GOLD CUP 250 CHALLENGE SERIES – RULES FOR 2026

I. ENTERING THE TOURNAMENT

(A) This tournament is being held in honor of the 250th anniversary of American independence. It will be a Strat-O-Matic Baseball Windows PC tournament in which the participants create CMs and the tournament organizer (Steve Beren) autoplays all the games. There is no entry fee. There will be $250.00 in prize money ($150.00 for first place, $60.00 for second place, and $40.00 for third place). The tournament will conclude on or before Independence Day (July 4, 2026).

(B) Each tournament participant shall provide their first and last name, plus their state of residence (or Canadian province, or foreign country). Tournament play will begin after Presidents Day (February 16, 2026) once the new version of the Windows PC game is released. Deadline for entering the tournament is St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2026) at 11:00 pm EDT. To enter the tournament, contact the tournament organizer by email steve@faithnetwork.com or text (425) 785-2016.

(C) Tournament play shall begin at the discretion of the tournament organizer shortly after St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2026).  Any changes to these rules shall be made by the tournament organizer prior to the beginning of Round #1.  However, if during the tournament unexpcted issues arise, special rules may be applied by the tournament organizer to ensure fair competition.  Decisions of the tournament organizer are final.

II. TEAM SELECTION AND ROUND #1 MATCH-UPS

(A) Each tournament participant shall select two MLB 2025 teams, with a total won-lost record of no better than 162-162.

Example #1: If you select the 2025 Brewers (97-65), your other team must have at least 97 losses – for example, 2025 White Sox (60-102) or 2025 Rockies (43-119).

Example #2: If you select the 2025 Royals (82-80), your other team must have at least 82 losses – for example, 2025 Diamondbacks (80-82) or any other team with at least 82 losses.

(B) Each round shall consist of 10 games, 5 games with each team. Each tournament participant shall designate one of their teams to play the first 5 games of each round (“team #1”), and their other team (team #2) to play the last 5 games of each round.

(C) In Round #1, tournament participants will be randomly matched against each other. The matchup for the first 5 games will be the two “team #1s.” The matchup for the last 5 games will be the two “teams #2s.” If the tournament participants have selected the same team or teams, a coin flip will decide which one gets to use which team in the first 5 games. The first 5 games of Round #1 will be played at the home stadium of lower-ranked MLB 2025 team. The last 5 games of Round #1 will played at the home stadium of the other tournament participant. In ranking MLB 2025 teams, the tiebreaker for teams with the same MLB 2025 won-lost record will be real-life MLB 2025 run differential.

(D) Prior to Round #1, the tournament organizer will provide an LZP for each participant. After receiving the LZP from the tournament organizer, each participant will provide a CM for their two teams prior to Round #1. When creating your CM, the use of the “Starter Schedule” feature is mandatory to make sure 5 different starting pitchers are used in each 5-game series.

(E) To advance to Round #2, a tournament participant must have a record of at least 5-5 in Round #1. If an odd number of tournament participants have a record of at least 5-5, the highest ranked tournament participant with a record of 4-6 (see tiebreakers, below) shall advance to Round #2.

III. MATCH-UPS IN ROUND #2 AND AFTERWARDS

(A) After Round #1 and each subsequent Round, the tournament participants shall be ranked with seeding based on cumulative won-lost record and tiebreakers.

(B) In Round #2 (and each subsequent round) tournament participants will be matched against each other as follows: #1 seed vs #2 seed; #3 seed vs #4 seed, #5 seed vs #6 seed, etc. The matchup for the first 5 games will be the two “team #1s.” The matchup for the last 5 games will be the two “teams #2s.” If the tournament participants have selected the same team or teams, the lower seeded tournament entrant gets to use their “team #1” in the first 5 games. Depending on seeding and tiebreakers, tournament participants may sometimes play each other in more than one round. The first 5 games of Round #2 (and each subsequent round) will be played at the home stadium of lower-seeded tournament participant. The last 5 games will be played at the home stadium of the other tournament participant.

(C) Prior to Round #2 (and each subsequent round) the tournament organizer will provide an LZP for each participant. After receiving the LZP from the tournament organizer, each participant will provide a CM for their two teams prior to Round #2 (and each subsequent round). When creating your CM, the use of the “Starter Schedule” feature is mandatory to make sure 5 different starting pitchers are used in each 5-game series.

(D) If an odd number of tournament participants have a sufficient record to advance to the next round, the next highest ranked tournament participant (see tiebreakers, below) shall advance to the next round. In seeding for tournament participants, the tiebreakers shall be as follows:

• Cumulative tournament won-lost record

• Head-to-head record (if participants have already played each other)

• Cumulative tournament run differential

• Head-to-head run differential (if participants have already played each other)

• Fewer cumulative players penalized for overusage 

• Cumulative earned run average in all games  

• Coin flip

(E) To advance to Round #3, a tournament participant must have a record of at least 11-9 in Round #1 plus Round #2. If an odd number of tournament participants have a record of at least 11-9, the highest ranked tournament participant with a record of 10-10 (see tiebreakers, below) shall advance to Round #3.

(F) To advance to Round #4, a tournament participant must have a record of at least 17-13 in Rounds #1 through #3. If an odd number of tournament participants have a record of at least 17-13, the highest ranked tournament participant with a record of 16-14 (see tiebreakers, below) shall advance to Round #4.

(G) To advance to Round #5, a tournament participant must have a record of at least 23-17 in Rounds #1 through #4. If an odd number of tournament participants have a record of at least 23-17, the highest ranked tournament participant with a record of 22-18 (see tiebreakers, below) shall advance to Round #5.

(H) To advance to subsequent rounds, add a won-lost record of 6-4 to the previous threshold.  If only one tournament participant has a record sufficient to advance to the next round, the next highest ranked tournament participant (see tiebreakers, below) shall advance to the next round, which will then be the Final Round (Tournament Championship Series).  The Tournament Championship Series shall be a best 6-of-10 series with special overusage and tiebreaker rules to be announced in advance by the tournament organizer.  The winner of the Tournament Championship Series shall be the Gold Cup 250 Challenge Series champion.

IV. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY, USAGE LIMITATIONS, AND TOURNAMENT SETTINGS

(A) Only carded players are eligible. If a player has more than one card, we will use the card with his full-season combined stats, and his team will be determined by SOM's team assignment in the computer game corresponding to the full-season combined stats card. The aim is to adhere to the spirit and format of the original SOM dice and card boardgame SADV rules. The tournament organizer will set up LZP files with rosters files, stat files, rules settings, lineups settings, and other necessary files and settings. The tournament organizer will send out an updated LZP file as necessary throughout the tournament. The LZP files shall be used by all tournament participants and shall not be altered by tournament participants. Changes and/or corrections shall be made by the tournament organizer and provided to the tournament participants membership as necessary. The following "Rules" settings shall be used:

• Super-Advanced with BK/WP/PB

• Ballpark Effects: Yes

• Weather Effects: No

• Clutch Hitting: Yes

• Super Advanced Steal System

• Super Advanced Strategy Charts

• Use Miscellaneous Rules

• Use Closer Rules

• Do Not Use Injuries

• Use SADV Fatigue Rules

• Allow GBA on pitcher cards

• 2023 And Beyond Rules

The following “Lineups and Usage” settings shall be used:

• Visiting Team Lineup – Draft League Mode No Rest

• Home Team Lineup – Draft League Mode No Rest

• No Scheduled Days Off

• No Auto Swap-O-Matic

• Minor Leaguers: Eligible

• Overusage: Fully Control Overusage

• Use Super Hal Bullpen

• Use Super Hal Lineup Subs

• Use Super Hal Pinch Run/Hit

• Don’t select “Allow Extra GS for Certain Pitchers”

• Don’t select “Use Actual Pitcher Batting Cards”

• Don’t select “Warn When Actual Usage Exceeded”

Under Options > Game Preferences > Computer Manager:

• Turn Off Suggested Defensive Strategies

The following “Autoplay Options” settings shall be used:

• Output What: Boxscore, PAC, and Scoresheet

• Output When: Always

• Output Where: Save to File

• Display Game Story on Boxscore

• Create Game Result Files

(B) When creating your CM, the use of the “Starter Schedule” feature is mandatory to make sure 5 different starting pitchers are used in each 5-game series.

(C) Prior to the first game of each 5 game series, the "days off" function will be used to reset pitcher’s fatigue status by clearing rest.

(D) At the end of each round, any of your players who have been overused may be ineligible for the next round. Penalties for cumulative player over-usage are as follows:

• 101% to 249% - No penalty

• 250% or more - player is ineligible for the next round