What is the Banana Ball Open?

The Banana Ball Open was announced during the Banana Ball City Selection Show in October, but the novelty of the tournament is leaving fans wondering about what it actually is! And with the open being a week away, I want to help fans know what is going on!

The Banana Ball season started at the end of February with every team playing in Tallahassee, Florida. Since then, games have been all over the country each weekend. But for the first time ever, Banana Ball is an official league. It is called the Banana Ball Championship League. And so each of these games has had an impact on league standings.

We are almost eleven games into the season for each of the teams (after this weekend each team will have played eleven games). This is important because the first eleven games of the season is what decides who will be playing in the Banana Ball Open.

What is the Banana Ball Open?

The Banana Ball Open is a four team tournament that is happening in the middle of the regular season. After the first eleven games are played, the top four teams in the league will qualify for the open. The games will be played from April 16-19 at Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia.

What is the tournament format?

The first round of the tournament is a single elimination game. The number 1 seed (the Savannah Bananas have already clinched the top seed) will play against the 4 seed and the 2 seed will play against the 3. The winners of those games will move onto the championship which is a two game series played on Saturday and Sunday (April 18 and 19). If the series is tied after those two games the teams will play a showdown tiebreaker immediately following the second game. The winner of the showdown tiebreaker will win the Banana Ball Open!

What does a team get if they win the open?

The team that wins the Banana Ball Open gets an automatic spot in the playoffs at the end of the season. The top four teams will make the playoffs at the end of the season so if the winner of the open does not have a top 4 record they would pass over the fourth place team and take the 4 seed.

Some fans have been concerned about a team not playing hard the rest of the season because of their guaranteed playoff spot, but it is important to keep in mind that teams will still be fighting for seeding in the playoffs. A team would much rather be a 1, 2, or even 3 seed than the 4 seed.

What if teams are tied in the standings?

There is a list of tiebreakers that could come into play if teams are tied in the standings. These tie breakers could decide seeding or decide if a team makes the open! The first tiebreaker is head to head results. The next tie breaker is the amount of trick plays a team has had so far in the season. The next is point differential and then the next is head to head trick plays.

If you want to learn more about the Banana Ball Open then check out this video by the Banana Breakdown Podcast where we talked to Josh Televski about the open!