Announcing The $100,000 CGC Bracket Contest
The Chess.com Global Championship Knockout phase begins on September 14. An event that started with thousands of participants is down to a field of 64. In the next few weeks, there will only be 32, then 16, and then eight hopefuls. By November? One champion. Featuring a who's who of young stars, experienced legends, and today's best of the best, the CGC is a can't-miss event.
This is also your chance—you, a part of this community—at winning the $100,000 prize. However, this is only within reach if you pick the perfect bracket.
What would you buy with $100,000? The down payment on a house, a brand new Tesla? Ooh, a brand new Range Rover!? What about a year at Harvard or Yale (almost)? Over 87,700 Snickers bars? The possibilities are nearly endless.
Armed with your knowledge instead of random guessing, how close can you get?
How To Enter
How do you enter? Simply click the button above or follow this link to Challonge.com (a third-party site) and complete your bracket there. There is no purchase necessary for entry.
The deadline for submitting your prediction is Wednesday, September 14, 04:00 a.m. PT /13:00 CEST
Please name your bracket with your Chess.com user name and your prediction of the final match score.
Prizes
Only a perfect bracket will win the $100,000 prize, which will be shared in the event of multiple perfect predictions.
But! We are still awarding prizes to the top finishers regardless of final score. They are:
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | Chess.com hoodie, stickers, keychain, cap, and pen |
| 2nd | Chess.com t-shirt, stickers, keychain, cap, and pen |
| 3rd-5th | Chess.com stickers, keychain, cap, and pen |
| 6th-10th | 3-Month Chess.com Diamond Membership |
| 11th-20th | 1-Month Chess.com Diamond Membership |
Scoring And Tiebreaks
In a departure from past bracket contests, scoring will be kept linearly—see the table below. This change places more emphasis on predicting each individual match rather than the overall champion.
Of course, if you want a perfect bracket, you'll still have to identify the correct champion.
| Round | Points Per Match | Total Points In Round |
| First Round (Round of 64) | 1 | 32 |
| Second Round (Round of 32) | 2 | 32 |
| Third Round (Round of 16) | 3 | 24 |
| Quarterfinals | 4 | 16 |
| Semifinals | 5 | 10 |
| Finals | 6 | 6 |
| Perfect Score | 120 |
Tiebreaks
Challonge breaks ties with:
- Number of correct picks
Chess.com’s additional tiebreak determining factors:
- Correct winner predicted
- Correct finals score predicted
- Nearest margin of victory
- Closest to the correct score of tournament winner
- The last tiebreaker is the order your bracket was submitted (earlier is better).
In any of the scenarios above, the losing tiebreakers rank as no. 2, 3, 4 etc.
The knockouts begin on September 14—be sure to submit your bracket in advance and not miss out on the chances at prizes and memberships!
Note: This contest is void in all areas where prohibited by state, municipal or federal law.
Procedures for Contacting and Announcing Winners, and Giving Out Prizes
We will be in touch with winners through Messages on Chess.com, or via the e-mail provided in their submission.
Contact will be made within 1 calendar week after the contest ends.
If prizes are given out continuously throughout an event, contact will be made 1 week after the event ends.
In contests where winners are picked randomly from chats on Twitch, YouTube and Chess.com., everyone who gave the correct answer will be raffled using a software that will ensure an impartial and random selection of winners.
By participating in the event, you are consenting to Chess.com using your name/image for purpose of administration, prize fulfilment, use in a publicly available winners list, and related Chess.com event promotion.
NB: If you have received no contact after a week, you can claim your prize by contacting support@chess.com.
