So I could swear that I read somewhere that there are going to be 7 rounds on Thurs/Fri, followed by 6 on Sat, with a cut to the top 8, which will go to double elimination.

But I can't find that anywhere. And I was looking at the registration today and saw that they list 8hrs for Thurs/Fri, which would indicate to me 6 rounds at 75min... With "5" minutes in between rounds (like that's going to happen). Unless they plan on dropping it to 60minute rounds, I don't see how they could even possibly say that Thurs/Fri will be done by 8pm.

So, does anyone have a reference for actual # of rounds? I swear its out there because I remember going through the maximum and minimum number of rounds a person could end up playing...

Found where it says the top 64 play 6 rounds and then cut to top 8 double elimination... Still can't find anything about the preliminary rounds.

https://www.gencon.com/events/53659

They state be prepared to stay later if you make the top 8, and then stay 9 hours for the 6 rounds of swiss, which seems right to me, 75min + 15min in between rounds... times 6 rounds = 9 hours.

Which would indicate that 8 hours for preliminaries would be 5 rounds? Though I would say probably 6 and they forgot to add an additional hour (to the 9 they have stated) for the registration time from 11-12.

Just a friendly bump here as I try to figure this out. I'm really hoping for 7 rounds because then you're allowed to lose 2 games and still know that you'll make the top 32. And a few people at 4-3 should be able to make it as well. (In a perfect world where every games has a full win + full loss, 3 people will make it at 4-3).

But at 6 rounds, you can only lose 1 game in order to ensure yourself a spot. Given half of the people at 4-2 will make it... but that puts more power in the tie breaker. I'd rather have the 7th round where all the 4-2 people play each other... winners advance, losers go home. It won't affect the people already at 5-1 or higher since they're already in... and since there's an outside chance that you can make it at 4-3... it gives you hope when you go 0-3 or 1-2 that you still have a chance at the big stage.

Check your email. This is the one I received following registration:

"You have registered for NMN1453542 X-Wing North American Championship Preliminaries - Flight 1.

The event organizer wanted to send you the following message. If you have any questions specifically about this game, please contact the event organizer directly, if they listed their contact information.

The tournament will consist of multiple Swiss-paired rounds, cutting to Top 32. The Top 32 players of both Flights will be seeded into a 64-player Swiss-paired tournament, cutting to a Top 8 double elimination final, with one player claiming the title of X-Wing 2014 North American Champion. The North American Champion will receive free entry to the X-Wing World Championship on the weekend of November 6-9, 2014 in Roseville, Minnesota, as well as a 1st Round Bye. Tournament registration closes at 11:50am on Thursday, August 14. Round One of the Swiss Pairing will begin promptly at 12:00pm. You must bring a 100 point squadron to participate and have two copies of your squadron sheet ready to be inspected by our TOs for tournament legality. In addition to your miniatures, you are required to bring your own support materials including: movement templates, range rulers, core set damage deck, dice (or dice app device if you agree to use it as explained in our tournament rules), and asteroids. The times listed for this event include registration time (11:00am-11:50am), the preliminary rounds (up to 7 75 minute rounds), plus time in-between rounds for pairing. If you advance to the Top 32, be prepared to return on Saturday, August 16 for the Swiss Finals. The first round of the Finals will begin promptly at 10:00am. For the most up-to-date rules, FAQ/Errata, tournament rules, blank squadron planning sheets, and more, please visit our X-Wing Support Page at http://tinyurl.com/xwing-support "

Sweet... Thank you. I knew I must have gotten 7 rounds from somewhere, but I couldn't find it on Gencon's website, or FFG's or anywhere. Never thought to check my email.

And if they're saying up to 7 rounds, and they have a full 128 people signed up, presumably we're going to be doing 7 rounds. Yay, you just made me happy. Thank you.

does anyone have the contact information for the organizer? I would like to contact them to get a head start on collecting results.

@Khyros: No problem. I don't have the math in front of me but in the exercise I did I came up with 5-2 to make the cut. I think my assumptions included 16 superbyes, all full wins along the way, and best record prevailing in pair up/downs. Obviously there are some potential flaws there but I was just trying to get a rough idea. Best of luck and see you there.

@MajorJuggler: Double checked the entire email and no tournament contact was provided.