The Queensland GC Open Men's Singles at Windsor right now is one of CAQ's signature formats: a round-robin block phase, then a knockout that resolves every player's final position from 1st to 16th. The technical name is blocks then XYZW Championship plus parallel XYZW Plate. Here's how it actually works, walked through with the real standings off croquetscores.
The shape
Sixteen entrants. Two round-robin blocks of eight. Top four from each block go into the Championship side. Bottom four from each block go into the Plate side. Both sides then run the same XYZW knockout pattern in parallel.
Block phase, as it stands
Both blocks finished. Twenty-eight matches per block. Standings, ranked by wins, then net hoops:
Block A
| # | Player | Club | W | Net hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geoff Hull | Wynnum | 6 | +13 |
| 2 | Bob Martin | Eildon | 5 | +13 |
| 3 | Mike Mabbutt | Eildon | 5 | +11 |
| 4 | Dennis Green | Bribie Island | 4 | +5 |
| 5 | Casey De-Vene | Eildon | 3 | +4 |
| 6 | JohnH Smith | Eildon | 3 | −5 |
| 7 | Steve Lockhart | Coolum | 1 | −13 |
| 8 | Ian Leivesley | McIlwraith | 1 | −28 |
Block B
| # | Player | Club | W | Net hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Ernst | Southport | 7 | +19 |
| 2 | Steve O'Hare | McIlwraith | 4 | +9 |
| 3 | Greg Bury | Windsor | 4 | +5 |
| 4 | Ross Rillie | Headland Buderim | 4 | +3 |
| 5 | Steve Bickley | Bribie Island | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Cameron Hipwell | Wynnum | 4 | −1 |
| 7 | Colin Beckett | Headland Buderim | 1 | −13 |
| 8 | Nigel Read | Marewa NZ | 0 | −22 |
Seeding into the Championship
The top four from each block go into the eight-player Championship XYZW. CAQ Tournament Regulations Appendix 1 sets the seeding rule: stratify by block position (all winners first, then 2nds, then 3rds, then 4ths), with wins and net hoops breaking ties within each tier. The eight Championship seeds work out to:
| Seed | Player | From | W | NH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Ernst | Block B 1st | 7 | +19 |
| 2 | Geoff Hull | Block A 1st | 6 | +13 |
| 3 | Bob Martin | Block A 2nd | 5 | +13 |
| 4 | Steve O'Hare | Block B 2nd | 4 | +9 |
| 5 | Mike Mabbutt | Block A 3rd | 5 | +11 |
| 6 | Dennis Green | Block A 4th | 4 | +5 |
| 7 | Greg Bury | Block B 3rd | 4 | +5 |
| 8 | Ross Rillie | Block B 4th | 4 | +3 |
The XYZW Championship knockout
App 1 puts the seeded eight into the bracket in this order: 1, 8, 5, 4, 3, 6, 7, 2. That spaces strong players apart and pairs first-round matches as 1v8, 5v4, 3v6, 7v2.
The actual R1 matches at Windsor:
| Predicted pairing | What happened | |
|---|---|---|
| 1v8: Charles v Ross | Charles 7,7 beat Ross 3,6 | ✓ |
| 5v4: Mike v Steve O'Hare | Steve O'Hare 7,7 beat Mike 5,3 | ✓ |
| 3v6: Bob v Dennis | Bob 7,7 beat Dennis 6,5 | ✓ |
| 7v2: Greg v Geoff | Geoff beat Greg 2-1 (6, 7, 5) | ✓ |
Every R1 pairing follows the App 1 bracket order exactly. R2 has started: Charles Ernst 7 beat Steve O'Hare 3 in the top-half semi. The bottom-half semi between Bob Martin and Geoff Hull is yet to play.
What Y, Z and W are for
The XYZW name comes from four placement playoffs that resolve every position from 1st to 8th:
| Bracket | Who plays | Resolves |
|---|---|---|
| X | All 8, single-life knockout | 1st and 2nd (final), feeds losers down to Y and Z |
| Y | 4 X round-1 losers | 5th and 6th |
| Z | 2 X semifinal losers | 3rd and 4th |
| W | 2 Y round-1 losers | 7th and 8th |
Every Championship match is best of three.
The Plate runs the same pattern
The four bottom-ranked players from each block (eight total) go into the Plate side. Same XYZW shape, same best-of-three throughout, seeded into the bracket using the same App 1 order. The Plate resolves positions 9 through 16.
The Plate is in flight too. Steve Bickley, Cameron Hipwell, Steve Lockhart, JohnH Smith and the others are working through the X Plate bracket as I write this.
Why this shape
Two design choices in one. The block phase gives everyone seven games against varied opposition; the XYZW phase guarantees every player a meaningful finishing position rather than dropping out after one loss. The Plate keeps the lower half engaged with their own placement battle instead of going home after the block round.
The seeding order (1, 8, 5, 4, 3, 6, 7, 2) keeps the top seeds apart until late rounds while still giving the field a fair draw. It's been the standard CAQ shape for the GC Open events for years — you'll see the same structure at the Men's, Women's, President's Medal, and Gibson Medal championships.