The Prediction Knock Out Cup competition begins its fifth tournament starting with the first weekend fixtures in 2019. As usual, the competition will include the top 128 competitors in the CL Prediction League on Christmas Day. The format will be unchanged with 64 ties taking place in the New Year. The winners of each round will progress to the next round with a Wembley Final in late April. The 64 first round losers will get a second chance by being entered into the less glamorous Johnstones Paint Prediction Cup.

Rule change

There is a minor rule change for 2019. In the past, a tie that had two draws was decided by awarding a win ‘on penalties’ to the competitor placed higher in the League table. From this year, the winner will be decided on the higher score from the first prediction in the replay, then the second prediction. If there is still no winner, the same process is applied to the first game in the tie. If nothing separates the teams after that, the higher league position will prevail.

You can watch the draw live!

The draw will be made online at 12 noon on New Year’s Day. If you want to watch the draw live online. You can view the draw by joining at this link https://zoom.us/j/956808039.

New to the Prediction Knock Out Cup or need a recap of the rules?

• The competition will involve the top 128 competitors in the weekly Prediction League on Christmas Day. If there is a tie for the lower places, the highest scores from the previous week from those that made a prediction will qualify. Previous weeks working backwards will be used if necessary.
• The 64 ties for the first round will be drawn on 1st January. The winner of each tie will proceed to the 2nd round like most other cup competitions. For the first round only, the 64 losers will be entered into the Johnstones Paint Prediction Cup.
• The score each entrant gets in their tie will be the same score as they achieve their weekly prediction in the League. In other words, entrants need to do nothing more than post their predictions as usual. Where an entrant does not post any predictions, a score of 0 will be counted rather than any allocated average score.
• In the event of a draw, there will be a replay the following week.
• In the event of a draw in a replay, the winner will be decided on the higher score from the first prediction by each competitor in the replay, then the second prediction. If there is still no winner, the same process is applied to the first game in the tie. If nothing separates the competitors after that, the higher league position will decide the winner. Where games are won by this method, they will be referred to as ‘winning on penalties’.
• In a replay, the second person posting must not choose the same predictions as the first person posting in that tie. If the second person posting does post the same predictions, they will be deducted one point from their score.