Congrats to Rushmore FC and bert_fischer!
Thanks to gomiami for putting together another great tournament. Really appreciate all the effort you put into keeping FC Dynasty fun for all of us!

As I am waiting for the 3rd Place game to finish, it should be noted that Rushmore FC and bert_fischer, in winning Cup XVIII, becomes only the 2nd club to win the FC Dynasty Cup three times, tying the legendary (and now sadly defunct) Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi and indiansrck27, who retired from play a couple of months ago.

I had scanned the Record Book prior to writing the Championship summary and didn't see the Cup II results...way back in July 2019!...was also a Rushmore FC triumph. I'm gonna have to rewrite the summary to reflect that.

All hail the Champion.

The Bronze Medal match went final a few minutes ago with FC Trojans of SC and spdracer grabbing their first podium finish in the FC Dynasty Cup after a tough 3-1 win over the best Danish club to ever enter the tournament, Holbæk Idrætsforening and flames5881 45,384 Trojans fans witnessed their boys score in the 1st minute after Gideon Kuhlman took a free kick and made it count. Holbæk was not really outplayed, as they generated just as much offensive potential throughout the game but they just didn't have the ability to capitalize on their chances as the shots either sailed off-target or Trojans netminder Dantrell Gonzalo made the save. By the time Kuhlman scored his 2nd of the game, the lead was 3-0 and the Trojans had guaranteed their place on the podium. Holbæk, in a statement for pride, got on the board late when their team Captain, Damien Elsinger, found the back of the net before the final whistle blew.

Congrats to both teams for great Cup runs.

The Bums Bracket Final between Metropolitan Eagles and Swamp City Dragons gets underway this evening in the great nation of Canada when the Dragons play host to their leg of the series.

While everyone is still tuning in, if you have any feedback about the tournament, please feel free to post them here or via sitemail. The Bums Bracket itself was a piece of feedback that was so good it got incorporated and playing sudden death games was another (they replaced a coin flip) when a playoff series ended in an aggregate tie,

So, if you have an idea to make the tourney better, don't hesitate.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/27/2026 1:02:00 AM (view original):
Welcome to FC Dynasty Cup XVIII. The Cup XVII Champion, FC Stratford-Upon-Avon King's Men and williamshake, are back to defend their title as they try to build upon their fantastic feat of winning it all in their first Cup try. As always, the Champs get the honor of the pre-tournament #1 seed (the first listed team in Group A.)

TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The tournament will be split into stages, a group play followed by knockout rounds leading to a Championship Round. Teams will be eliminated at the end of each stage until a Champion is crowned. This Champion will lay claim to glory and shall have bragging rights over the entirety of the FC Dynasty universe for a very short period of time.

Group Stage
Each team is assigned to a group. Group play will consist of a round robin, with each team playing a home and away against the other teams within their group for a total of six Group Stage games. Points will be awarded on the following: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.

The top two teams in points out of each group will advance to the Knockout Stage along with the two best 3rd place finishers. Tiebreakers will be decided in the following order - goal differential - away goals - goals scored. If the teams are still tied after all tiebreakers are applied, a coin flip using random.org's random number service will determine who advances.

Knockout Stage
Each round will be a home and away series with the winner based on aggregate goals. If aggregate goals are tied, the higher seed will host the lower seed in an additional game. If that game is tied, the lower seed will then host the higher seed and so on. As long as both coaches are scheduling games, the round will continue until one side wins outright. If one team fails to schedule for three consecutive days, that team will forfeit the round and the other team will advance.

Seeding for the knockout rounds will be based on stage points tiebreakers as listed above.. The seven group winners will automatically be awarded the first seven seeds, the 2nd place finishers will get seeds 8-14 and the two 3rd place finishers that advance will be assigned the 15th and 16th seeds.

The First Round will consist of the following:

#1 seed vs #16 seed
#2 seed vs #15 seed
#3 seed vs #14 seed
#4 seed vs #13 seed
#5 seed vs #12 seed
#6 seed vs #11 seed
#7 seed vs #10 seed
#8 seed vs #9 seed

The Quarterfinals will consist of the following:

#1/16 vs #8/9
#2/15 vs #7/10
#3/14 vs #6/11
#4/13 vs #5/12

The Semifinals will consist of the following:

#1 seed quarterfinals bracket vs #4 seed quarterfinals bracket
#2 seed quarterfinals bracket vs #3 seed quarterfinals bracket

Championship Round
The Championship Round will match the two remaining teams in a home and away series with the winner being based on aggregate goals. Away goals are not used as a tiebreaker in the Championship Round. If an aggregate goal tie occurs, the host of the additional game will be decided by a coin flip using random.org's random number service. The Championship Round is the only round not subject to a time frame. Tiebreakers will be played until a Champion is declared.

Bums Bracket
Any team that does not qualify for the knockouts may participate in the Bums Bracket, which will follow a similar elimination format - each round will be a home and away series with the winner based on aggregate goals and if aggregate goals are tied, the higher seed will host the lower seed in an additional game. There will need to be at least four teams that sign up for the Bums in order for it to be played. The seeding format will be adjusted based on how many teams participate.

TOURNAMENT RULES
Each stage of the tournament will have a specific time frame in which all games must be scheduled. Everybody will be sending challenges simultaneously, especially at the start of the tournament, so overlap is inevitable. To account for the fact that it may take several attempts to get all games on the docket, the time frame is generous. However, failure to schedule games within the allotted time will result in a forfeiture.

On the evening of the last day for each stage, all games that have not been scheduled will be deemed a 0-0 draw so that the stage can be completed. The team failing to issue (or accept) a challenge will be awarded no points for the drawn game and any team with more than one forfeiture during the Group Stage cannot advance. A forfeiture during the Knockout Rounds will result in a walkover for your opponent. The team deemed at fault is at my discretion but it is usually obvious which team has gone AWOL.

As a general rule, the following guideline should be used. If you receive a challenge in the same slot you have sent a challenge, please accept the incoming challenge and re-issue your own outgoing challenge. If you receive multiple challenges in the same slot, choose one ASAP to give the team you declined as much time as possible to issue a new request.

Remember, the team issuing the challenge is the home team. If more games are scheduled than needed (you send two challenges to the same team and both are accepted,) only the first game will count unless I am told otherwise and prior to the first game being played.

Unscheduled Games will be tracked during each stage. In the last 72 hours of each time frame, any team that has not received a challenge by an opponent (or has sent a challenge that has not been accepted,) should post a message to the other coach here or, if you do not have posting rights, via sitemail to gomiami1972, who will post the request on your behalf. I would prefer, if you do not have posting rights, to send requests through me rather than sitemail each other. Many FC Dynasty owners to not check sitemail regularly. This thread is the best place to communicate with fellow Cup participants..

Time Frame to Schedule Group Stage Games - Jan 20th thru Jan 31st (Challenges must be sent and accepted by 7pm on the 31st. This does not mean the games must be played by the 31st.)
Time Frame to Schedule 1st Round Games - Feb 4th thru Feb 14th (Challenges must be sent and accepted by 7pm on the 14th. This does not mean the games must be played by the 14th.)
Time Frame to Schedule Quarterfinal Games - Feb 15th thru Feb 25th (Challenges must be sent and accepted by 7pm on the 25th. This does not mean the games must be played by the 25th.)
Time Frame to Schedule Semifinal Games - Feb 27th thru Mar 8th (Challenges must be sent and accepted by 7pm on the 8th. This does not mean the games must be played by the 8th.)

Best of luck to all participants in their quest for the ultimate prize - The FC Dynasty Cup!

"3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss."

If there's OverTime, how about:

6 points for a regulation win, 4 points for an overtime win, 2 points for an overtime loss, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a regulation loss?