LAS VEGAS — Only 24 hours after organizers promised to stick to their current setup, Players Era Festival CEO Seth Berger told ESPN that organizers will consider a new format when next year’s field expands to 32 teams.
Berger said organizers rethought their stance following online backlash after Wednesday’s matchups weren’t announced until after midnight ET. Those games were set using a format based on margin of victory, record, AP ranking, head-to-head record, points allowed and points scored through two games in the event.
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“The reality of this is having the humility to listen,” Berger told ESPN on Wednesday. “That’s all it is. We thought we had come up with the right solution.
“… I don’t know that we’re going to a bracket, but all ideas are on the table.”
Berger on Tuesday said the event would not make any changes to its format even after admitting that fans in Las Vegas had told him that they didn’t understand the way it works. On Wednesday, he said he realized the format for an 18-team tournament may not work with a 32-team event next year, which prompted his reversal.
Iowa State defeated St. John’s, the reigning Big East champion, on Monday and then dominated Creighton by 18 points a day later, despite playing without star Tamin Lipsey. Yet the Cyclones were matched Wednesday against Syracuse, which had lost both of its games in Las Vegas, because Iowa State’s overall margin of victory (plus-19) wasn’t sufficient to earn a spot in the championship or third-place games.
Iowa State beat Syracuse, 95-64.
That’s significant because the winner of the Players Era title game between Michigan and Gonzaga will earn $1 million in additional NIL compensation, coupled with the $1 million guarantee for every participant. The runner-up will receive $500,000. The winner of the third-place game between Tennessee and Kansas gets $300,000, while the loser gets an additional $200,000.
Iowa State did not get the opportunity to earn additional NIL compensation despite an undefeated record and the best collection of wins in the field.
In 2026, the event will look a lot different with four eight-team pods and a faceoff between “the four kings” of those groups.
“Next year, we have four, eight-team groups,” Berger said. “Beyond that, we have not finalized the format yet.”
