DPC is proud to bring you the Level Up Cup! This event is a one-day, retro arcade–themed pickleball tournament designed for players who want a high-quality competitive experience without spending their entire day waiting between matches. Hosted by Denver Pickleball Club, this event will feature organized divisions, smooth scheduling, and a maximum four-hour runtime per division so players can compete hard and still have the rest of their day.
Throughout the event, players can take part in pickleball and arcade challenges for additional prizes. As with all DPC events, participants can expect strong competition, professional organization, and an overall experience that is a level above your typical tournament.
Format: Round Robin into a bracket play-off. All games will be entered into DUPR.
Location: ThePicklr Littleton - Indoors with AC, so perfect weather all day and no cancellations!
All divisions will be gendered doubles and played on Saturday, June 6th.
Signups:
All registrations are on a per player basis: each teammate must make a DUPR and pickelball.com account, register, and pay separate from their teammate (*you cannot sign up for your team!*). If your teammate has not made a pickleball.com account yet, mark yourself as "need teammate" in your registration and they can choose you when they complete their registration.
All signup pricing is PER PERSON and includes 3 items: Registration fee, event fees, and pb.com fees as follows:
1. Registration fee:
All participants are required to pay a registration once per tournament, which increases approx. every 2 weeks, so don't wait to sign up if you know you want to play!
2. Event Fees:
○ Amateur doubles events are $35 per event
○ Open doubles divisions are $65 per event, which includes a $30 buy-in of which 100% goes to the prize pool. (see prize money breakdown below)
3. Pickleball.com and Stripe Fee:
○ pb.com charges $5 per event service fee + a stripe transaction fee
Divisions:
All skill divisions from 2.5 to 4.5+ will be available for all events to start, contingent upon signups. All divisions start with 8 team spots and will be increased or decreased based on signups, first come first serve! Please note: Smaller divisions may be combined. Larger divisions may be split. We reserve the right to move teams into the appropriate skill bracket based on their DUPR rating.
DUPR Requirements and Enforcement:
In an effort to make all games as close, fair, and fun as possible, DUPR requirements will be strictly enforced as detailed below. There will be no sandbagging here! Meeting the DUPR requirement as outlined below is mandatory to sign up for a given division. Your rating will be subsequently checked the week before registration closes to determine eligibility per the criteria below. If a player increases over .150 above the upper threshold the week before the registration deadline, the team will be moved to the next division up (if a spot is available). If either teammates fall below .650 of the lower threshold, your team will be moved down (if a spot is available and your team still meets the requirements for the lower division)
Doubles Events:
○ All division titles denote DUPR requirement to sign up for a division at time of signup with a few exceptions (see below).
Ex) the 3.5-4.0 division means the you and your partner's DUPR rating must be between 3.500 and 4.000.
○ Playing Down (sandbagging): No player will be permitted to sign up for a division below their DUPR rating. TD will be monitoring this periodically and will move you up to the proper division in this situation.
○ Playing Up: A player can play one division higher than their average team DUPR if one of the following conditions are met:
1) the higher rated player on your team has a rating in the proper range of the division AND the lower rated player is within .5 DUPR rating of the lower-end DUPR threshold. This essentially prevents teams from skipping two whole divisions, which can make pool play unfair and games less competitive.
Ex) Player #1 is 4.1 and player #2 is 3.8. This team can play up to 4.0-4.5 since player 1 is between 4.0 and 4.5 and player 2 is within .500 of 4.0.
2)Both players can play up if and only if the teams average team DUPR is within 0.15 of the higher divisions low-end threshold. (not automatic at check-out. Please sign-up in lower division then reach out to TD to be moved up manually)
Ex) Player #1 is 3.85 and player #2 is 3.95. AVG Team DUPR is 3.9. They will be allowed to play in 4.0-4.5 since the avg is within .15 of 4.0, but they will have to reach out to TD to do so.
○ If you are unrated that is ok! Just make a DUPR account and you will be allowed to play in the 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, or 3.5-4.0 division for the event you choose, which will be chosen based on the division that corresponds to your partner's rating. If both players on a team are unrated, you may play in the 2.0-2.5, 2.5-3.0, or 3.0-3.5 division of your choosing.
All Events:
○ All Players must have a DUPR account to register.
○ Division Corrections: Starting in May, TD will periodically check that registered players are within the correct divisions based on their rating. If you are determined to be in the incorrect division, you will be moved up to the proper division provided there is an open spot. If there is not an open spot in the correct division, TD reserves the right to determine if you will be allowed to stay in current division (in cases you are just over or shy of the threshold and due to a dupr increase or loss that transpires after registration), or to place you on the waitlist. If you are placed on the waitlist, TD will do his best to open a spot for you. If a spot does not open, full refunds will be given as long as the correction was due to recent increases in your team rating that occurred after registration. If the correction was due to a blatant attempt to sandbag, refunds will be given in accordance to the refund policy.
○ Duplicate DUPRS: Please contact DUPR with any duplicate or deleted account issues as soon as possible and preferably before signing up to have them fixed. Signing up with a duplicate DUPR to play in a different division than your rated level or to avoid risking your current DUPR rating is cheating and ruins the fun for others for the sole benefit of yourself. If you are caught, you will be reported immediately to DUPR for account merging / deletion and suspended / banned from future DPC events with a chance of being humiliated on DPC social media for blatant offenses. Don't do it!
Pool Play into playoff format:
While final format won't be determined until registration closes, all division sizes will start with round-robin pool play. This round will be 1 game first to 15 OR 1 game to 11 win by 2 and will include 3-5 games.
Results from pool play will determine placement into either a playoff bracket (1 game to 11 or 15, win by 2) and/or gold and bronze medal matches which will be 1 game to 15 by 2 OR best 2/3 games to 11 win by 2. This round will be 1 to 13 games, depending on how well you do!
Final pool sizes and bracket sizes will be decided after registration closes and will be based on division size.
*Format is subject to change as TD deems necessary, however 4 games minimum are guaranteed to all players, with most getting between 5 and 12 games per event*
