SEMI FINAL FORMAT (JULY)
1 (top placed player) Vs 3 (3rd place qualifier) Head to head series (details to follow)
2 (2nd place qualifier)Vs 4 (4th place qualifier) Head to head series (details to follow)
The 2 winners progress to final
With this format, what is the incentive for placing in first place? You have an easier path to the finals by finishing fourth. If the top seed faces the fourth seed, as is done in most tourneys, there is incentive to finish with the #1 ranking. There is also incentive not to finish in fourth place because that would pair you with the top seeded player. The point is, the better you do in the preliminaries, the easier path you will have to the finals. With the current format, not so much.