The new competition format

 In a week of English clubs being knocked out of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, proving that the new format league phase is a lucky charm for England and the old-fashioned knockout stage is really not... let's talk about the much more cool kind of "sporting" competitions out there!

Excel esports has dropped the knockout system for its big online climax this year - instead, the 256 qualifiers are drawn into eight groups of 32 (all doing the same task simultaneously, no head-to-head competition), and there's a double elimination format. In each round, the top half progress, and the bottom half go into the repechage section, not being eliminated until they've finished in the bottom half of two rounds. I like it!

I just hope I can qualify, because I've got terrible scores in the first two Road to Las Vegas rounds, AND the first UK Chapter round so far. I really need to work at this. I'm currently bumbling through these Excel competitions in the same way I did with memory competitions until 2003 - mainly relying on natural quick-thinking rather than clever techniques. I could sit down and work on knowing the right Excel formulas for every occasion, I'm sure, if I could just get the spare time and the wild enthusiasm necessary for the task. We'll just have to see if that happens...

And talking of memory, there's a new season of Memory League just started, and I haven't memorised anything, at all, since some time last year. I need to cram in some practice sessions and try to get at least half-way up to speed, very quickly.

And the league this year has gone with a new format, instead of all-play-all, it's more of a Champions League kind of thing where you play just some of the opponents in your division, and the thing is probably worked out by some kind of seeding system, but I just haven't been involved in anything that's happening in Memory League lately, so I'm out of touch. But it's definitely time for "the legend" to make some kind of comeback, because I've got opponents waiting, and I don't want to humiliate myself too badly...