Is there a more absurd format for a sports tournament????
Discussion
For those who don't follow rugby (not that you need to for the purposes of this thread), the Anglo-Welsh cup is a tournament designed to give younger, less experienced players exposure to a cup format, larger crowds, better opposition and the like. This is, I suspect most would agree, a laudable goal, but the format of the tournament is the most absurd I've ever seen in any sport!
The absurd format is, at least, very simple to explain...
There are four pools of four teams each. Each team in one plays each team in pool four, and each team in pool two plays each team in pool three. At the end of the pool stage, the top team in each pool progresses to the semi-finals.
Can anyone figure out the flaw in this format yet???
For those who can't, it is, theoretically at least, possible for every team in pool one to beat every team in pool four, meaning that the team in pool four who had been least utterly hammered would progress to the semi-finals, whilst three of the teams in pool one would fail to reach the semis despite having won every game in their pool.
As things currently stand this season, Sale Sharks, who are third in Pool 2 with 8 points from two games are doing better than every team in Pools 1, 3 & 4 with the exception of Newcastle Falcons, who are topping pool 4.
Has anyone seen a more absurd tournament structure in any sport?
The absurd format is, at least, very simple to explain...
There are four pools of four teams each. Each team in one plays each team in pool four, and each team in pool two plays each team in pool three. At the end of the pool stage, the top team in each pool progresses to the semi-finals.
Can anyone figure out the flaw in this format yet???
For those who can't, it is, theoretically at least, possible for every team in pool one to beat every team in pool four, meaning that the team in pool four who had been least utterly hammered would progress to the semi-finals, whilst three of the teams in pool one would fail to reach the semis despite having won every game in their pool.
As things currently stand this season, Sale Sharks, who are third in Pool 2 with 8 points from two games are doing better than every team in Pools 1, 3 & 4 with the exception of Newcastle Falcons, who are topping pool 4.
Has anyone seen a more absurd tournament structure in any sport?
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