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USQ Update

Regional ChampionshipsMidwest

Gameplay Information for 2016 Midwest Regional Championship

by US Quidditch | November 2, 2016

The gameplay format, pools, and bracket structure for the 2016 Midwest Regional Championship are announced below.

Photo by: Cally O'Neill

Photo by: Cally O'Neill

The pools for the 2016 USQ Midwest  Regional Championship are as follows (listed in alphabetical order):

Pool A: Illinois State University Firebirds, Kansas Quidditch, Loyola University Chicago, Southern Illinois University Quidditch, University of Northern Colorado

Pool B: Anarchs Quidditch, Minnesota Quidditch, Mizzou Quidditch, SIUE Quidditch Club

Pool C: Chicago United Quidditch Club, Creighton Quidditch, Marquette University Quidditch, TC Frost

The format

The gameplay schedule can be found here, while information on the regional championship can be found here.

On Sunday, the top four teams in each pool make the 12-team bracket.  Five teams will qualify for nationals, and there will be two ways to qualify: 1) Reach the Championship Match, 2) Teams who lose in either the Round of 8 or the Semifinals will be placed into Consolation Rounds, needing up to three additional victories to attain a nationals berth.

After pool play, teams earning a 1-4 seed can qualify for nationals with either of the following win-loss patterns:  W-W, or W-L-W, or W-L-L-W, or L-W-W-W, or L-W-W-L-W.  Teams seeded 5-12 after pool play must win one additional game ahead of following either of the previously listed patterns.
As it was last season, teams will be seeded into the bracket with consideration to their placement in pool play. The four teams who finish first in their pool will be compared against each other according to our tiebreakers (as listed below) for the top 3 spots in the bracket. The teams who place second in their pools will be compared against each other for spots 4-6, etc.
The process

The original ranked list was divided into five pots by seed, and each pool had one team randomly drawn from each pot. The rankings were based on the USQ standings, per the rankings algorithm described here.  This includes the fifth pot, which was comprised of only three teams.  In this case, two Pools drew an “Open” slot.  The pots that teams were drawn from are as follows:

Pot 1: Mizzou Quidditch, TC FROST, Kansas Quidditch

Pot 2:  Minnesota Quidditch, Marquette University Quidditch, Illinois State University Firebirds

Pot 3: University of Northern Colorado, Creighton Quidditch, Anarchs Quidditch

Pot 4: SIUE Quidditch Club, Chicago United Quidditch Club, Southern Illinois University Quidditch

Pot 5: Loyola University Chicago