So. Here we are. 25 games in the books, with the four playoff matches yet to come. But who will be taking part in those matches? That's what I'm here to tell you. Let's lead off with those players who earned byes directly into the Round of 16, those who were the top of the heap during the regular season.
First, we go to the top two in MP, the sign of sustained success in picking games, and those two are (not coincidentally) tops in every major category -
Kev and TPIRFan2000!
Next up, we take the next best pair of players with regards to game points, the indicator of top performances. Our third- and fourth-place players in points are
Cephas and Wayoshi!
Finally, we take the two highest cash earners among those remaining in the field. Standing in fifth and sixth respectively on the cash board are
OneBidTris and Punchboard91!
Those six players have all demonstrated skillful, savvy play, and all six are automatically into the Round of 16 as a result. Their names are in green on the final leaderboard. Those who are marked in yellow will take part in our "Best of the Rest" qualifying rumble next week, and without further ado, let's see them!
Everyone marked in yellow qualified by playing 75% of the available games this season. Some of them did also win a game, but that ended up as a redundant (if impressive) qualification. Likewise, all of the Elite Eight from last season are already in the hunt for the championship, with four of them having earned byes.
The 10 best players among those in the qualifying rumble will advance to the Round of 16. Right now, we have 15 lined up for a crack at those 10 spots, so if you play, you've got a good shot at moving at least one step closer to the Cup. It's not going to be an easy test, though... over half of this group has won a game this season and nearly all have multiple medals.
If you've looked at the spoilers thread, you know that four games are already spoiled for Friday's Mother's Day Special, which was set to be the day of our qualifying rumble. We do have two reserve days, but I'm hesitant to use one this early in proceedings, especially with the secondary make-up date being a make-good. That being said, we're going to attempt to do as we've done in the regular season and
play the qualifying match on Thursday, May 11. I will post the game thread on Tuesday, two days out as per normal, so keep your eyes peeled and your lineups ready!
