We are at the final round of Aquamarine Period; it has been an exciting couple of weeks leading up to this point. This year, ISML introduces a new matchup that will determine the winner of the Necklace, dubbed the “Necklace Showdown” (but also more simply, Round 8).

Here the top 7 eligible Contestants participate in a free-for-all match. Eligible Contestants are those who have not yet won a Necklace this year. Since this is the first Period, nobody will be passed up in the Aquamarine standings for this round.

Simply acquiring the most votes in this round does not win the Necklace. As noted in the 2011 Charter, a score is calculated from the votes earned today and the SDO rating over the whole Period. So performance over the last seven rounds do play a large role, and the top seed has a greater advantage entering the match.

5. At the end of the round, each Contestant receives a Necklace Score, calculated as the product of her voting percentage for the round of and her SDO for the entire Period.
6. The Contestant with the highest Necklace Score will be awarded the Necklace. Ties are resolved according to the procedure list in the preceding section (Rule VII.E).

We have four arenas of exhibition matches, one of which consists of the seven exhibition winners in each of the voting rounds this Period. Please vote in all arenas; abstains will not be allowed.

Congratulations to everyone for making this far, and good luck to our competitors! To the voters, please enjoy today’s match!