SCORING
Like both the Euros and Premier League Pick One Challenges, the scoring comes from the final ratings on Sofascore. This allows for an even playing field over all levels of the pitch and gives all nations at least decent footing when it comes to potential selections. Be wary of checking things to early because the ratings system takes many aggregations into play and usually doesn't settle on a final number until late that evening or maybe even the next morning.
THE PICK PROCESS
This is where things are going to differ from any other Pick One Challenge to date. Instead of picking one player PER DAY, you will be picking one player PER GAME on any given matchday. At the end of the Euros, there were far too many players left unused and zero picked out. In such a small window of time that wasn't entirely unexpected but it was pretty un-fun.
So for instance, on day one of the tournament you will only need to make one selection as only hosts Qatar and Ecuador play. On the second day, the entirety of Group B (including the US) and Senegal/Netherlands are on the docket so you would need three picks. It isn't complicated but different than the norm here and I felt it needed hammering home.
In regards to the Last Man In, that will be in play for every game not just the last one of the day. So if you miss a game window you would get the last substitute with a registered score on Sofascore. There will be two steps of Last Man In for this game so if you already used the "true" LMI, you get another bite at the apple.
You can get picks to me through whatever channel you see fit. Text, social media DM, carrier pigeon, through a group chat. Whatever is most comfortable for you is what I work with. I'll even set up a Google Form that can be used if you don't feel like following me on Twitter and seeing what I got on Quordle every day. Once all rosters have been announced, I will email all participants the Google Sheet for score updates since I've yet to find a way to "appify" this bad Larry.
PAYOUTS AND TIEBREAKERS
As always, the fee for entry is $10. I prefer Venmo or PayPal but if you are in my general vicinity and wanna drop cash in clandestine fashion during a handshake I'm down for that as well. My personal preference is to sit from the sidelines and adjudicate the proceedings but if we have less than ten people I'll more than likely play. If I do, I post all my picks before kickoff on Twitter as a system of checks and balances.
Regardless of participation, Financial Relegation will be back with bells on. That means that last place has to pay twice just to keep things interesting just in case somebody has a hot group stage and runs away with things. If we get ten or more participants, second place will get their buy-in back. If not, winner takes all including the double payout from the last place player.
Here are the very simple tiebreakers since the chance of them being necessary is always higher in this realm:
- Most Goals- Whoever has the most goals from selected players in the tournament. If still tied...
- Most Assists- Whoever has the most assists from selected players in the tournament. If still tied...
- Most Clean Sheets- Whoever has the most clean sheets from selected defenders/goalkeepers in the tournament. If still tied...
- Most Selections From World Cup Winner- Whoever has the most selected players from the eventual winning nation. If still tied...
- Flip A Fucking Coin- Because if it isn't broken by this point, let a dead president decide.
And that's it! As always, you can reach out to me on Twitter @TREVORutley with any inquiries. For those on Facebook I set up a group chat there as well and you can find me there I'm not difficult to track down. Any referrals are cool as well so share this with any interested parties. I'm hoping to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones as we provide a distraction for the potential heartbreak of this tournament and the angry fervor that will undoubtedly be surrounding it for a multitude of reasons!