Five weeks. Two skill levels. One shot at San Diego.
BBO and the ACBL are launching a new online competition: NABC Survivor. Here's your first look.
Starting September 7, you'll play daily matches with robots on BBO. Every day, the bottom scorers are cut. Survive, and you play again the next day.
Finish among the top two in your flight each week, and you qualify for a live final at the NABC in San Diego this December.
Five weeks. Two flights: 0-750 Masterpoints® and Open. Twenty finalists total.
Open to all BBO players with an active ACBL membership.
{It's not a 72-hour window like Mon-Wed. From Thursday to Sunday, each day is its own single 12-board daylong, with a cut after each day except the last:
Thursday: 12 boards, Black points, cut after
Friday: 12 boards, Red points, cut after
Saturday: 12 boards, Silver points, cut after
Sunday: 12 boards, Gold points, no further cut - top 2 per flight qualify for the live final
So yes, Monday-Wednesday is Crystal only (36 boards over the 72-hour window), then each remaining day awards a different point color as you move forward. }
A new week after, is the above format repeated. This is not what your mention in your reply
{You pay once per week to enter. If you survive the daily cuts, you don't pay again during that week.}
Does this apply to Monday to Wednesday as well? unlike the first week you have 3 days to play 36 boards
Mon-Wednesday qualifier (crystal only?) makes sense. Unclear how the Thu-Sat Survivor works. Is this another 72-hour window to complete 36 boards, where the top 75% survive? What masterpoint pigments are awarded in the Survivor round?
Is the Sunday final Regionally rated (i.e., gold/red points awarded)?
Good question, let's clarify the Thu-Sun structure.
It's not a 72-hour window like Mon-Wed. From Thursday to Sunday, each day is its own single 12-board daylong, with a cut after each day except the last:
Thursday: 12 boards, Black points, cut after
Friday: 12 boards, Red points, cut after
Saturday: 12 boards, Silver points, cut after
Sunday: 12 boards, Gold points, no further cut - top 2 per flight qualify for the live final
So yes, Monday-Wednesday is Crystal only (36 boards over the 72-hour window), then each remaining day awards a different point color as you move forward.
So there is no carryover between the Mon-Weds results and the Thurs. results, correct? Everyone who makes the cut on Wednesday has their scores reset to zero on Thursday, and is not impacted by how high they finished in the Mon-Weds field, so long as they made the cut?
Hi Matt,
That is correct. Everyday is a new start for everyone.
The conditions of this tournament are surprisingly unclear for an event that is asking players to pay real money.
So, perhaps someone could explain the basic question: **How much exactly are we paying, and what exactly are we paying for?**
Is the $15 entry fee for one day? For the entire week? Do surviving players pay again the next day? Do qualified players pay for the next stage? Or are we simply supposed to pay first and discover the rules later?
These are not minor details. They are probably the first things that should have been clearly explained before announcing the event.
When money, qualification, elimination, and prizes are involved, the rules should not require detective work.
At the moment, the lack of clarity creates two possible impressions.
Either the tournament was announced before its creators had actually finished thinking through how it would work—which would suggest rather poor planning.
Or the conditions are deliberately vague, leaving room for interpretation and convenient changes later—which creates a much more unpleasant impression.
And in bridge, we understand something very well: **when someone repeatedly appears to be doing something stupid, but somehow it keeps working to their advantage, there are usually two possibilities. Either they are not as stupid as they appear, or something else is going on.**
So please, before asking people to pay, publish the complete rules clearly:
* How much does a player pay?
* What period does that payment cover?
* Does a surviving player have to pay again?
* What happens after qualification?
* Are there any additional fees?
* Can the conditions change after the event has started?
This should not be complicated.
**Clear rules before payment. Not payment first and explanations later.**
Transparency should be the minimum standard, especially for an event connected to the NABC.
Hello Rumen,
Thanks for asking directly.
Here's exactly how it works:
The $15 entry fee covers one full week (Monday through Sunday), not a single day.
You pay once per week to enter. If you survive the daily cuts, you don't pay again during that week.
Each week is fully independent. If you want to enter a different week, that's a separate $15 entry.
Masterpoints® (with a +200% bonus) and BXP are awarded on every daylong throughout the week.
If you qualify for the live final (top 2 per flight, per week), there's no additional entry fee. Qualifying players can play the live final in San Diego to win prizzes such as entries to the NABC in San Diego, plus Masterpoints®, medals, goodie bags, and coverage in the ACBL Bulletin. Travel and other personal expenses to San Diego are not included.
This video is a short teaser, the full format and rules are on the event page here: https://news.bridgebase.com/nabc-survivor-home.
Hope this clarifies it.
This leaves unanswered an important question….
When do the in-person finalists play in San Diego? The schedule better be flexible so that players do not have to miss national events.
Hi Leo,
The final is on December 2nd, in the evening and during Bridge Mania, so you don't have to miss on other NABC events.
Does the $15 entry fee include entry in all tournaments that week (as long as you survive)? Or is it $15 for each day?
Hi Corey, 15 BB$ for the whole week
When are the live finalists to play two boards against each of the other nine live finalists?