Welcome to FC Dynasty Cup XIV. The Cup XIII Champion, Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi, is back to defend their title and gets the honor of the pre-tournament #1 seed (always the first listed team in Group A.)

Looks like we'll be rolling with 24 teams. The format this Cup will be the following - the top two in each Group will advance to the Knockout Stage and the top four seeds will get coveted 1st Round byes. The 24-team format has been done before. You can look at Cup X as an example.

The following tournament format and rules will apply.
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TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The tournament will be split into multiple stages, a group play followed by knockout rounds. Teams will be eliminated at the end of each stage until a champion is crowned. This champion will lay claim to glory and shall have bragging rights over all teams in all worlds for a very short period of time.

Group Stage
Each team is initially assigned to a group. Group play will consist of a round robin, with each team playing home and away against the other teams within their group. Points will be based on the following - 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss.

Determination as to which teams will advance to the knockout rounds will be in the following order - stage points - goal differential - away goals - goals scored. If the teams are in an absolute tie after all tiebreakers, a coin flip using random.org's random number service will determine who advances and/or who gets what seed.

Knockout Stage
Each round will be a home/away set with the winner being based on aggregate goals. If aggregate goals are tied, the higher seed will host the lower seed in an additional game. If that game is tied, the lower seed will then host the higher seed and so on. As long as both coaches are scheduling games, the round will continue until one side wins outright. If one team fails to schedule for three consecutive days, that team will forfeit the round and the other team will advance.

Seeding for the knockout rounds will be determined in the following order. The six group winners will automatically get the top six seeds and the six 2nd place finishers will be seeded 7-12. The top four seeds will get a 1st Round bye and will begin knockout play in the quarterfinals.

The 1st Round will consist of the following:

#5 seed vs #12 seed
#6 seed vs #11 seed
#7 seed vs #10 seed
#8 seed vs #9 seed

The quarterfinals will consist of the following:

#1 seed vs winner of #8/#9 match-up
#2 seed vs winner of #7/#10 match-up
#3 seed vs winner of #6/#11 match-up
#4 seed vs winner of #5/#12 match-up

The semifinals will consist of the following:

#1 seed quarterfinals match-up vs #4 seed quarterfinals match-up
#2 seed quarterfinals match-up vs #3 seed quarterfinals match-up

Championship Round
The Championship Round will match the two remaining teams in a home and away series with the winner being based on aggregate goals. If an aggregate goal tie occurs, the host of the additional game will be decided by a coin flip using random.org's random number service. The Championship Round is the only round not subject to a set time frame. Scheduling is open-ended and tiebreakers are unlimited until a Champion has proven their worth on the field.
Best of luck to all of the participants in their quest for the ultimate prize - The FC Dynasty Cup!
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List of Participants

Group A
Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi (World 82) - indiansrck27 (Defending Champions)
Fianna AFC (World 62) - EJP65
SwampDragons United (World 72) - sd59
Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. (World 71) gomiami1972

Group B
FC Not Very Athletic (World 62) - pubmonkey
FC Stolpen Steamroller (World 71) - Dorf
Southeast Indiana Football Club (World 87) - gccoach
FC Cackalacky (World 79) - clememp

Group C
Kobelco United Football Club (World 87) - nittany88
Rushmore FC (World 59) - bert_fischer
the crutchanators of soccer (World 79) - brandon5135
VB Hibernian (World 74) - EJP

Group D
FC Trojans of SC (World 62) - spdracer
FC Kingston (World 80) - jmjtrain
Bordeaux Fighting Bovines (World 92) - ttnorm
Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack (World 78) - usf_bulls

Group E
Space Olympics (World 92) - dw172300
Burnaby Hillbillies (World 91) - sd39
Wolfsburg Dynamit (World 87) - BruKing
North Polar Dragons FC (World 79) - shoe3

Group F
Brighton AFC (World 62) - vkurk
Bad News (World 92) - douglaslee
Swamp City Dragons (World 64) - sd69
Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia Foci Klub - (World 85) - gomiami1

Group Tables and Results
Group tables and results will be updated every evening around 7pm during the Group Stage of the tournament. Individual game results show the home team always to the LEFT of the bracketed score. Table abbreviations key: GoalF = goals for, GoalA = goals against, GoalD = goal differential, AwayG = away goals, (F) = team has forfeited point(s) due to failure to schedule, Blue Highlighting = qualified for the next round, (#) Knockout Seed. Thru 4/30.
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GROUP A - 1 game remaining	Wins	Loss	Ties	GoalF	GoalA	GoalD	AwayG	Stage Points
Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi...................	4	2	0	18	9	+9	10	12
Fianna AFC	2	2	1	9	11	-2	5	7
Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V.	2	3	1	13	16	-3	6	7
SwampDragons United	1	2	2	9	13	-4	2	5

GROUP B - all games complete	Wins	Loss	Ties	GoalF	GoalA	GoalD	AwayG	Stage Points
FC Stolpen Steamroller	6	0	0	19	4	+15	11	18
FC Not Very Athletic	3	3	0	17	15	+2	6	9
FC Cackalacky	2	4	0	11	19	-8	4	6
Southeast Indiana Football Club......................	1	5	0	10	19	-9	2	3

FC Stolpen Steamroller [3 : 0] FC Not Very Athletic; FC Stolpen Steamroller [3 : 1] Southeast Indiana Football Club; FC Not Very Athletic [4 : 1] FC Cackalacky; Southeast Indiana Football Club [1 : 2] FC Stolpen Steamroller; FC Stolpen Steamroller [2 : 0] FC Cackalacky; FC Not Very Athletic [6 : 0] Southeast Indiana Football Club; FC Cackalacky [1 : 4] FC Stolpen Steamroller; Southeast Indiana Football Club [2 : 3] FC Not Very Athletic; FC Not Very Athletic [1 : 5] FC Stolpen Steamroller; FC Cackalacky [2 : 1] Southeast Indiana Football Club; Southeast Indiana Football Club [5 : 3] FC Cackalacky; FC Cackalacky [4 : 3] FC Not Very Athletic

Knockout Results

The Knockout Rounds will consist of the First Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and a 3rd Place game if both teams are willing to participate. Results are updated after the 7:00 pm game each night. Individual game results show the home team always to the LEFT of the bracketed score. Teams that forfeit a game due to a failure to schedule cannot advance. A full explanation as to tiebreakers can be found in the Tournament Format and Rules post above. Numbers in bold between team names represent aggregate goals. Abbreviations key if necessary: (F) = team has forfeited round due to a failure to schedule. Blue Highlighting = advanced in the knockout rounds.

Championship Results

The Championship will be updated after 7pm each night. Individual game results show the home team always to the LEFT of the bracketed score. Numbers in bold between the team names represent aggregate goals. There are no seeds and there is no time frame for the Championship. If an aggregate tie occurs, the home side for the first tiebreaker game will be decided by a coin flip and we will continue alternating home fields until a Champion is crowned.
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L'Orteil D'or (The Golden Toe) tracker for the tournament's top goal scorer. Thru 4/30

Eru Avilés (Bad News) - 6

Heinz Hagelin (crutchanators), Weyland Watkins (Cotopaxi), Greg Eardensohn (Steamroller), Regan Holian (Athletic), Sinai Kupferstoch (Cackalacky) - 5

Miika Moilanen (crutchanators), Maeyken Bastin (Cotopaxi), Rodiger Brenner (Steamroller), Yoshino Sugawara (Kobelco), Borce Trevean (Swamp U) - 4

José Valdés (Cotopaxi), Melvyn Ashton (Fianna), Reilly Glinton (Fianna), Jabari Pickens (Athletic), Callough Hoskins (Fianna), Ramzi Babham (Bad News), Nemesio Estévez (Bordeaux), Quillan Brougham (Brighton), Mateu Moreno (Kobelco), Akton Egholm (Cackalacky), Ellery Weinberger (Köln), Jayvon Burch (Köln), Austyn Collins (Indiana), Peer Weinstein (Indiana) - 3

Erik Adu (crutchanators), Reino Kivikoski (crutchanators), Henry Berry (crutchanators), Cesar Vanney (Steamroller), Otho Mann (Steamroller), Rodrigo Moregón (Steamroller), Andrea Iglesias (Steamroller), Zackary Illescas (Athletic), Grayvesone Akeman (Athletic), Phelps Walcott (Athletic), Lionel Insua (Bordeaux), Lionel Insua (Bordeaux), Barzagli Busce', (Bordeaux), Enriqueta Montaner (Hibs), Udayle Velázquez (Trojans), Rashan Berwick (Trojans), Macadam Gilfoyle (Trojans), Aescby Nix (Cotopaxi), Hadwyn MacAuliffe (Rushmore), Kaj Tervo (North Polar), Tre Ackworth (Swamp City), Charlie Hinson (Swamp City), Arley Movsisyan (Swamp City), Eadburt Pellyn (Brighton), Brady Sealy (Kobelco), Yujiro Takahashi (Kobelco), Boyce Pasch (Wolfsburg), Martinez Naranjo (Hillbillies), Ninian Brooks (Swamp U), Jem Zeltner (Kingston), Inacio Alba (Magyar), Alonzo de La Macorra (Köln), Deshon McBeth (Indiana) - 2

Rollie Kohlberg (Steamroller), Nicanor Monreal (Steamroller), Tilbrand Verstraete (Cotopaxi), Ariens Mathijssen (Cotopaxi), Edwin Smets (Cotopaxi), Moss Clem (Cotopaxi), Lucas Quezada (Fianna), Cundles Andrews (Fianna), Cowal Chernock (Fianna), Baylen Rafter (Fianna), Doonan Molan (Athletic), Jack Fitzgerald (Athletic), Fineen Connelly (Athletic), Touko Pesola (crutchanators), Raymond Vela (crutchanators), Reino Kivikoski (crutchanators), Damion Perciful (Hibs), Koichi Murakami (Kobelco), Auden Bleazard (Kobelco), Waldmunt Marmaduke (Kobelco), Hassoun Hautcoeur (Bordeaux), Erasmo Velasco (Bordeaux), Collier Wylde (Bordeaux), Hrocesburh Hussey (Kingston), Jakobe Mullan (Kingston), Sadahige Kanai (Kingston), Bentleah Heyworth (Kingston), Quong Ikeda (Kingston), Quirke Fayre (Brighton), Favio Edgerton (Brighton), Templeton Jaramillo (Brighton), Houston Dainichi (Brighton), Ulick Quinlan (Olympics), Nuncio Langella (Olympics), Adriano Del Nero (Olympics), Diaz Vallejo (Olympics), Dennis Gianluca (Olympics), Edrik Askew (Olympics), Bertie Montabell (Swamp City), Uriel Evan (Swamp City), Gideon Kuhlman (Trojans), Melvin Ianni (Trojans), Lamont Wahl (Trojans), Damien Mullarkey (Trojans), Regan Aiton (Swamp U), Elliston Blundell (Swamp U), Adkins Raad (Swamp U), Les Fifer (Bad News), Kincaid Byfield (Bad News), Kensaku Sho (Wolfsburg), Lambert Schröder (Wolfsburg), Benny Cabral (Wolfsburg), Christian Grandoni (Rushmore), Jeramie Edward (Rushmore), Noe Knoyll (Hodensack), Yale Guzman (Hodensack), Oliver Weisz (Hodensack), Eli Kotschau (Hodensack), Gabek Dobek (Hodensack), Derrick Alvin (Hodensack), Cesar Surcin (Hillbillies), Salbatore Jaramillo (Magyar), Hannes Carli (North Polar), Frisco Vivian (Hillbillies), Mathieu Louvois (Hillbillies), Gabriele Abderhalden (Cackalacky), Adriel Rowley (Cackalacky), Casper Jansen (Cackalacky), Leonhard Richmond (Köln), Gonzalez Lira (Köln), Javiero Benavídez (Köln), Hector Rico (Köln), Stirling Carrillo (Köln), Kenelm Baze (Indiana), Easton Wynne (Indiana) - 1

OK, things will slowly get put together over the next couple of days. I'm officially closing the signup thread, so all comments should be placed here fron now on.

If, by chance, there is anyone late to the party and you want to enter, please let me know ASAP. There are a couple of standby teams that were included and they can easily be swapped out for your club...but its gotta be soon. Once the groups are finalized (probably Friday evening) the window will close.

I include this comment because there are a lot of traditional Cup participants that have not signed up for various reasons and we'd love to have ya...

OK, I have looked at everyone's roster and will be assigning the groups this evening. Based on what I saw, there are 3-4 teams that look a cut above and a handful that are rebuilders. Everyone else seems to be in the category of a mix of veterans and younger players. Of course, age and experience doesn't show me player ratings but looking at rosters gives me some indication of team strength.

When you log in tomorrow morning, we should be ready to go.

Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi and indiansrck27, your title defense and bid to be a repeat Champion starts now!

Everyone can schedule at your convenience. You'll play a home and away against each opponent, so you'll be sending and receiving a challenge with each team in your group for a total of six games. The time frame for Group Stage games is April 20th thru May 2nd. Remember, games must be scheduled by the 2nd, not necessarily played by the 2nd.

Spread your outgoing challenges out. Slot 10 is as good as Slot 1. If everybody uses the first three slots, there will be a traffic jam. So, here's the rule of thumb I suggest - If you receive an incoming challenge in the same slot you have sent an outgoing challenge, please accept the incoming challenge and re-issue your own challenge that was in that slot. If you receive multiple incoming challenges in the same slot, choose one ASAP. Choosing one quickly gives the team you did not select as much time as possible to issue a new challenge to you.

I have verified that each User ID and team name is spelled correctly. You can copy/paste the user ID or team name from the participating teams list. While a lot of teams have similar names (there are a lot of dragons,) every ID is unique. Sometimes the program adds an extra space to the end of a user ID or team name. Remove the extra space for your search to work.

OK, everyone. It's time to lace up your cleats and enter the arena. Best of luck and show no mercy - goal differential is a tiebreaker. 12 will survive the round-robin to continue the fight in their bid for the Ultimate Prize.

Love waking up and checking to see THREE challenges already! Let's go FC Cackalacky!

We have our eyes on B2B Championships!!!

Had the Champs name spelled wrong. Of all teams to diss... He'll get the last laugh when he crushes my team 8-0 in Group A play.

Starting tomorrow morning, I'll begin searching for scheduled games as we transition from the build-up hype to live action.