The tournament consists of a Championship and assorted consolation events.

BLOCK PLAY

The Championship begins with 4 blocks of 8 players each, seeded by DGrades as of 1 January. Block matches are single-game, 19-point. The players in each block will be placed in descending order of games won, and the top 4 players in each block will qualify to the Championship Knockout. Any ties affecting qualification will be resolved as follows: if only two such players are tied (i.e., 4th and 5th places), they will play a single 13-point game and the winner qualifies. If more than two such players are tied, they will be ordered by net points. A player ranked on this basis 3rd or higher in the block will qualify; a player ranked 6th or lower will fail to qualify, and the two remaining players will play a single 13-point game and the winner qualifies. Any needed playoff games will be played later afternoon on Wednesday if feasible, possibly under lights, but otherwise first thing Thursday.

CHAMPIONSHIP KNOCKOUT

The Championship Knockout will be seeded by the WCF’s Block Separation by Grade method (used at the recent World Championship). If feasible, the World Rankings will be updated after Block Play (but not including playoff games) before seeding the Knockout, otherwise pre-tournament DGrades will be used. Each of the first two rounds is to be played best-of-3, on Thursday. The semi-finals (Friday) and final (Saturday) will be played best-of-5.

PLATE

The players who do not qualify to the Championship Knockout are eligible for the Plate. Eligible players must inform the TD of their intention to play as soon as the Championship blocks and any playoff games have finished. The detailed format will depend on how many players opt in, but the expectation is 2 blocks played on Thursday and Friday, with the block winners (wins, net points, record against) playing the final (best-of-3) on Saturday.

BOWL AND SHIELD

The Bowl is a best-of-3 knockout for players who lose in the first round of the Championship Knockout. The Bowl quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played Friday, and the final on Saturday.

The Shield is a best-of-3 knockout for players who lose in the Championship quarter-finals. The Shield semi-finals will be played Friday, and the final on Saturday.