st/2nd/3rd/4th place. In three-player groups 0/1/2 strikes are awarded to 1st/2nd/3rd place. When a player receives their sixth strike, they are eliminated from the tournament. The last player standing is the winner of the tournament. In case of a tie for second, third, and/or fourth place, one game will be played to determine those places. The higher regular season seed will have the choice of position or game.