The Irish Cup is a single-elimination knockout tournament run by the Belfast Backgammon Club.
It begins in January and continues throughout the entire calendar year, with the final being held each December.
As with the Irish League (also run through the Belfast Backgammon Club), the Cup is designed to offer something a little different to the backgammon calendar.
With the League we took the decision to include PR analysis and award points for both match wins and performance — with the Irish Cup, we are offering much longer match formats than most players will have had the opportunity to compete in: beginning with 15-point matches in Round 1, rising all the way to 21 points for the final.
The Cup is an open tournament to which anyone can enter, irrespective of nationality or location. The prize money for this year’s tournament is as follows:
1st place: 500 Euros
2nd place: 250 Euros
3rd place: 100 Euros
Third place will be decided by the losing semi-finalists competing in an eleven-point match.
The match lengths and deadlines are as follows:
Round 1: 15 Points (28th February)
Round 2: 17 Points (30th April)
Last Sixteen: 17 Points (30th June)
Quarter-finals: 19 Points (31st August)
Semi-finals: 19 Points (31st October)
Final: 21 Points (31st December)
Each round must be completed by the published deadline and the result sent to the tournament director. Incomplete ties will result in both players being disqualified unless one player can demonstrate that a concerted effort was made on their part to play. It is at the tournament director’s discretion as to which player, if any, is awarded a walkover. Each round must be fully completed before any matches are played from the following round.
For situations where one player fails to show up for an arranged match, either by forgetting or owing to obstacles beyond their control, it is expected that opponents will be reasonable and agree to re-arrange the tie in good spirit. Should a player fail to keep a second date, then it will be at the tournament director’s discretion to assess the situation and come to a ruling. It is important that everyone makes as great an effort as possible to contact their opponent if arrangements are likely to change.
You may play your matches on any platform, or even live if convenient, however should you be unable to come to an agreement with your opponent, then the default position is that the match is played on the Heroes website.
There is a dedicated room on Heroes which can be located by clicking MAIN then EXTERNAL TOURNAMENTS then IRISH CUP 2023
The match conditions will always be preset to the correct score for each round, so feel free to use this room if you want to keep things simple. It has an ABT clock setting (120 + 12) and is set up with observers’ analysis and chat to encourage public viewing and friendly discussion of matches.
Owing to the matches being longer than you may be used to, it is permitted for any contest to be paused and resumed at a later date. However, this is only possible if both players are in agreement, otherwise the match must be completed in one sitting.
The tournament director is Rich Tegna.
He can be contacted by email, phone, WhatsApp, or text, using information listed on the contact sheet.
By entering the Irish Cup, you give consent for your details to be circulated for the purpose of arranging matches. It is not permitted to store or use anyone’s personal data for any other purpose.
Entry also gives permission for any match to be recorded and commentated on for the purpose of streaming online.
The tournament director reserves the right to make changes to the format and rules if necessary.
The tournament director reserves the right to remove any player deemed to have contravened the expected level of etiquette and goodwill associated with the game.