Ash - If you have a 'not so good player' at least with the group stage they get 3 games not battered in one game by a top player. They also have a chance of progressing as a runner up if there is one really strong in their group.
The seeding is to give people an incentive and reward for winning their group as we see in the football competitions that use seeding it's no guarantee of an easy game next round as there will normally be a 'group of death' and normally a weak group too in the first round.
All adds a bit of spice to things I think.

If you want to do this Jay then I would be interested in running it as it would be extra work than a knockout comp and you have FCL to do as it is

Group and knockout sounds good, anyone who doesn't play because they can't progress from the group would have little to no impact on the whole competition

I think i am going to go with the Champions League style thing which Lee also mentioned.

Any ideas on the format and scoring are welcome as it is pool i would like the go by frames as points but then again a possible draw like in football would be interesting. Something like three points a win and one point a draw but when it hits the knock out stage it would go by frames like best of nine or something.

I am in the process of making this on google docs for both ideas, the signing up process for Individual League will more than likely take place when the next pre season starts.

Talking of new season - After this initial one is over the FCL will be taking a two week break. In that two weeks teams can sign who ever they wish and do not need to post it on team changes. I'll give dates below.

Season Ends - 8th September.

FCL Break + Transfers - 8th - 22nd September.

Pre Season Starts - 29th September

It would basically be a three week break from the league which i am sure is enough as previously it has been longer and many did not like that. These are temporary dates right now but i would like to follow them. If we have ten plus teams then the season will last roughly the same as this one which would take us nearly close to December.

If it does then the FCL will be taking a long break to allow runner and members free time for Christmas and New Year.

Most people have time off over the Christmas period, hence why it's a good time to have games going on - just increase the amount of time to play the games by a week, or release the fixtures earlier.

Time off to spend time with family and friends, the league has ran through Christmas before and less games were played in that time so would be pointless for myself, players and the teams.

When it says taking us close nearly to December.. if it begins mid October, it will run til January middle/end.. or start February for sure? with Christmas break.

It really depends on teams in the league to be honest mate. If we have eleven like we did this season then that will be 5 - 6 league fixtures. I will try to cut it down to five though as that would take us up to the 22nd of December. (This was calculated as taking a week from the end of Pre Season till start of the actual league)

If i started the league straight after the Pre Season (On the same night) then the league should finish around the 15th of December.

It is all going to depend on how many teams are joining. From what i have heard, two - three are folding but two new ones have been made so we should have around the same team numbers.

i think that we should implement something like Ballon d'Or in football for the next season . at the end of each season each captain can vote for:

Best player (that doesnt mean that the Golden Cue winner should win this too but this can be based on the results a player gets during the season and who against. The runner can make a list of 5-6 players and then each captain can vote )
Best Captain ( each captain and their vice should have the right to vote in this, of corse they can not vote for themselves or their captain in case of the vice)
Most improved player (The runner can make a list of 5-6 players and then each captain can vote )
Best clan (this should not be based only on the results a clan gets, but also on the disponibility they have to get games played and their efforts to keep harmony in their clan)

these are some ideas of which i think will make FCL more interesting, hope they get implemented

That has been done in previous seasons, it may be something i will look into doing though and possibly making a space for on the website.

best captain huts

Individual League Ideas

The first round group stages best of 6 games
3pts win
1pt draw
0pts loss

2nd round best of 7 frames
quarter finals best of 9
semis best of 11
final best of 15

I would let people enter 2 competitions if they want to, I would do 8 ball and UK but there are a lot that would do straight with another if they had the chance...maybe get really big numbers that way.

Having an even number of frames in the group stage allowing a draw means that at 3-2 down a player only has to win 1 frame to get any points rather than another 2.

^^^

That is pretty much the format i was looking at doing frame wise.

I will be following the same path the individual league has always had and that is to limit a player to one type and not multiple ones. Straight has never been in the FCL format and for that reason it has never been used in the individual league before.

Just thinking you could get really good numbers by letting people do 2 and straight has been in FCL individuals, dunno how many times but people have tried for participants at the start of many seasons.

http://www.funkypool.com/thread/18251/individual-leagues-fcl-members-only/1#1248611
http://www.funkypool.com/thread/18251/individual-leagues-fcl-members-only/10#1252567

The numbers could be good if i allowed people to join two types or maybe even the three that could mean instead of 16 players in one there could be 32 in each one. Qualifying could not that down to 16 to take it into groups.

Straight is something i have never tried to implement as its not an actual game in the FCL. I also find it quite fixed in a way as it is always the same people in it. My view anyway.

Could just have 8 groups of 4 then an extra round in the knockout competition if there were 32 entrants, the draws would throw up some real thrills then (well thrilling for online pool anyway lol)

Id like to change the bonus points, 20 points for a win is alot.
Atm its 20 for a win and 10 for no defaults.
I think reduce the 20 down to 10.

On erigerts suggestion voting for best captain will become and popularity contest. For example In FCL My clan have had no defaults but I will not get any votes not saying im the best as i dont believe I am. People who are well liked on here will get voted.

Likes this a lot it makes so much sense.

It was increased so a clan who had lost i the league could not win the league over a clan who had not lost in the league. Wont be changed.

Yeah both ways would work to be fair.

Hard to really decide as if it was going to be a round thing then i would need it to run with the fixtures. I may have to make the rounds one week deadline and possibly a two - three week on the groups.