2020 Ultimate Qualifier Dart Series
It is with honor to proclaim that over $45,000.00 in cash & prizes was awarded to players throughout the 2019 Greater Omaha Leagues' Ultimate Qualifier Series and we have set the goal of $50,000.00 in cash & prizes for the 2020 series...this as always, will also conclude with the finale event for which Greater Omaha Leagues adds $9,000.00+ to the prize payouts!!!
We are happy to announce we will be continuing the bonus money based on final rank for the 2020 Ultimate Qualifier Series!!!
EARN BONUS MONEY BASED ON RANK IN FINAL TOP 40 at conclusion of series!!!
In 2020, players will not only be competing for a spot in the Ultimate Finale, but they will also be competing for some bonus cash! The higher your final ranking in the Top 40...the more bonus loyalty cash you will be awarded at the Finale*. So how much money you ask? Promo-Nation point bonuses have been INCREASED for the 2020 Series & extended to everyone in the Top 40!!!
#1: Earn $500.00 + 50,000 PromoNation Points
#2: Earn $300.00 + 25,000 PromoNation Points
#3: Earn $200.00 + 20,000 PromoNation Points
#4: Earn $100.00 + 15,000 PromoNation Points
#5: Earn $75.00 + 10,000 PromoNation Points
#6-10: Earn $50.00 + 5,000 PromoNation Points
#11-15: Earn $25.00 + 4,000 PromoNation Points
#16-20: Earn $15.00 + 3,000 PromoNation Points
#21-25: Earn $10.00 + 2,000 PromoNation Points
#26-40: Earn 1,000 PromoNation Points
New in 2020 --- All players who play over 1,000 league (GO ran leagues)/eq tourney games will have their names entered into a drawing for 10,000 bonus PN points … All players with with 1,500 league/eq tourney games will have their names entered into a drawing for 15,000 bonus PN points … All players with 2,000 league/eq tourney games will have their names entered into a drawing for 25,000 bonus PN points. *These are during the dates included in the Series & do NOT include TOC ran league/tournament games.
All prize amounts listed above for the loyalty bonus cash will be paid out at the 2020 Ultimate Finale event. Must be present to claim.
*Anyone earning bonus loyalty cash, must be present at the Finale event. Failure to appear at the event, will mean ineligibility for the bonus loyalty cash and that money will be added to the next year's finale payout.
Players begin the new 2020 Ultimate Qualifier Series with points from Fall league signups & the Triple Point Night B4 Thanksgiving event...the Night B4 Thanksgiving tournament is regarded as the "most important" event of the year and players from all over the Metro and beyond participate.
No longer will events be limited to those that are scheduled by a Greater Omaha Leagues representative and have to work around the other events on the schedule. All Greater Omaha League locations are encouraged to host qualifier tournaments for their regular area dart players to earn points. All that is required of the location and/or their representative is:
1) Provide Greater Omaha League representative, Steve Garrean Jr., a minimum of three (3) weeks notice prior to an event date so it can be added to the qualifier event schedule on the league website. Also provide all details of the event, start time, format, entry fee, prize money added, etc. This way we can properly promote the events and any players outside of the locations’ area have the choice to travel for additional points. Format is subject to change based upon the location, number of players, etc. However, if a tournament is scheduled and promoted as equalized or capped, it must remain that way to be eligible for Qualifier points. To be eligible as a point-earning tournament, all events must be open to the public. Restrictions such as age limitation is acceptable as not all locations allow minors to be present.
2) Email or post to Facebook the completed bracket of the tournament with the player signup list, complete with first and last names so that points can be properly awarded. Also please note the payouts for the tournament on the bracket. Using Challonge.com is an excellent way to make running the tournament easier, not to mention a simple copy & paste of the link will give instant access to the results. This must be turned in within 24 hours of the tournament or the tournament will not count towards the qualifier. This is to insure timely updates of the rankings. This is an absolute MUST this year. Some tournament runners have been lax in reporting results and it is unfair to players who may be following the rankings closely.
3) Tournaments must have a minimum of four (4) teams or six (6) singles to earn qualifier points. Any play format is at the discretion of the hosting location.
4) Locations can assign up to 3 tournaments in a calendar month as "Qualifier point-earning" tournaments. This does not include any City tournaments, 3rd party fundraiser events or remote tournaments.
5) No other point-earning tournaments will be allowed to be scheduled against City tournaments or Greater Omaha Leagues' Remote tournaments. All other tournaments may be subject to double-booking. Take note, it may be in the best interest of the tournament to do your best to work around and avoid other tournament options, but we are well aware that's not always easy or even possible to do.
As previously mentioned, we would like to see the majority of these tournaments hosted for and promoted to your regular players, but we at Greater Omaha Leagues will also do our best to help promote each event to players interested in traveling as well. People playing in these tournaments do not need to be league players, but as always there is a minimum eligibility requirement of league games for anyone attempting to qualify for the finale. Locations are encouraged to get their regular, non-dart players involved in events as well…every one of us were non-dart players prior to getting into the sport.
As usual, Greater Omaha Leagues may assign certain tournaments as Double or Triple point-earning events, depending upon size, amount of prize money added to the event, official league-sponsored event or charity... at their discretion.
We have already received several 2020 Ultimate Qualifier event dates and the schedule will become available online within the coming days. Players can access the information at www.greateromahaleagues.com under the League Info tab.
We are hoping that this year's finale pot will be much larger than previous years' as we hope to continue experiencing league growth and the more teams play in the leagues, the higher that finale pot is.
What is the Ultimate Qualifier Series?
ANOTHER BONUS TO BEING A GREATER OMAHA PLAYER IN 2020!!!
For the eighth year, we will be holding the ULTIMATE qualifier series for our loyal dart players to give them a little something extra at the end of the year. Players will be awarded points for playing in Greater Omaha leagues and tournaments throughout the year and the top 40 point earners that meet eligibility criteria will get to play in the final tournament.
For each player that signs up each league, Greater Omaha Leagues will add a portion of their team sponsor fee to the pot of the final year end Ultimate Qualifier tournament. In addition to that, players will have $0.50/match collected from league dues, which will also be added to the qualifier finale pot. So the more teams we have in each of the leagues, the more money is added to the finale event. In 2019 we had over $10,000.00 on the line in the finale event! We have early projections that the final tournament in 2020 may also have $10,000.00 on the line!!! Remember ... the more teams we have in the leagues throughout the year, the higher that Ultimate Qualifier pot can grow.
Here's how it works:
1. For every league you play in, you receive points for playing as explained below. This includes TOC leagues in which you play out of a Greater Omaha League location.
New League Point Earning System: (Beginning Fall 2018)
Traditional Greater Omaha Remote Leagues - 50 pts for signing up, 25 pts for winning league championship, 12 pts for league runner-up, 6 pts for 3rd place, 3 pts for 4th place & 4 points for every 10 league games that you played.
TOC Remote Leagues - 40 pts for signing up, 20 pts for winning league championship, 10 pts for league runner-up, 5 pts for 3rd place, 3 pts for 4th place & 3 points for every 10 league games that you played.
In-House Leagues i.e. Cass, Fremont, Neb City, Bar in-houses, etc. - 20 pts for signing up, 10 pts for winning league championship, 5 pts for league runner-up, 3 pts for 3rd place, 2 pts for every 10 league games that you played. These In-House leagues only receive points if they are ran through our League Leader software.
**Traditional leagues are what build the pot for the Ultimate Qualifier Finale, so therefor those who are playing traditional leagues will be rewarded higher than those who are not.
2. For every tournament you play in, you receive 10 pts for signing up, 10 pts for winning tourney, 5 pts for tourney runner-up, 3 pts for 3rd place, 1 point for 4th place. On top of this, you also receive 2 points for each win and 1 point for each loss. New in 2020: League-ending City tournaments will be worth --- Signup 25 pts, 4 pts/win, 2 pts/loss + finishing bonuses of 1st - 25, 2nd - 12 pts, 3rd - 8 pts, 4th - 5 pts! This means it is now even more important to make sure you participate in your season-ending tournaments and represent your bar to the best of your ability.
**We will continue to regularly host remote tournaments for DOUBLE POINTS to get more involvement from numerous different locations throughout the region! These double point remote tourneys will also feature bonus Promo-Nation points earned by the winners of their bracket. *** NEW in 2020: Only players currently playing a Greater Omaha League or TOC league through Greater Omaha will receive double point reward for our monthly Greater Omaha Remote tournaments, all other players will still be able to participate, but will only receive single points for remote tournaments. This means it will be more beneficial to continue playing in leagues throughout the year. (If remote tourney lands between league seasons, determining factor will be participation in the previous league).
*** Promo-Nation "Pop-Up" tournaments - We will from time to time offer small "Pop-Up" tournaments, giving players a week to signup. There will be no entry to play in these tournaments ... winners will receive 5,000 Promo-Nation points, Runner-Up receives 2,000 Promo-Nation points. These tournaments would have varying start times depending upon the day, Race to 2, Double Elimination. Ultimate Qualifier Points --- Signup - 10 pts, 2 pts/win, 1 pt/loss ... 1st - 10 pts, 2nd - 5 pts, 3rd - 3 pts. Any time a "Pop-Up" tournament is offered, signup will be available on the league website and as long as there is a minimum of 4 players signed up, the event will start as scheduled & follow usual Remote tourney rules. Depending upon demand, multiple divisions may be available. Only players currently playing in a Greater Omaha league will earn UQ points (If remote tourney lands between league seasons, determining factor will be participation in the previous league).
New PPD/TOC Daily Remote Tournaments "DRT" ---
How PPD/TOC Daily Remote Tournaments will be awarded Ultimate Qualifier Points:
Signup (Representing Greater Omaha Leagues) --- 15 points
**To be credited for participating, you MUST contact Steve Garrean Jr & let him know that you're playing a "DRT" and which one you're participating in, so he can figure points earned, etc.
So while it is entirely possible to play minimal leagues and mostly tournaments and finish in the top 40, there is definitely a chance for more points through playing in the leagues. It all comes down to participation being key to finish in the top 40. Your skill level means very little in this qualifier series, the biggest factor is how much you participate in your leagues and tournaments.
**Any players who drop out of a league will have their points for league signup deducted from their amount + a penalty of 100 points. Each time a match is forfeited, all players of the forfeiting team will have 50 points deducted from the qualifier rankings. Also, players with any missing matches at the conclusion of the season will have 25 points deducted from the qualifier rankings for each offense (All players involved...it is extremely important to make sure all matches are played). Only exception to this missing matches deduction is if it occurs on final week of play due to emergency or other league-approved reason. **New in 2017: If a team pulls out after signing up for a league, all players will have 100 points deducted from their points, as at that point, it requires additional work ... not to mention the location loses a spot that it thought was filled, may have turned other teams away and may not have time to refill that spot. Any player signing up for a remote tournament and then dropping out will have 50 points deducted from their points. It's another instance where the location thinks it has a spot filled and does not and also creates unnecessary work for the league coordinator. Don't sign up and commit to a league if you're not going to follow through.
**NEW 2020 RULE** Updated 11/26/19 --- Any player dropping out of two remote tournaments after signing up will be unable to play in another one for the next 30 days. Once a player drops out of a third remote tournament after signing up for it, they will be suspended from playing in one for 60 days. 4th occurrence will earn player a 90 day suspension from remote tournaments. (Tournaments include: Greater Omaha Remotes, Promo-Nation Friday Series Remotes, Promo-Nation Pop Up Remotes, Super Remotes, etc.)
**It is EXTREMELY important to play your matches when they are scheduled if at all possible. We know, life happens, but remember that your opponent matters too and they schedule things around their leagues. If a reschedule is absolutely necessary, it is EXTREMELY important to make up matches with urgency once they are missed so that the standings can be current and all other teams can accurately know where they stand.
**At the conclusion of the Ultimate Qualifier Series (Thanksgiving Day), anyone with missing matches will have 15 points per missing match deducted from their point totals. This is an effort to give a sense of urgency to those who reschedule matches...remember, the sooner they are made up, the sooner others in your league can know the real standings. Don't procrastinate and wait until the end of the season to make up matches. Remember...starting in 2018, Top 25 finishes can earn you cash bonuses...losing points may drop you in the rankings or potentially even out of the Top 40. Don't let missing matches effect your final ranking.
**Any players dropping out of multiple traditional leagues will not be able to compete in the Ultimate Qualifier Finale event. This is on top of the league rule where any player dropping out of a league is not eligible to be a team Captain for one calendar year. Any players with more than 4 missing/forfeited matches in the Qualifier Series year will lose eligibility for that year's Finale event.
***Amended 5/15/16*** Anyone who leaves in the middle of a Qualifier tournament for any reason other than an emergency will forfeit all Qualifier points earned for the event and have an additional 25 points deducted from his points. Anyone who commits this act twice in the same Qualifier Series year, will be ineligible for the Finale event...we can't have someone walking out on an opponent in the middle of the Finale. Anyone who leaves the finale prior to its conclusion (unless in an emergency situation), leaving their partner "Ghost"...will be docked 200 points & become ineligible for the following year's finale event. This is the absolute worst possible outcome during an event that players work all year to become eligible for ... to have their partner leave them in a no-win, impossible situation. We MUST guard from that happening.
****7/24/19**** Anyone dropping out of the Open Challenge leagues will have 200 points deducted from their UQ rankings & will be ineligible to play in any EQ and/or remote tournaments until the conclusion of said league or 60 days, whichever is greater. This drastic penalty is due to the fact that the league is promoted and mostly fueled by the income brought in by teams' payment throughout the league and if a team drops out, it effects those expected paybacks. Forfeits in Open Challenge leagues will carry a penalty of 100 points deducted from each player's UQ rankings, as it can greatly effect the standings & payouts for the other teams. ALERT - ALERT - ALERT - ALERT - READ - READ - READ
Criteria for final tournament eligibility: (Updated 12/1/17 for 2018)
A) Players must have played a minimum of 250 games in Greater Omaha Leagues, with at least 100 of those games being from a traditional league and/or Greater Omaha Remote Tournaments. So it is important that you play at least two, possibly three Greater Omaha Leagues in 2020 in order to meet requirements. Players keep track of this and make sure you have enough league games in…if you do not, it won’t matter how many points you earn throughout the year. Remember, the finale pot is driven by the amount of league play we have during the year...so the more you & others play, the higher the pot will be for the finale. The finale tournament is Hi-Lo, Equalized format and averages used for that format will be an average of your prior year's (365 days) games of both league & city tournament play, as well as any tournament in which player averages are maintained. If a player has played in a competitor's league and out-performed his Greater Omaha average, that league average will be factored into his finale average as well. We also track each player's tournament averages throughout the year. If that average exceeds the player's annual average over more than 100 games, it will be used for the finale average. We want this to be as competitive as possible.
If a player does not show up the day of the finale, the next highest ranked player in attendance will get the spot. In the event that there are no additional players in attendance and someone no-shows, the following will occur:
- If there is already replacement player(s) in the finale due to a player declining their spot, the lowest ranking player will be removed.
- If there is no replacement players in the event, a replacement player that was within the Top 100 can be called if they can arrive within 15 minutes. If multiple players within the Top 100 can make it within 15 minutes, the highest ranking determines who gets the spot. If this is also not an option, see #3.
- If all options have been exhausted and there is still an impasse, the lowest ranking player (points wise) will be removed from the tournament to make the event even again. This is another reason that it's important to finish as high in the rankings as possible...this has never had to be exercised, but just in case it's always best to finish as high as possible.
Tournament starts with a 4 pod round robin...5 teams each pod...7 games of Cricket per match ... Top 2 teams from each pod move onto "Elite bracket", Bottom 3 teams move into the "Consolation bracket". Round Robin pods are determined by random draw. In the Round Robin, if two teams tie...the head to head match between the teams will be the tiebreaker.
Format for bracket play will be: Race to 3, CR...Flip for Start of Game 1, Loser Goes 1st Games 2-4, Diddle for start of 5th game. All games have a 25 round limit set, if a game rounds out...the team with the highest amount of points will win.
*If somehow a tie game comes up in a match and the match concludes with a tie, 1 single game will be coined up & played to decide the winner of the match.
If a qualifying player declines their position in the Ultimate Finale, the decision is permanent and they will not be able to change their mind later.
Players have already begun collecting points, as points earned from the current Fall leagues & the Night B4 Thanksgiving tournament will be added to each player’s name in the 2020 Ultimate Qualifier Rankings:
The 2020 rankings will be available shortly following Thanksgiving on www.greateromahaleagues.com and will be updated on a regular basis so you can track your standing.
**Amounts above based upon early projections, final amounts could vary**
Again, the amounts above are based upon early projections and could be higher if the leagues continue to be successful this year…your participation and continued help with our league growth is what determines the amount of money added to the finale tournament. One of the biggest differences between Greater Omaha Leagues and its competition is that as we grow and become more successful, we continue to give more back to our players. As our slogan states “It Pays to Play With Greater Omaha Leagues.”
Thank you for your time and remember to play in the leagues and tournaments that are offered as much as possible this year to be able to play in the final Ultimate Qualifier tournament at the end of the year. Various tournaments may be promoted via Facebook, email and on the league website so make sure that you keep watching for events.
*The Final Top 40 players will also be awarded the same amount of Promo-Nation points as they earned Qualifier points. So if you finished in 3rd place with 3,200 qualifier points...you would: a) qualify for the $9,000+ finale b) Get 3,200 additional PN points. Promo-Nation points, for those unaware are points earned by players through playing in Greater Omaha Leagues’ leagues and tournaments, which are redeemable in an online store for thousands of items once a player registers for their free Promo-Nation player account at www.promo-nation.com.
The 2019 Ultimate Qualifier Series saw dart players earn over $45,000.00 in cash and prizes throughout the series…the goal we have set for this year is to see $50,000.00 in cash and prizes won by our players. Thank each and every one of you for your continued support of what we are trying to do with the sport. The players are the life of the sport and we recognize that without you, none of this would be possible.
*All money projections are based upon player participation and could actually result in higher or lower totals.