IRI - 2015 Rule Modification Ideas?

[Ekcrbe]

I've seen a lot of calls to change playoffs back to best-of-3 series, but I would propose a different solution that I think still corrects all the flaws of the current system.

• Divide the 8 alliances into two pools of 4. This can be in a predetermined fashion (e.g. 1, 4, 5, 8 and 2, 3, 6, 7) or semi-random (e.g. the sum of the alliance numbers must be between 16 and 20 for both pools). I wouldn't say it should be totally random because that could be really rough if the top 4 alliances are put together.
• Play a round-robin series in each pool. An alliance advances after 2 wins and is eliminated after 2 losses, so two of the four alliances will advance. If two alliances begin 2-0, they move on and the pool ends. If one alliance begins 2-0, it moves on, the 0-2 alliance is eliminated, and the two 1-1 alliances face off (possibly for the second time) to determine who advances. If all four begin 1-1, each plays its third match against the alliance it has not yet played.
• This advances four alliances to the SF, where they repeat the procedure.
• The final two alliances play a best-of-3 series

I like the aspect of Recycle Rush's playoffs that each alliance gets to play more than one opponent, but taking the average of just 2 matches in the QF is very fluky. I don't like using averages in eliminations much at all, so I would go back to wins and losses.