Good morning contestants,
I hope you are all enjoying this one day break in the tournament. It gives you time to think of other things. However, there are some rules for the second round that need to be discussed.
Saturday the 28th of June, at noon, Brazil and Chile kick off the second round. They leave behind the points they've earned in the group stage and will battle for a win any way they can. The winner moves on, the loser goes home. That is the beauty of the World Cup. You can put the group behind you and focus on beating your opponent on the field.
As such, all contestants should know, that your points all go back to 0. That's right. You are all on level pegging once again. The second round will stand alone, and the top four contestants according to the points you earn in this round move on to the semi-finals. Everyone goes back to 0. The bottom two contestants will face each other for the rest of the tournament to determine 5th and 6th place. The four of you to advance to the semi-finals will have only the Quarterfinal round of the cup to earn enough points to make it to the championship. The top two teams move on, while the bottom two will face off for third place. Again, everyone returns to 0. The third place playoff will consist of both semifinal matches, the 3rd place playoff, and the championship. So will the championship. After which, our Zla Dupki 2014 World Cup Champion will be crowned.
How does one score in the knockout stages? Good question. The round kicks off with Brazil and Chile. Anyone to have predicted that matchup will get a point. Guess the correct score for the game, and you earn a bonus point. But, what if you don't have the correct matchups? Do not fret. Primarily you are trying to guess the correct teams to advance to the next round. For every correct quarterfinalist that you predict, you get a point. The next round, for every semifinalist you have correctly picked, you get a point. So on and so on.
These are the last, and hardest levels. Like the end of any good game, you have to face off against a boss. In this game, that boss is Quis Digno, better known as the Viking Baby Overlord. VBO will start off with a completely correct bracket. VBO will pick which teams advance. In any given round, if you can pick more winners than VBO, you win a bonus point.
I know what you're thinking, "but Grand Salmon Alpaca, what was the point of earning all those points in the first round?" Here is the deal. In the event of a tie, particularly where two players are fighting for one spot in the next round, or if the championship is tied after all matches have been played, the tie breaking procedure begins with who had more points in round 1. As a result, Praeceptor has the easiest path to the title. This contestant must simply remain out of the bottom two in the first, and second rounds, and then tie in the championship to win.
Anything can happen. Every contestant has a chance to move on and win. The fate of your brackets rests in the skills and tactics of the teams still to play on the field. Good luck to all.
The Grand Salmon Alpaca
