A maximum of 16 Men’s and 16 Women’s teams may compete in the Championships.
If more than 16 teams enter, the basis of acceptance shall be decided by the ESF Technical Director with preference being given to official teams then on a “first come, first served” basis. Teams shall comprise either 3 Men or 3 Women.
At the first stage, all teams will normally play in Pools on a “round-robin” (all play all) basis. In the second stage, teams will normally play on a knock-out basis. All teams that have been defeated will be required to play-off to produce a final order covering all competing teams.
If teams are required to play on a round-robin basis at the second stage, then results between teams at the first stage are carried forward so that teams do not play each other again.
All teams will normally be scheduled to play a minimum of four Ties. Each Tie shall consist of one match for each member of the team, played between players nominated in order of strength.
Each match shall be played the best of 5 games - except when the score is 2-0 at the Group stage in a knock-out (rather than round-robin) Tie, when the final match shall be played the best of 3 games. All teams will normally be scheduled to play a minimum of four Ties. Each Tie shall consist of one match for each member of the team, played between players nominated in order of strength.
The playing order of matches will be drawn for each day of the Championships by the Championships Director at the initial Managers’ Meeting. Details of the playing order shall be posted in the Tournament Office.
All Ties played each day will use the same playing order. The #1 Player must play 1st or 2nd –giving 4 possible playing permutations (1-2-3, 1-3-2, 2-1-3, 3-1-2).
