Online Quiz League USA - Cup - Season 12
The time has come! Welcome to the 2024 OQL USA Cup Championship!
We have six match weeks. Each week will begin Tuesday mid-day and go through Sunday night.
- Week 1: July 30-August 4
- Week 2: August 6-11
- Week 3: August 13-25 (double week to accommodate SporcleCon)
- Week 4: August 27-September 8 (double week to accommodate Labor Day)
- Week 5: September 10-15
- Week 6: September 17-22
Prior to the start of the season, each team was assigned "balance points" based on their 2024 performances thus far. This is the point total you will start with before every match throughout the competition. The balance points are to hopefully keep things as close as possible should a team that normally plays in D5 go up against a team that has won in D1. (These kinds of matchups are part of the fun of the Cup, and we love to see them!) All team balance points can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YhVi14xkUXxyfkI3bkUPLIuq82foUwyGFf989krVNQ4/edit?usp=sharing
For the first two weeks of play, matches were randomly drawn. The only guarantee is that you will not play a team you faced during the Summer 2024 regular OQL season (for example, a D3 Thistle team will not face another D3 Thistle team in Weeks 1-2). After the conclusion of Week 2, cumulative points from weeks 1 and 2 (this includes balance points for both weeks) will be added up, and teams will be placed into five divisions of 16 teams each. If we have ties, regular season scores will be consulted as the tiebreaker to separate divisions. Weeks 3-6 will be single-elimination and placement games to determine each division's champion, with D1's winner considered the overall Cup Champion.
For those familiar with the Cup, there is typically a Round 9 included in every match, to be used as a tiebreaker. However, since we are using a cumulative point total to determine the playoff divisions, Weeks 1 and 2 this year do NOT include a Round 9 - just a nearest-the-pin tiebreaker. We will introduce Round 9 during Week 3 and beyond. Please also ensure that if a tie is broken on the nearest-the-bull, the reader emails the results of the tiebreaker ASAP.
Speaking of reading, we have a new reader thread for Cup! As a reminder, home teams are expected to provide Zoom and a reader. If you are unable to field that yourself, you may request a reader via the thread linked at the end of this paragraph. Please include numerical date, time, and timezone in your request, and please understand that summer is very busy, and we cannot guarantee that the thread will yield a reader. Asking around directly via messages to friends or the opposing team may be the best way to find someone. The Facebook thread can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/oqlusa/posts/1266219824369245/
If you need anything during your season - help with scheduling issues, clarity on a ruling made during a match, behavioral issues, or any other concerns that may arise - please don't hesitate to reach out.