Flyer for Winter 2025 Regional: Dec 26-29 2025

Here is the latest flyer for the Dec 2025 regional.

Same Venue: Marriott Marquis

As with last year, we are holding it at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square! Of course, there are pros and cons. The morning is usually no problem at all, but the lunch hour and especially the departure phase can be a bit challenging. Pro tip: head west if you can when exiting the hotel, not east. You can avoid the full force of Times Square during peak times (plus tourism near annual peak times).

New Events: Bracketed Pairs

The most significant changes to the schedule is the introduction of Bracketed Pairs, which is relatively new but has been very popular in the last year or so. The idea is similar to bracketed teams. You sign up for the event and the directors will place all of the pairs into several brackets. You will be playing with those who have similar Masterpoint totals as you.

Technically, you add up you and your partner’s Masterpoints and your opponents will have a similar sum. That pushes a lot of pros into the upper brackets so that those who are truly mid-flight or lower will play against our peers. The Masterpoint award also uses a similar strength-of-field formula as the Bracketed Round Robin.

Another great benefit: there are no longer arbitrary cutoffs that define intermediate, advanced, and expert players. Those who cross the 750 threshold won’t automatically be thrown into an open section, you will simply be pairs with others in a similar range.

Duplicated Boards for Team Games

The tournament committee is actively exploring pre-duplicated boards for team events. For those who don’t know, that means you will get hand records for the team games instead of the usual “shuffle and play” style. It’s also kind of fun when all of your friends at the other tables are all playing the same boards at the same time. You’ll have much more to discuss after the game. On the flip side, anyone who made a bad mistake will be fully outed; it’s possible a certain faction likes team games more because there is plenty of blame to go around without much way to pinpoint the true culprit.