This format is appropriate for a two-day Saturday/Sunday Star Tournaments. The drafts are normal with any number of players between 8-11 per division. Saturday play is five three-game series. Sunday morning is three three-game series. All play stays within division until the best of series on Sunday afternoon after 24 games have been played. The top four players play a best of 5 followed by a best of 7.
The first round match-ups are random. If there are an odd number of players in the division (9 or 11), that player randomly gets the bye and a 2-1 record. If you have 14, 18 or 22 players in the tournament, then instead of a bye, the players cross over. This is the only way you can play out of division during the first 24 games. If you have three divisions with 21 or 27, then one player randomly gets the initial bye and the other two cross over.
Home and away differential is determined by subtracting your road games from your home games. When two players meet, the player with the lowest home game differential is home for games one and three. If you receive a bye, it is considered as two home games and one road game for differential purposes. If both teams have played the same number of home games and they have played before, then the one who was away for the first three games series is home for the second match-up.
Using 3x5 cards, all the run differentials are recorded to break ties for match-ups. Run differential is used only to determine match-ups. It is not used to determine who advances. The first round matches are determined randomly. On all subsequent rounds (2 thru 8), the players are matched up. Determine the order from top to bottom, breaking ties by run differential. If they are tied with run differential, then the one with the fewest home games get the tie break. Next you determine the bye or crossover team if you have an odd number of players in your division. The bye or crossover team is the player with worst record that has not had a bye or crossover. The first place player in the division plays the next best player that he has not yet played. The second place player then plays the best team he hasn't played, and so forth. If this results in players at the bottom having already played, then try to make match-ups with the bottom four teams. If this doesn't work, then match-up the best team with second best team he hasn't played. If there is only one possible set of match-ups with players that haven't played, then use that one. If, due the dropping of players, you can't match-up players with players they haven't played, let the duplicate match-up happen at the bottom of the standings. You always use the match-ups that cause the least number of duplicate match-ups.
The same player may receive only one bye during the first five rounds. The same player may receive a bye again during rounds six and seven. A player cannot crossover twice in a row. The player with worst record receives the bye or crossover unless the conditions above apply. On round eight the worst players gets a bye or crossover regardless. A player may receive a crossover and a bye during the first fifteen games. A player may only receive one crossover during the first fifteen games.
If there are two divisions, round eight matches up 1st versus 4th, 2nd versus 3rd, 5th versus 6th, 7th versus 8th. If this match-up causes players 1 and 4 or 2 and 3 to play each other for the third time (9 games) and the other players only once (3 games), then match up 1st versus 3rd and 2nd versus 4th. The top four players always play each in round eight. Players can play each again for the final round. The top two teams advance to the playoffs. If there is tie between 1st and 2nd, then head to head determines the division winner and the 2nd place team. Home field is random. If there is a tie between 2nd and 3rd, then there is a one game playoff that does not count in your record. If there is a three way tie for first or a three way tie for 2nd, then a round robin shootout is used to determine the 1st and/or 2nd place teams. If there is no winner after playing two rounds of the shootout, then the team with the best or worst head to head among all three gets a bye. Two shootouts then determines the last one in or the last one out.
The division winners play the 2nd place team in the other division in a best of five semi-finals with the division winner being home for games 1,2 and 5. The winners play a best of 7 with the higher seeded team home for games 1,2,6 and 7.
All pitching resets for the best of 5 . All pitching carries over from the best of 5 to the best of 7. The playoffs are a 12 game season. If you win the best of 5 in 3 or 4 games you get two or one days of rest for your pitching. The best of 7 starts on day 6 of the playoffs.
If there are three divisions, round eight match-ups are 1st versus 2nd, 3rd versus 4th, 5th versus 6th, 7th versus 8th. If two teams have already ready played twice (6 games), then match-up 1st versus 3rd and 2nd versus 4th. All the division winners advance to the finals.
The three 2nd place teams and the 3rd place team with the best record enter the wild card shootout. If there is a two way tie for first in any division, then a one game playoff is used to determine who is 1st and who is 2nd. If there is a three way tie for 1st, then a three way shootout determines who finishes 1st, 2nd and 3rd. If there is a two-way tie for second in any division, then there is a one game playoff. If there is a three way tie for second, then a round robin shootout is used to determine who advances. The three way round robin shootout is described above. Ties for third in any division are broken by shootouts only. If after third place is determined for all three divisions and there is still a tie, then shootouts are used to determine the best third place team. After the all the 2nd place teams and the best 3rd place teams have been determined, the 2nd place team with the best record plays the 3rd place team in a shootout unless they are from the same division, then the 3rd place team plays the 2nd best 2nd place team. Shootout winners advance and play each other in the wild card shootout final, with the winner advancing to final four. The wild card winner players the division winner with the best record unless they are from the same division, in that case the wild card winner plays the division winner with the 2nd best record. All ties among 1st place players for seeding is done with a 20 sided die. All ties among 2nd place players for seeding is done with a 20 sided die. Playoffs are then the same as a two division tournament.
Sunday play starts at 8:30 am and should be competed by 11pm. The modified round robin format allows any player to drop anytime without disrupting the schedule. Everybody usually plays everybody else in a division.
For a two division tournament, instead of a best of five semi-final and a best of seven world series, an ninth position round may be added and only a world series may be played.
For a three division tournament, the best second place team advances directly to the world series. Any two team tie is a one game playoff. More than two team ties are broken with round robin shootout as described above.
On Sunday all players are placed in a single division. There are then three four game series. Matchups are determined by the best record playing the team with the best record they have not played. The two top teams advance to the world series.