World Cup 2022 Rules

Welcome to World Cup 2022

Type of Competitions

• Open competition - named MLW Open World Cup which is open to everyone. It costs £10 per entry less £1 per entry received from each recommendation and you can submit as many entries as you like. The total prize fund will be known once all entries are received and the value of the prizes will depend on the total prize fund. The cost of posting out the winners’ cheques will be deducted from the prize fund.
• Restricted competition - creating your own league with a password, minimum cost £2 per entry to cover admin. The `manager' of this league can set the price higher and use the rest to pay out prizes to the competitors. The rules for the MLW Open World Cup will used.

The Competition

The competition itself is split into 2 phases – the group phase followed by the knockout phase. The group phase consists of 48 matches and the knockout phase consists of a further 16 matches. You can find a full list of the group fixtures on the website along with the name of the 4 teams in each of the 8 groups. All you have to do is predict the outcome of each game.

Prize Money

There will be prize money for the top 2 points scorers in each of 3 categories plus one consolation prize making 7 prizes in all. It is possible for one person to win more than one prize.

The 3 categories are Group Phase, Knockout Phase and Grand Total. The Grand Total is the points from the Group Phase and Knockout Phase added together. It is possible for you to finish outside the top 2 in the Group Phase and Knockout Phase categories but still end up as the overall winner. There is also a consolation prize for the most near misses on all match predictions throughout the tournament i.e. you get the result correct but not the result option.  

The prize pot will be distributed as follows:

Group 1^st       12%    Knockout 1^st     12%     Overall        1^st      30.0%           

Group 2^nd      7%     Knockout 2^nd    7%      Overall        2^nd      15%

Most `near' misses on match predictions      7%

Admin costs     10%

If numbers do not justify it, 2nd place in the Group and Knockout will be removed and added to the 1st places for each section

Bonus Points (selected before the start of the competition)

There are ways of earning bonus points throughout the tournament. Although the bonus points are only awarded after the tournament has ended, you must make your predictions before it starts.

The bonus points available are as follows: -

• For predicting the 2 finalists (score 10 points per correct team)
• For predicting how many goals the tournament’s top scorer will score (excluding penalty shoot outs but including extra time) (5 points if correct)
• For predicting the number of goals scored throughout the tournament (excluding penalty shoot outs but including extra time) (10 points if spot on, 5 points if within 5 goals of the total, 3 points if within 10 goals of the total)
• All bonus points won will count towards the Knockout Phase points total.

Group Phase

Final Group Placings

The 32 teams are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams. For each group you must predict where you think each team will finish, and you score two points every time a team finishes in the position you predicted. You can score up to 8 points per group, and 64 points in total.

Scoring for each match

In addition to gaining points for predicting the final group positions, you can also gain points for predicting the scores in each game. Each game will earn you either 0,1, 3 or 4 points.

For each game the first named team is the home team and the other team is the away team. You must predict one of 6 possible outcomes for each game, which are as follows: -

• If you correctly predict the outcome of a game for option GDX you earn 4 points.
• If you correctly predict the outcome of a game for options HW1, AW1, HW2, AW2, SDX you earn 3 points.
• If you almost get it right (near miss) you score 1 point, as follows: -

All other predictions are deemed to be incorrect, and you score no points.

Knockout Phase

In this phase you score points for predicting the outcomes of the 16 matches (separately for each round, either as the next set of matches become known or at the end of the previous round). A deadline will be set for each knockout round prediction and will be made clear on the website. The scoring system is the same as the group phase i.e. you will score either 0, 1, 3 or 4 points per game.

• If you correctly predict the outcome of a game for option GDX you earn 4 points.
• If you correctly predict the outcome of a game for options HW1, AW1, HW2, AW2, SDX you earn 3 points.
• If you almost get it right you score 1 point (as in the group phase above).

Only the scores at the end of normal time count. If the score is 1-1 after 90 minutes then the final score is deemed to be 1-1, even if further goals are scored during extra time.

Deadlines

• The initial deadline of Thurs 20/11/22 is for Group Placings, Bonuses and Matches on the 21st only (you can still complete all or some of the 48 matches in the group stage if you so wish). The deadline will then jump forward and become live again for the following days matches (obviously excluding the opportunity to amend your results already completed!). The new deadline will always close 10 mins prior to kick off of the next days games. This will continue right the way through the tournament. In a nutshell each match has its own independent deadline!

How does this help?

a) Reduces the burden of you completing all the group matches at once.

b) Allows you to adjust / make your predictions based on previous performances e.g. a team may be through after winning their first 2 group games and rest their stars.

c) If you are away for a weekend/week during the competition you can complete for just those matches while you are away.

d) The short deadlines between rounds means you can (if you wish) just select your prediction for the first games of the next round. It would also extend the length of time for you to complete your prediction e.g. Round of 16 games on the 26/6 will be known on 23/6. Previously you would have had to have had all 8 games in by 26/6, some of which you would not have known until end of 25/6.

General

1)      Once an entry has been submitted you can make as many changes as you want until the closing date for entries has passed, after which no changes will be allowed on the Group placings, Bonuses and first days games.

2)      As long as you meet the criteria for winning bonus points then you will receive the full amount of bonus points on offer. For example, several players could end up as joint top scorers but as long as you have picked one of them you will receive the full 5 points.

3)      After each phase or round of the tournament has been completed each participant must submit his or her predictions for the next phase. There is a deadline before which they must have submitted their predictions. You will be able to submit it as each match is decided so you do not have to wait until every match in that round is complete. If the predictions are not received on time then no points will be scored for the matches concerned. All deadline dates will appear on the website in the diary.

4)      In the event of two or more people finishing level in any category, and being eligible for prize money, the prize money will be divided as follows:-.

• If there is a clear winner and two or more people finish in second place the prize money for first place will be unaffected and the prize money for second place will be divided equally between all joint runners-up.
• If there are two or more joint winners the total prize fund will be divided equally between the winners.

5)     If full payment is not received by the end of the Group phase your entry will be made inactive and further predictions will not be allowed. This is reversible.

6)     Please ensure you give yourself plenty of time for your match predictions. MLW cannot be held responsible for system problems / system downtime around the time of the match deadlines. It is recommended you enter a prediction well in advance and you can always try to amend if necessary.