Originally posted on 01/09/2014:

ENTRY FEE IS 20 BETPOINTS.

IF YOU ARE A NON-PRO, YOU CAN ONLY SEND TWO BETPOINTS PER DAY. YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SEND TWO POINTS PER DAY DURING THE TWO WEEK RUN OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN. PROS, I WOULD ADVISE TO PAY YOUR 20 UP FRONT AND THEN NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. FOR ALL ENTRIES - IF YOU HAVE FAILED TO PAY THE FULL 20 POINTS BY THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEN'S FINAL ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 26TH - ANY PRIZE AMOUNT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR WILL BE CUT IN HALF.

YOU PAY FOR YOUR FEE BY CLICKING THE COIN IN THIS POST AND SHIPPING ME YOUR ENTRY FEE.

THE PRIZE POOL AMOUNT AND PAYOUT SCALE WILL BE DETERMINED UPON THE FINAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED ON THE 1ST DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT.

FORMAT/RULES
EACH ENTRANT WILL SUBMIT ENTRY INFORMATION FOR BOTH THE WTA (WOMEN) & ATP (MEN) DRAWS FOR PART ONE & WILL MAKE PICKS FOR PART TWO FOR BOTH THE WTA & ATP.

A BASIC DEFINITION HERE FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT AS TO WHAT A QUARTER IS.

BOTH MEN'S & WOMEN'S DRAWS ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO QUARTERS (4 PARTS). A QUARTER IS THE PORTION OF THE BRACKET PER EACH OF THE TOP FOUR SEEDS WHICH INCLUDES 32 TOTAL PLAYERS PER QUARTER.

IF YOU'RE CONFUSED, LOOK AT THE BRACKET LINKS PROVIDED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. EACH SECTION YOU CAN CLICK ON IN THE 1st ROUND - FOUR TOTAL IS A QUARTER.

PART I: GROUP PLAY
FOR EACH QUARTER OF BOTH (ATP/WTA) DRAWS, YOU WILL SELECT THREE PLAYERS THAT CAN EARN YOU POINTS. YOU MUST CHOOSE TWO SEEDED PLAYERS & ONE UNSEEDED PLAYER. SEEDED PLAYERS WILL BE THE ONES WHO HAVE NUMBERS NEXT TO THEIR NAMES IN THE DRAWS. THERE ARE 32 SEEDS IN EACH DRAW. AN UNSEEDED PLAYER WILL HAVE NO NUMBER NEXT TO THEIR NAME.

BASED ON THAT, YOU WILL HAVE A TOTAL OF 12 PLAYERS IN EACH DRAW WORKING TO EARN YOU POINTS.

FOR EACH WIN YOUR PLAYER(S) GET, YOU EARN POINTS. UNSEEDED PLAYERS WILL EARN DOUBLE THE POINTS FOR EACH WIN. FOR LOSSES, YOU LOSE POINTS BASED ON THE ROUND THEY GO OUT IN. SO THE IDEA OBVIOUSLY IS TO PICK PLAYERS YOU BELIEVE WILL ADVANCE FAR IN THEIR QUARTERS.

YOU MAY SELECT ONE PLAYER FOR THE ENTIRE DRAW IN BOTH ATP/WTA AS YOUR BONUS PLAYER. THIS SELECTION CANNOT BE ONE OF THE TOP FOUR SEEDS IN THE DRAW, BUT MUST BE A PLAYER YOU SELECTED IN ONE OF THE QUARTERS FOR YOUR GROUPS OF THREE. YOUR BONUS PLAYER IS ELIGIBLE TO EARN YOU TRIPLE THE POINTS THE ENTIRE WAY THROUGH THE TOURNAMENT. SO THIS SHOULD BE A PLAYER YOU BELIEVE WILL GO VERY DEEP IN THE TOURNAMENT.

THE SELECTIONS FOR THE QUARTERS OF THE DRAW WILL EARN POINTS/LOSE POINTS FROM THE 1ST ROUND TO THE QUARTERFINALS.

PART II: SEMIS & FINALS
UPON COMPLETION OF THE QUARTERFINALS, THE 2ND PART OF THE CONTEST WILL BEGIN WITH THE SEMIFINALS FOR BOTH THE MEN & WOMEN. THIS IS WHERE WE WILL USE ACTUAL POSTED LINES AS THE FINAL CHANCES TO EARN POINTS IN THE STANDINGS.

FOR EACH SEMIFINAL MATCH & EACH CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO PLAY EITHER A TOTAL OR GAMES HANDICAP. FAILURE TO POST A PLAY FOR ANY OF THOSE MATCHES WILL RESULT IN A POINT PENALTY TO KEEP THE WHOLE IDEA OF FAIR PLAY INTACT SO THAT AN ENTRANT WHO MAY BE IN THE LEAD CANNOT SIMPLY SKIP PICKS TO PRESERVE THEIR LEAD, ETC.

THE POSTED LINES WILL COME VIA PINNACLE SPORTS AND WILL BE POSTED BY ME IN THE DESIGNATED CONTEST THREAD. ONLY THAT LINE THAT IS POSTED CAN BE USED FOR SELECTIONS. ANY OTHER LINE THAT IS POSTED BY AN ENTRANT WILL BE VOIDED AND THE POINT PENALTY WILL BE ASSESSED FOR A MISSED PICK.


**ALL PICKS FOR THE QUARTERS PORTION OF THE CONTEST WILL BE DUE BEFORE THE FIRST BALL IS PLAYED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 13TH. KEEP IN MIND WITH THE TIME DIFFERENCE FOR MOST OF US, THIS MEANS YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR SELECTIONS IN ON SUNDAY NIGHT, JANUARY 12TH. I WILL POST AN ESTIMATED TIME OF THE FIRST MATCH WHEN DRAWS/SCHEDULES COME OUT THIS WEEK.

THESE PICKS SHOULD BE SENT TO ME VIA PM ONLY. IF YOU HAVE YOUR PMs TURNED OFF, LET ME KNOW AND YOU CAN SEND THEM TO ME VIA E-MAIL.

**ALL PICKS FOR THE SEMIS & FINALS MUST BE POSTED IN THIS THREAD ONLY BEFORE THE FIRST BALL OF THAT MATCH IS PLAYED. ANY PLAY POSTED PAST THE STARTING TIME WILL BE VOID AND A POINTS PENALTY WILL BE ASSESSED.


GROUP PLAY SCORING
FOR EACH WIN YOUR PLAYER(S) GET, YOU EARN POINTS. UNSEEDED PLAYERS WILL EARN DOUBLE THE POINTS FOR EACH WIN.

FOR LOSSES, YOU LOSE POINTS BASED ON THE ROUND THEY GO OUT IN. SO THE IDEA OBVIOUSLY IS TO PICK PLAYERS YOU BELIEVE WILL ADVANCE FAR IN THEIR QUARTERS.SEEDED PLAYER WINS: 10 pts
UNSEEDED PLAYER WINS: 20 pts
MAKING THE QUARTERFINALS: 50 pt bonus per player
*YOUR BONUS PLAYER EARNS 3x the above amount. Bonus Players do not lose 3x the pts for losses. SEEDED PLAYER 1st ROUND LOSS: -20 pts
UNSEEDED PLAYER 1st ROUND LOSS: -10 pts
SEEDED PLAYER 2nd ROUND LOSS: -15 pts
UNSEEDED PLAYER 2nd ROUND LOSS: -7 pts

SEEDED PLAYER 3rd ROUND LOSS: -10 pts
UNSEEDED PLATER 3rd ROUND LOSS: -4 pts

SEEDED PLAYER 4th ROUND LOSS: -5 pts
UNSEEDED PLAYER 4th ROUND LOSS: -2 pts


SEMIS/FINALS PICKS SCORING

SEMIS CORRECT PICK: 100 pts
SEMIS INCORRECT PICK: -25 pts

FINALS CORRECT PICK: 200 pts
FINALS INCORRECT PICK: -50pts

POINT PENALTIES ASSESED FOR FAILING TO MAKE THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF PICKS IN THE LAST TWO ROUNDS IS -100 pts PER MISSED PICK.

FAILURE TO PICK FOR AN ENTIRE ROUND - EITHER THE SEMIS OR FINALS WILL RESULT IN AN ADDITIONAL -100 pt PENALTY.

**THIS IS BEING DONE AGAIN TO REQUIRE EVERYONE WHO IS COMPETING TO COMPETE AND NOT SIT OUT A PORTION TO TRY AND SIT ON A LEAD. FAIR?


LINKS TO THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAWS
*Note that Qualifiers won't be filled in until after Qualifying is completed so that is why you will see some slots filled by "Qualifier"

MEN (ATP)
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/index.html

WOMEN (WTA)
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ws/index.html