Hi all,
The Originals Draft is fast approaching, so I wanted to fill people in on the remaining details. One question at the bottom that I need you to answer…
The draft will take place at the Papillon bar, Commercial Road Southampton. For those of you who have been to a Southampton draft before, it is close to our usual IBIS Hotel spot, but just the opposite side of the railway station.
The bar opens at 11.30, I’ll be there on the dot. Could I ask managers to arrive for 12.00 please. Draft will start at 12.30 (with auto-drafted punters and offensive linemen for late arrivals!). As ever, watch out for Southampton’s traffic. They are several parking spaces at the bar.
We have a reserved section in the bar. It’ll be smaller than our IBIS room, but should still be plenty big enough. We sadly won’t be the usual 2 minute walk from a McDonald’s, so instead the bar will be serving us an early afternoon buffet.
Draft will be from approximately 12.30 to 5.15 (15 rounds with a brief break after every three rounds). Unlikely previous year’s we’ll know draft order up front, based on a sports prediction question which I will post on the forum separately today.
Assuming we can get the draft done by 5.15, we’ll have time to make the short hop to the Scholars’ Arms (same pub as last year) to see whichever Premier League game is on that afternoon, while also holding a post mortem into why we didn’t draft the right players! And then a meal nearby – probably Greek ‘mezes’ to keep things simple, after the restaurant last year struggled with 16 different orders!
Following the draft, the league format will be as last year:
- 14 week regular season
- Week 15 quarter final (the number 1 seed will choose their opponent from the other 7 playoff qualifiers. Then the other six playoff qualifiers will be paired off automatically, highest remaining seed plays lowest remaining seed, second highest plays second lowest etc)
- Week 16 semi final (the highest seed still in the competition will choose their opponent from the other 3 remaining teams, then the two remaining teams will be paired in the other semi final)
- Week 17 final
Prizes are as follows:
- Winner - £1,000
- Runner Up - £400
- Losing Semifinalists - £125 X two people
- Highest weekly score in weeks 1 to 14 - £173.16, to commemorate the amazing achievement that Simon doesn’t mention often enough
For info, several people are aiming to get to Southampton on the Friday, to watch the Hundred cricket match taking place here on Draft Eve. Get to the Discord chat if you are interested.
So. I need one piece of information from you. Are you joining us for the meal after the draft (at around 7.15)? Sooner the better with the answer so I can get a table booked. Ta.
And please yell with any questions.
Cheers, Jon
