League of Champions Rules
League of Champions will be open to all, but LOC administrators reserve the right to allow or deny participation.
We realize that there are many situations with special circumstances, and the hosts reserve the right to exercise judgment in applying the rules to the letter of the law.
Location
All LOC matches can be played on any server. The LOC administrators reserve the right to resolve disputes by choosing an appropriate backgammon site for your match.
There will be many possible backgammon sites and settings for matches. You will be responsible for knowing and accepting the settings of the matches you play against your opponents. The administrators expect that the matches will be played as follows:
- Crawford rule in effect
- Jacoby rule not in effect
- normal doubling cube - no beavers
- no timed matches
- not for real money
Scheduling
ALL players are expected to use the email addresses provided on each bracket for your scheduling and always copy (cc) to the LOC Administrators There will be no forfeits awarded unless you have attempted to schedule with email copies to Administrators.
Please use email as your primary way to contact your opponents and save copies for future reference. MSN Messenger messages are not considered a method of contact as there is no way to confirm them. It is a good idea to register with a hotmail email address since spammers sometimes get your email from websites.
All matches are due to be played by the 31st of the month. Players that have not completed at least 50% of their matches, or scheduled them (using the provided email addresses), by the end of the month will risk the penalty of forfeit claims against them and subsequent banning from future LOC's at the hosts' discretion. Please play your matches in a timely fashion.
Format
League Format: League Divisions will be randomly chosen and assigned with a league maximum of 120 players and up to 8 brackets. Each month’s LOC will consist of 11 point matches.
League Playoff Format: In case of ties, previous head to head competition will be used to determine tie break. If a winner is still undetermined a pre-playoff will occur. Wins / Losses from the month's League Play will determine the seeding. The top 4 Players from each Division will advance. Playoff match lengths will be 13 points for the 1st and 2nd rounds, 15 points for the quarter finals, 17 points for the semi-finals, and a 19 point final.
The winner of the match will report the win using the "Report" pages. Please report wins within 24 hours of playing.
Scoring and Forfeits
All matches that have been played and won will score 1 full point. A loss will receive 0.5 of a point. If you email your opponent to arrange times for pending matches and receive no reply, you may choose to claim the forfeit win by email at anytime from the 23rd until the end of play and this will be worth 0.8 of a point. Unplayed matches (no emails sent) will be worth 0. This new way of determining points encourages everyone to play all of their matches and get credit for it, win or lose.
There may be a forfeit penalty. If an opponent posts a valid forfeit against you at the end of the month, because you failed to respond to their request to play. 0.8 points will be awarded to that opponent AND 0.8 may be deducted from your total.
Player
You may enter only once per month. You are expected to play ALL the matches from your bracket and must be played with serious competitiveness. Your matches are not yours to 'give'. You may not tell your opponent to post the win. If you violate this rule by giving or accepting a gift win and/or posting a win, you may be permanently banned from further participation in the LOC.
You are expected to conduct yourself in a sportsmanlike way and avoid bad language or controversial topics. Players are expected to conduct themselves in a mature and respectful manner. Bad sportsmanship will not be tolerated and rude players will not be allowed to participate. Conduct violations may result in disqualification from this league. . Have some fun and enjoy yourselves!
Disputes between players shall be immediately brought to administrator's attention. Stop the match, take a screen shot, and send an email describing what took place.
Please be careful when considering cube action. If you accept a double when you meant to resign or resign when you meant to accept, the mistake cannot be undone.
Players may not participate in any other game or match in while actively playing their assigned LOC matches or will forfeit their LOC match and receive a loss out of respect to your opponent. Players should be ready to play their match in a timely manner and avoid disruptions during match play. Match assistance of any kind is not permitted during match play.
A player is considered booted when he / she is unable to continue the game play. The booted player's opponent should give their opponent at least 5 minutes to return. If they do not return, the match should be rescheduled. If a player has booted because they are sure to lose, the remaining player may post the win. It is a good idea to get a screen shot of all matches.