The 2024 Collegiate Chess League (CCL) playoffs are upon us, and you can join in on the excitement by predicting who wins!
Can you see Saint Louis clinching their third title in a row? Do you envision Webster taking over the CCL in their debut season? Will you be the one to believe in the underdog team that is about to go on a shocking winning streak? Immortalize your foresight and win prizes!
As the proud sponsor of the 2024 Collegiate Chess League, Susquehanna International Group (SIG) has teamed up with Chess.com for the CCL Bracket Predictions Challenge. The bracket prediction winner in each of the 24 divisions will walk away with a JBL Clip Speaker courtesy of SIG and a 6-month Chess.com Diamond Membership.*
To enter, submit your predictions by March 16, 2024 at 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern / 11:30 p.m. IST.
How To Participate
Click the button above for the spring 2024 prediction brackets. Each division has its own bracket. Make predictions for as many divisions as you’d like. Fill out all 24 for your best chance to win.
Make sure to include your email in your entry, so we can ensure you receive your prize if you create one of the victorious brackets.
Then, sit back and watch your favorite teams duke it out in the playoffs―knowing each of their wins bring you closer to:
- a wealth of resources to improve your chess with six months of Chess.com diamond membership
- a portable bluetooth JBL speaker to liven up any space with music
Winners will be notified by email at the email address provided the week of April 15.**
*One winner per bracket. No purchase is necessary to participate or win. Prizes cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. Participants may not win more than one bracket.
**Void where prohibited. The award of prizes may be subject to geographical limitations.
Teams: Division 1
Reigning Champions: Saint Louis University
Vying for their third CCL title in a row, Saint Louis finished at the top of the regular season. Led by GMs Benjamin Bok and Nikolas Theodorou―two of the top scorers in the league―their team is packed with grandmasters. They also defeated their main rivals, Webster, in their head-to-head match in week six, breaking the latter’s perfect score. At the close of that match, Bok remarked: “Today, we showed that we are the best team.”
Today, we showed that we are the best team.
―Benjamin Bok
Six-Time U.S. Collegiate Champions: Webster
With six President’s Cup titles and eight Pan-American championships, Webster hopes to bring their vast OTB success to the online arena in their debut season of the CCL. Led by GMs Aram Hakobyan and Harsha Bharathakoti, they began the season on a 5-0 winning streak. Ultimately, Webster finished second to Saint Louis by inches―1.5 tiebreak points. They eagerly await a rematch vs. their rivals in the playoffs. At the start of the season, Hakobyan proclaimed: “I do believe we are the favorites.”
I do believe we are the favorites.
―Aram Hakobyan
Spring 2022 Champions: University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
Looking for their second title, Rio Grande enters the playoffs in third place. Led by GM Gleb Dudin, they have been the only team able to score a match victory vs. Saint Louis this season. CCL Commissioner Joe Lee declared that duel “the comeback of the season so far.”
This is the comeback of the season so far.
―Joe Lee
2024 Pan-American Champions: University of Missouri
Missouri won their first-ever Pan-American Championship in January. Like SLU and Webster, their team has an all-GM lineup featuring GMs Grigoriy Oparin and Mikhail Antipov―a league top scorer in both win percentage and brilliancies. Though they finished just behind Rio Grande in the standings, they defeated them in their head-to-head matchup.
University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas finished second at the Pan-Ams―ahead of Webster. After a slow start in the CCL, they rallied mid-season to make the playoffs. Led by GM Ivan Schitco, this nearly all-GM team won a close match vs. Athens in week four.
National Technical University of Athens
Led by GM Andreas Kelires, Athens secured the last of the playoff qualification spots. They inched ahead of Chicago with the far stronger tiebreaks: 49.5 in individual points vs. only 32.5 for their rivals. In week four, Athens scored a critical victory vs. Rio Grande, opening the match by scoring 3.5/4 in the first round.
Division 2
Led by IM Anthony He (rated 3062), the University of Washington finished as the sole leader of Group A with 6-1. Yale A, led by GM Nicolas Checa, and Brown A, featuring GM Andrew Hong and IM Robert Shlyakhenko, tied for first in Group B with 6-1.
Division 3
Washington University in St Louis A (WUSTLA) cleaned house in Group A with a perfect 7-0. Their biggest rivals will be National Technical University of Athens C (NTUA C), who scored 6-1 in Group B.
For all standings and results for Divisions 2-3, see the NACE platform.
Divisions 4-24
Standings and results for Divisions 4-24 are available here.
The Collegiate Chess League (CCL) is the premier online chess competition for college students. It is a team event with an all-play-all blitz format, featuring a $25,000 prize fund. The Spring playoffs begin on March 16 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET/11:30 p.m. IST.
SIG is a global quantitative trading firm founded by a group of friends who share a passion for game theory and probabilistic thinking. This approach is integral to their culture, where you will find relentless problem solvers within each of their core disciplines: Trading, Technology, and Quantitative Research. From offices around the world, their employees collaborate to make optimal decisions and are driven by the desire to achieve winning results together.
SIG is hiring interns, new graduates, and professionals alike, and is inviting chess players to apply to their Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Dublin, and Sydney offices. Use your gaming skills in your career—apply to SIG at sig.com/chess.
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