AF League Cup

AF League Cup

Tournament Rules

I     General

A.   These will serve to be the official rules for Associated Fantasy's 2020 League Cup ('the Tournament')

B.   For anything not covered in these rules, please refer to the League Settings page at League website;  League will be hosted on NFL.com

C.   All arbitration of League Rules to be arbitrated solely by Tournament Coordinator (TC)

D.   TC may maintain their own team in the tournament, OR may be listed as a “Co-Owner” of a team, in the event TC is listed as a “Co-Owner” it will only be for the purposes of running the tournament and TC will have no actual control over the team they are Co-Owner of

E.   Should any unforeseen event arise not covered explicitly in the rules, TC will exercise final judgment

1.    Any TC judgment made outside of specified rules that involves TC’s team will cause TC’s team to be removed from Championship eligibility

2.   This rule applies ONLY if TC is a team owner.  If TC is a Co-Owner, that team will not be effected by this rule

F.   Tournament rules are subject to adjustment before entry fees have been paid, and will be marked ‘LOCKED’ once any changes are final

G.   If, for any reason, there is a discrepensy between any rule listed in these rules and any setting listed on the League Settings page of the host site, settings page will supercede

II     Entry/Fees/Payout

A.     Entry to the League Cup is limited to Teams with at least 1 season of tenure in an Associated Fantasy League

1. 1. Tournament Entries must use the name and logo/mascot of the AF League team they are representing
   2. Coaches who run teams in multiple AF Leagues may enter only one of their teams in the Tournament

B.   Entry fee for the League Cup will be $20.00 (US) per team

C.   Payout pot will total $400.00 (US)

1. 1. Tournament Champion (1st place) will win $200.00 (US)
   2. 2nd Place will win $100.00 (US)
   3. 3rd Place will win $60.00 (US)
   4. 4th place will win $40.00 (US)

C.   Entries and payouts will be handled through LeagueSafe.com

D.   TC will set deadline for payment of entry fee once tournament is full

E.  Prize money will not be disbursed until the Friday following Week 17 of the NFL Regular Season

III     Format

A.   The League Cup is a 20 Team, 5 stage elimination tournament using a total points/head-to-head hybrid format

B.     Tournament Points

1. 1. The League Cup will utilize 'Tournament Points' in lieu of traditional W-L or Total Points Standings
   2. Tournament Points will = Total Fantasy Points Scored + Bonus Points
   3. Bonus Points = 5 points for every individual match win
   4. Bonus Points = 2 points for every individual match tie (applied to both teams involved in the tie)

C.     Groups (Divisions)

1. 1. The 20 teams participating in the League Cup will be randomly divided into 5 Groups (Divisions) of 4 teams each
   2. The Fantasy Draft Order Generator at FFToolbox.com will be used to randomize the Groups
      1. All Tournament Entrants will be entered into the Draft Order Generator and it will immediately generate a draft order (#1-#20) and email that order to all entrants
      2. NOTE:  THIS IS NOT THE DRAFT ORDER, but is used to give each team a randomly generated Seed # 1-20
      3. Teams will be placed into Groups based on the Draft Spot/Seed # generated by the Draft Order Randomizer
         • Teams that receive the numbers 1, 6, 11, and 16 will be placed into Group A
         • Teams that receive the numbers 2, 7, 12, and 17 will be placed into Group B
         • Teams that receive the numbers 3, 8, 13, and 18 will be placed into Group C
         • Teams that receive the numbers 4, 9, 14, and 19 will be placed into Group D
         • Teams that receive the numbers 5, 10, 15, and 20 will be placed into Group E

D.     ROUND 1 (20 Teams)

1. 1. Round 1 will be made up of Weeks 1-6
   2. Teams will play a randomly ordered double round robin schedule within their respective Groups in which all teams will play all other teams in their groups twice each
      1. In this double round robin schedule, teams will accumulate Tournament Points - total fantasy points scored + a 5 point Bonus for each head-to head win (2 point Bonus for each head-to-head tie)
   3. At the conclusion of Week 6, teams in each group will be ordered by total Tournament Points (Weeks 1-6)
   4. The Top 2 teams in each group (by Tournament Points) will advance to Round 2 (10 teams total)
   5. The last place (4th place) team in each group (by Tournament Points) will be eliminated from the Tournament (5 teams total)
   6. The 3rd place teams in all 5 groups will be ranked 1-5 (by Tournament Points) and the Top 2 teams will receive a Wild Card spot to advance to Round 2, while the bottom 3 will be eliminated from the Tournament

E.     ROUND 2 (12 Teams)

1. 1. Round 2 will be made up of Weeks 7-9
   2. The 12 Round 2 teams will be ordered by total Tournament Points (Weeks 1-6) and seeded #1 - #12
   3. Teams will be placed into a bracket, matched according to their seed #:
      • Seed #1 vs Seed #12
      • Seed #2 vs Seed #11
      • Seed #3 vs Seed #10
      • Seed #4 vs Seed #9
      • Seed #5 vs Seed #8
      • Seed #6 vs Seed #7
   4. Teams will play a 3-Game Series against their matched opponent in Weeks 7, 8, and 9, accumulating Tournament Points (Total Fantasy Points + Win/Tie Bonus Points)
   5. The 6 winning teams in each series match-up (by combined Tournament Points from Weeks 7-9) will advance to Round 3
   6. The 6 losing teams in each series match-up will be ranked 1-6 by TOTAL Tournament Points (Weeks 1-9) and the top 2 of those teams will receive a Wild Card spot to advance to Round 3 while the remaining 4 teams will be eliminated from the Tournament

F.     ROUND 3 (8 Teams)

1. 1. Round 3 will be made up of Weeks 10-12
   2. The 8 Round 3 teams will be ordered by total Tournament Points (Weeks 1-9) and seeded #1 - #8
   3. Teams will be placed into a bracket, matched according to their seed #:
      • Seed #1 vs Seed #8
      • Seed #2 vs Seed #7
      • Seed #3 vs Seed #6
      • Seed #4 vs Seed #5
   4. Teams will play a 3-Game Series against their matched opponent in Weeks 10, 11, and 12, accumulating Tournament Points (Total Fantasy Points + Win/Tie Bonus Points)
   5. The 4 winning teams in each series match-up (by combined Tournament Points from Weeks 10-12) will advance to Round 4
   6. The 4 losing teams in each series match-up will be eliminated from the Tournament

G.     ROUND 4 (4 teams)

1. 1. Round 4 will be made up of Weeks 13-15
   2. The 4 Round 4 teams will be ordered by total Tournament Points (Weeks 1-12) and seeded #1 - #4
   3. Teams will be placed into a bracket, matched according to their seed #:
      • Seed #1 vs Seed #4
      • Seed #2 vs Seed #3
   4. Teams will play a 3-Game Series against their matched opponent in Weeks 13, 14, and 15, accumulating Tournament Points (Total Fantasy Points + Win/Tie Bonus Points)
   5. The 2 winning teams in each series match-up (by combined Tournament Points from Weeks 13-15) will advance to the Championship/Round 5
   6. The 2 losing teams in each series match-up will be matched in the 3rd/4th place game

H.     Championship/ROUND 5 (4 Teams)

1. 1. The 2 winning teams from Round 4 will be matched in a 2-week cumulative points head-to-head match in Weeks 16 and 17 for the Tournament Championship
      1. Tournament Points will not be used
      2. Outcome of game will be determined by combined Week 16 and 17 fantasy points
      3. The winner of this 2 week match will be named Tournament Champion (1st place) and receive the 1st place payout
      4. The loser will be named Tournament Runner-Up (2nd place) and receive the 2nd place payout
   2. The 2 losing teams from Round 4 will be matched in a 2-week cumulative points head-to-head match in Weeks 16 and 17 for 3rd/4th place
      1. Tournament Points will not be used
      2. Outcome of game will be determined by combined Week 16 and 17 fantasy points
      3. The winner of this 2 week match will be named 3rd place and receive the 3rd place payout
      4. The loser will be named 4th place and receive the 4th place payout

I     Eliminated Teams

1. 1. Once teams have been eliminated in any round of the Tournament, their rosters will be locked as is and their season will be complete

IV     Rosters

A.   The League Cup will utilize the AF Express and IDP Lite Roster Sets

1. 1. Bench spots will = 5
   2. Position maximums will be observed
   3. There are no position minimums
   4. NOTE: There are position maximums of 2 for TE and DB but teams are not required to start or roster either position

V    Draft

A.   The 2020 Draft will be live, online on a date and time TBD by Associated Fantasy

1. 1. Draft will be 14 rounds in length
   2. 90 seconds are allotted for each pick
   3. Draft Order will be serpentine (1-20, 20-1, 1-20, etc)

B.     1st Round Draft Order will be determined by inverse order of prior season Final AF Rankings of participating teams

C.     In order to make it easier for all teams to follow the draft in progress, ALL TEAMS are required to post logos to their team prior to the draft

1. 1. Logos must match logo of AF League team being represented
   2. Teams that do not post their own logos will have logos posted for them by AF

VI     Scoring

A.   The League Cup will utilize the AF Century Offensive Scoring Package:

B.     The League Cup will utilize the AF Canton IDP Scoring Package:

VII     Free Agency/Trades/Cuts

A.   Free Agency

1.   Free Agency is open from immediately following the draft through to the end of season with Waivers in effect

B.   Waivers

1. 1. Waivers will be revolving waivers, never reset, move to last after successful claim
   2. Initial Waiver Order will be inverse of first round draft order
   3. Waiver period is 2 days

C.     Transaction Limits

1.   Teams are limited to 2 add/drop transactions per week

D.   Trades

1.Trading is not allowed in the Tournament

VIII     Tiebreakers

A.     Individual Match-ups are allowed to end in ties

1. 1. Tied games receive 2 bonus points, awarde to both teams involved in any tie, applied to Tournament Points

B.     Round 1 Tiebreakers

1. 1. Progression of Tiebreakers of tied Tournament Points for Round 1 Group Standings are as follows:
      1. Win percentage (Weeks 1-6)
      2. Head to Head record
      3. Cumulative points scored in head to head matches
      4. Total TDs scored (all positions) in Weeks 1-6
      5. Total TDs scored (all positions) in head to head matches
      6. Total TDs Scored (offensive flex position) in Weeks 1-6
      7. Total TDs scored (offensive flex position) in head to head matches
      8. Length of longest field goal scored by starting kicker in Weeks 1-6
      9. Length of longest field goal scored by starting kicker in head to head matches
      10. Coin Flip

C.     Rounds 2, 3, 4

1. 1. Progression of Tiebreakers of tied Tournament Points for determining W/L at the end of the 3-game series matches in Rounds 2, 3, and 4 as follows:
      1. Series head to head wins (best of 3)  If one of the 3 games ended in a tie, progression continues.....
      2. Total Tournament Points (Season)
      3. Total fantasy points scored (season)
      4. Total TDs scored (all positions) in tied 3 game series
      5. Total TDs Scored (offensive flex position) in tied 3-game series
      6. Length of longest field goal scored by starting kicker in tied 3-game series
      7.  +/- Turnover Rate (all starting players) in tied 3-game series
      8. Cumulative Offensive Flex Position fantasy points in tied 3 game series
      9. Cumulative Defensive Flex Position fantasy points in tied 3-game series
      10. Coin Flip

D.     Wild Cards

1. 1. Progression of Tiebreakers of tied Tournament Points for determining Wild Cards in Rounds 1 and 2 are as follows:
      1. Total (to date) Fantasy Points
      2. Head to Head record
      3. Cumulative points scored in head to head matches
      4. Total (to date) TDs scored (all positions)
      5. Total TDs scored (all positions) in head to head matches
      6. Total (to date) TDs Scored (offensive flex position)
      7. Total TDs scored (offensive flex position) in head to head matches
      8. Length of longest field goal scored by starting kicker (to date)
      9. Length of longest field goal scored by starting kicker in head to head matches
      10. Coin Flip

E.     Round 5

1. 1. Order of progression of tiebreakers for tied fantasy points for 2-week Championship match and 3rd/4th place match in Weeks 16/17 are as follows:
      1. Total Season Tournament Points
      2. Total Season Fantasy Points Points
      3. Season Head to Head record
      4. Cumulative points scored in head to head matches
      5. Total season TDs scored (all positions)
      6. Total TDs scored (all positions) in all head to head matches
      7. Total Season TDs Scored (offensive flex position)
      8. Total TDs scored (offensive flex position) in all head to head matches
      9. Length of longest field goal scored by starting kicker in all head to head matches
      10. Coin Flip