MegaBracket 2014 Information
The Short Version:
- Log in
- Make your picks
- Collect points
- Triumph or fail
How It Works:
All major professional events have been included in MegaBraket, as well as all NCAA and CIS (Canadian Intercollegiate Sports) events and many, many, many other professional, semi-professional and collegiate events.
- The full list of MB 2014 events can be found here
- The format of each event determines the number and type of picks we submit; many events have multiple pick deadlines
- Most events are typical bracket events where you pick winners to advance throughout the event
- Some events use re-seeding after each round or perhaps just a specific round
- Must submit multiple sets of picks, usually on the same page
- Some events intially use pool or group play
- Winners are selected from the pool or group, then the remaining picks can be submitted, often on a different page
- Others are non-bracket events
- You pick teams to finish in places 1-8 or 1-4 or 1-2, etc.
- You earn points for these events in a similar fashion to the bracket events (points are for a top 8 pick finishing in the top 8, a top 4 pick finishing in the top 4, a #1 pick winning the event, etc.)
- Events with individuals (golf, auto racing, horse racing)
- You pick a team of individuals and the combined effort of your team is compared to the scores of everyone else's teams. Points are then awarded based on your place among all users.
- For golf majors the top finishing user earns 120 points, 2nd place 108, 3rd place 96 and so on down to 10th place earning 12
- For other user vs user events 1st place gains 80 points, 2nd place 72, 3rd place 64 and so on down to 10th place gaining 8
- Weekly pick events
- A collection of assorted games or series are grouped together in a weekly contest. There are four during the MB season - one during July and August, weekly College Football picks, weekly NFL picks and one from January to April
- Each pick is assigned a point value of 1, 2 or 3
- Bonus points are awarded to the user(s) who scores the most points during each week's picks
- Each of the four events also has season-long points - 100 points for the user with the most points over the course of the event, 90 points for 2nd, 80 for 3rd and so on down to 10 points for 10th
The 2014 Regular Season:
- The regular season runs from the first pick deadlines on July 18, 2013 through April 20, 2014
- The schedule allows for time off between MB season and utilizes the British Open as the kickoff event for the new season
- Most weeks consist of 2-6 events with most deadlines typically occurring towards the end of the week
- Most events allows 3-6 days to get your picks in although they are occasional events that leave just a day or two
- The extrememly busy times for MB - weeks with 10-25 pick deadlines - include a week in early September, three weeks in November, six weeks from late February through the end of March and four weeks in May
- The regular season consists of 12 distinct time periods, which we call MegaBlocks, as well as two stand alone blocks - one for the Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and one for the original four events that started it all (D-I Men's BB, NIT, CBI, CIT)
- Each MegaBlock consists of all games, series and events that are completed within the dates of that block
- For example, MegaBlock 1 begins with the start of the season and ends September 4. The points for all games, series and events that end before or on September 4 will count towards Block 1
- If a minor league baseball series starts before September 4 but ends after, those points will count towards Block 2
- May events will span multiple MegaBlocks and have points cout in those different blocks
- For example, the Major League Baseball playoffs begin October 1 and end November 1. Thus, points will end up counting for Block 2 and 3
- The full schedule of MB 2014 blocks can be found here
- An advantage to this system are that a user can choose which time periods in which to compete. A person who signs up in December rather than June or July still has many opportunities to qualify for the postseason
- Points are accumulated per block and overall - winning blocks and accumulating the most points are the tickets to the postseason
The Playoffs:
- The winner of each MegaBlock qualifies for the season-ending playoffs
- A person can only qualify for one spot in the playoffs. If someone who has already qualified for the playoffs wins another block, the postseason spot will go to the highest finisher who has not already qualified
- As mentioned before, the Division I Men's Basketball Tournament serves as its own block as do the original four events that started this whole crazy enterprise – that tourney plus the NIT, CBI and CIT
- The top two users in the overall standings at the end of the regular season who have not already clinched a postseason berth also qualify for the playoffs
- 16 users qualify for the playoffs, which plays out as a typical 16-person bracket
- The playoff rounds are four consecutive time periods, with points from all games, series and events occurring during that time counting for that playoff round
- Playoff qualifiers are seeded by number of block wins and then overall points
- Consolation matches will also be played
- The MegaBracket champion is crowned at the end of the College Baseball World Series in late June
League Functionality:
- MegaBracket also allows users to create their own leagues, similar to fantasy football
- While also competing among all users in MB 2014, you can create a league with any numbers of users and compete amongst each other
- The person who creates the league will serve as the commissioner and has complete control over which events are used by the league
- For instance, a league can decide to only pick college events or pro events, only pick pro baseball and pro football, or any combination the league wishes
- That flexibility allows a league to compete on their own terms while also allowing each user to pick as many events as they wish for the overall race
- Leagues will not use MegaBlocks. All points will count for the user's league total
- The league commissioner determines whether the league champion will be decided by points or with a playoff. If using a playoff, the commissioner will decide whether 2, 4, 8 or 16 users qualify
- League playoff fields and seeding will be determined solely by points
Important Picks Note:
- Regardless of whether you are in a league or not - or in multiple leagues - you will only submit one set of picks for each event. Unlike other sites that allow for multiple brackets, you only get one chance per account to get the picks right in MegaBracket