Head-to-Head Leagues
League owners have the choice of their league either being an open league, where each team is ranked on overall points, or Head-to-Head, where teams compete against each other on a weekly basis. In Head-to-Head, each team is matched up against another team in the league, and the team that scores the most points in a given round wins that matchup. The teams continue to compete in this way throughout the season, with the goal of finishing high up on the league ladder and qualifying for finals.
There are several finals options available for league owners to choose from, and we will describe them all here so you can make the correct choice for your league.
Final 2
This is the simplest option and takes place over just one round, where the top two teams play off in Round 16
In the event of a tie in the Final, the team in 1st place will be declared the winner.
As a minimum league size is 4, this is available to all league
Final 4
In Round 15, two Semi-Finals take place, one between 1st and 4th, and the other before 2nd and 3rd. The winners of each progress to the Final which is played in Round 16.
What happens if teams tie a final?
In the event of a tie in either of the Semi-Finals, the team listed first is the winner.
In the event of a tie in the Final, the highest ranked team before finals is the winner.
Your league size must be at 6 or above to select Final 4
Final 6
Here the top 6 teams play off over 3 rounds.
In the first round of finals two Elimination Finals take place, one between 4th and 5th, and the other before 3rd and 6th, with the winners progressing to the Semi-Finals. 1st and 2nd place teams have a bye and proceed directly to the Semi-Finals.
What happens with Bye Rounds?
If the league is set to play bye rounds, then finals will start on Round 14, which is designated as a bye round. There are six teams that do not play in Round 14: Hampshire, Durham, Essex, Surrey, Somerset and Worcestershire. As such, it is highly adventagous to the 1st and 2nd place teams who do not need to use trades in an attempt to cover for players who will have a bye during that round.
If the league is set to not play bye rounds, then finals will start on Round 13, with a week off for all teams before the Semi-Finals start in Round 15.
What happens if teams tie a final?
In the event of a tie in either of the Elimination or Semi-Finals, the team listed first is the winner.
In the event of a tie in the Final, the highest ranked team before finals is the winner.
Your league size must be at 8 or above to select Final 6
Final 8
Welcome to the most serious finals system we provide where 8 teams play off over 4 rounds, with double chance and week off rewards on offer for top 4 teams, and a challenging path forward for those who just make it into the top 8.
Your league size must be at 10 or above to select Final 8
Finals Structure
In the first round of finals constist of two Qualifying Finals for the Top 4 teams, and two Elimination Finals for teams 5th to 8th.
For the Qualifying Finals, 1st plays off against 4th, and 2nd against 3rd. The winner gets a round off and proceeds directly to the Preliminary Final, while the loser gets a 2nd chance the next week against one of the winners of the Elimination Finals in a Semi-Final.
For the Elimination Finals, 5th will play 8th and 6th against 7th, with the winners progressing to the Semi-Finals.
The winners of the Semi-Finals progress to the Preliminary Finals, however they "cross over" where the winner of the 1st Semi-Final proceeds to the 2nd Preliminary Final and vice versa. This ensures that there is no repeat of either of the Qualifying Finals in the 1st Round of Finals. A Qualifying Final matchup can only be repeated if both teams win their way to the Grand Final.
The winner of each Preliminary Final proceeds to the Grand Final and with it a chance to win the league championship!
Overall, there are large advantages to finishing in the top 4, as well as winning in the 1st round of finals. It requards teams that perform well over the whole season while providing an opportunity for teams rounding out the top 8.
What happens with Bye Rounds?
If the league is set to play bye rounds, then finals will start on Round 13, with the Semi-Finals round taking place during Round 14. There are six teams that do not play in Round 14: Hampshire, Durham, Essex, Surrey, Somerset and Worcestershire. As such, it is highly adventagous to the winners of the Qualifying Finals who do not need to use trades in an attempt to cover for players who will have a bye during that round.
If the league is set to not play bye rounds, then finals will start on Round 12, with a week off for all teams during Round 14.
What happens if teams tie a final?
In the event of a tie in either of the Elimination, Qualifying, Semi-Final or Preliminary finals, the team listed first is the winner. For Semi-Final matches, the team listed first will be the loser of their respective Qualifying Finals, and for Preliminary Finals it would be the winner of the Qualifying Final who earns the first listing, even if their opponent was ranked higher on the ladder before finals.
In the event of a tie in the Final, the highest ranked team before finals is the winner.
Why are Round 15 games called Preliminary Finals?
It an Australianism, colloquial called a "Prelim", that comes from the finals systems typically used in domestic Australian sports such as AFL and Rugby League. Many finals systems used in Australia over the last 100 years have a Preliminary Final that takes place after the Semi-Finals, where a high ranked loser of one of the Semi-Finals gets a second chance against the winner of a lower ranked Semi-Final. While these final systems evolved in the Final 8 used above, the unusual naming terminology has been retained.
No Finals
If finals are not your cup of tea, then you always have the option of choosing no finals for your Head-to-Head League.
Best of luck for the season ahead.