ESPN

Registration

To enter, fill out the free game registration form on ESPN.com. After registering, you are ready to play The Eliminator Challenge. A valid ESPN member name and password will be used as an identifier to login to game play, and to keep track of your entry's score and standing. If you are already a registered ESPN account holder, you do not need to go through this necessary process, although if you are under 13 you must obtain the consent of your parent or legal guardian (as explained in the Official Rules). If you've had an ESPN account in the past but forgot your password, here's how to find your account information.

Creating Your Entry

Entries can be created at any time during the season. Entrants may register and make their selections for the first week of the U.S. professional football season beginning at the start of the promotion on Friday, August 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM ET. However, to be eligible for the first week of play, a team selection for that first week may be made until Monday, September 8, 2008 at approximately 10:00 PM ET, and not afterwards.

Name Your Entry (Optional)

After you have signed in, you will be prompted with a screen that will ask you to name your entry. Once you have named your entry click on the "Submit Entry Settings" button.

Making Your Selections

Click on the "Select Week" column on the left side of the page. This will update the Game Schedule for that week, and you must then "Select a Game". Upon selection of that game, you will be given the choice of selecting the Home or Away team for that game during the week you selected. To enter your winning pick for a particular week, simply click on "SELECT TEAM" link from the entry page. You may only choose a team once per season. All selections must be finalized at the scheduled locktime before the kickoff of each Monday Night Football game (or prior to the scheduled kick-off off the team you choose that week). If you want to pick a team for the current week that you've already lined up for another week, simply click on the "Drop" link for the previously selected team that you would like to now allocate for the given week (thus freeing that team up to be selected again).

Elimination Factor

You must select which team you believe will be the winner. If you are correct, you will advance to the next week's game. If you are incorrect, it will greatly decrease your chances of competing for the grand prize or second place prize (unless there are no other perfect entries present at the end of the promotion). You may not pick the same team to win twice during the season, and the game will continue each week until the end of the season.

Accumulating Points

The object of the game is simple: Correctly predict one winning team each week from all regularly scheduled games. Remember, you may not pick the same team to win twice during the season. So, choose wisely!

Tiebreaker Question

For tiebreaker purposes only. If there is more than one entry left after the final week of the regular NFL season or, if in any given week during the regular NFL season, all remaining entries are knocked out in the same week, a tiebreaker scenario among those entries will be applied. Please refer to the tie-breaker section of the rules for more details on exact tiebreaker procedures.

Creating and Joining Groups

You have the option to group yourself with friends, co-workers, classmates, or completely random fans by joining or creating a group. Most of the groups in The Eliminator Challenge are public and can be joined at anytime. If you want to play with a specific group of people you know, then you may create a private group and make it only accessible to those whom you have given the password. The creator of a group sets the name and the group's password. Groups can have an unlimited number of members and you can move your entry from one group to the next at any time. All of this is easily done on the main Group Directory page.