All Knockout Rounds To Be Played At LA 7s
All Knockout Rounds To Be Played At LA 7s
The LA 7s will be the first Men's Sevens World Series tournament of the season that has the full slate of games.
The way tournaments have been held in previous years is that the top two from each pool go on to the Cup Quarterfinals, and the bottom two go on to the Bowl Quarterfinals. There are consolation games throughout and the entire tournament and the whole process takes 45 games to accomplish. But with tournaments holding both a men's and women's event at the same time at the same venue, tournaments in Dubai, Cape Town, Hamilton, and Sydney have had to reduce the number of games.
In Dubai and Cape Town, this meant that the losing quarterfinal teams had no more games, and were ranked based on overall points difference.
Then in Hamilton and Sydney the system was changed. Only the pool winners went to the Cup Semis. The pool runners-up went into semis to play for 5th.
"We hate the new format," said USA star Ben Pinkelman in an interview with GRR in January. "I'm not going to mince words about it. It totally changes the dynamic of a 7s tournament and the way that you about pool play."
That sentiment was repeated by other teams, who reportedly lobbied to make sure that the LA 7s and Vancouver 7s, which are stand-alone men's tournaments (USA and Canada host stand-alone women's tournaments, as well) would have the full slate of 45 games.
And that's what has happened. So fans who go to the LA 7s February 29-Mach 1 will see their favorite teams play at least five times in the weekend, ten of those teams will play six games. Every team will have three games on Saturday and at least two on Sunday.
Tickets are still available, including family packages. Go here for more>>