How ABT Points are Calculated

Effective January 1, 2023

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Overview

Only players who place in an ABT event receive ABT points. To place, a player must achieve a position or rank in the event specifically designated for recognition by the director. Players entering ABT main events are segregated into skill divisions, with each division having an independent competition. ABT points are awarded independently for each such skill division within the main event.

If the USBGF Ratings and Stats Committee considers the ABT point quantity or distribution awarded for any ABT tournament to be inappropriately skewed compared to other ABT tournaments based on unusual features of that event, then the Committee may recommend a modification to the ABT points formula to be applied retroactively. Alternatively, the Committee may recommend a one-time adjustment to the quantity or distribution of points for that specific event (including the number of positions awarded points). The USBGF Board of Directors shall have final authority regarding any such variance from the designated formulas set forth below.

In case of a dispute on how to award ABT points for a particular event, the USBGF Ratings and Stats Committee will review the facts and make the final interpretation on how the points are to be distributed in accordance with established ABT policy.

Skill Division Factor (DV) 

For purposes of calculating ABT points, only the rank of the skill division from highest skill downward is relevant to assigning the Skill Divisional Factor. Common division names are given for example only.

Skill Divisional Factors shall be assigned as follows:

  1. Division 1 / Highest skill: (Championship, Open, Championship/Open Overflow) DV = 1
  2. Division 2 / Second highest skill: (Advanced, Intermediate) DV = 0.50
  3. All remaining Lower Divisions: (Limited, Beginner, Novice and/or C Division) DV = 0.25

Attendance Factor

The number of unique players in attendance in a particular skill division is the only variable factor that determines the total number of ABT points to be awarded for a particular event. Reentries into a sanctioned ABT division are not included when determining the divisional attendance factor. To protect against one large tournament dominating the ABT points race, the total number of players in any division for points calculation purposes shall be capped at a maximum of 96.

Attendance Factor = Smaller of (Number of unique players entered into this skill division, 96)

Total ABT Points Per Divisional Event 

The total number of points to be awarded for an entire ABT skill division is the product of the attendance and the skill division factor: 

Total Points = Attendance Factor * Skill Division Factor 

Flight Factor (FL) 

Typical ABT events contain multiple flights of play, wherein a player who is eliminated from play in a higher flight may continue to compete in order to win or place in a lower flight. The Flight Factor is determined by the distance from the Main flight in an event, with each lower flight having a flight factor that is half that of the preceding flight. For example:

  1. Main Flight: FL = 1
  2. Consolation Flight: FL = 0.5
  3. Last Chance Flight: FL = 0.25

Standardized Flight Shares (FS) 

Standardized flight shares are awarded to all players who place in any flight and reflect the share of points awarded to a particular place within the flight relative to all other places in that flight. The method for assigning standardized flight shares depends upon the competition format used to rank the subset of players designated to place in that flight. There are two methods: one used for a conventional elimination bracket format, and the other used for all other formats.

Elimination Bracket Format in Events Having At Least Two Flights 

With an elimination bracket format, a 1st place win is always worth exactly double that of a 2nd place win. A 2nd place win is worth exactly double that of a semifinal finish, and so on for lower-ranking positions. Standardized flight shares are awarded to players placing within a flight as follows:

  1. Winner: FS = 32
  2. Finalist: FS = 16
  3. Semi-finalist: FS = 8
  4. For each previous round: FS = FS(next round) / 2

However, if a 3-way tie playoff is used to determine the top three places within a flight, the standardized flight shares are awarded to players placing within that flight as follows:

  1. Winner: FS = 32
  2. Finalist: FS = 32 * 2/3
  3. Semi-finalist: FS = 32 * 1/3
  4. For each previous round: FS = FS(next round) / 2

Other Formats (non-elimination), and Elimination Formats Having Exactly One Flight 

The placing players within a flight may be ranked by means of a competition format other than a conventional elimination bracket, such as Swiss and Round Robin formats. In such flights, or for any event that has exactly one flight, the players ranked 1 through 8 (to the extent applicable) shall be awarded standardized flight shares as follows:

FS = 32, 20, 13, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4

If more than eight places are ranked in the flight, their shares shall be calculated as 32/N where N is the place number. Thus, the ninth place would be 32/9, the tenth place would be 32/10, etc.

If the final ranking results in a tie among two or more players, the standardized flight shares for the tied places are added together and then divided by the number of players tied (the average FS). For example, with a three-way tie for second through fourth place, each tying player’s FS factor would be (20+13+9)/3 = 14.

These same standardized flight shares are used when a 3-way tie playoff has occurred.

Point Shares 

Each player placing in an event receives a standardized share of the ABT points to be awarded. 

Point Shares = Standardized Flight Shares * Flight Factor 

ABT Points Awarded 

The number of ABT points awarded to each player that places in the tournament is a percentage of the fixed number of points to be awarded in the event. That percentage is calculated by considering the proportion of point shares earned by that player relative to the total number of point shares earned by all players. The number of points awarded to each placing player in an event shall be as follows:

ABT Points = Total Points * Point Shares / Total Point Shares