No problem you say. There's still one more day of competition to break the tie.
Not exactly. You see, only 25 anglers advance to the final day of the Classic, and Ike and Tak together made 26 — one too many.
Break out the tiebreakers.
The 2012 Bassmaster Classic is fished under the Official Rules of the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series and Bassmaster Classic. They went into effect on March 1, 2011 and remain in effect until replaced by the 2012 Elite Series rules which go into effect next month.
Rule C20 deals with ties, as follows.
If there is a tie for first place, "there will be a sudden-death fish-off between the tied competitors...." If the tie is for a spot lower in the standings — like 25th place and the last position to fish on the final day — there is a four-step method of breaking the tie.
(1) largest number of legal fish weighed during competition
Both Iaconelli and Omori limited on each of the first two days; they both had 10 bass. So, we move on to the next tiebreaker.
(2) largest number of legal live fish weighed during the competition
Water temperatures are cool. Fish care is good. Classic anglers have weighed in 428 bass — all alive. Iaconelli and Omori have weighed in 10 live bass each ... still tied.
(3) heaviest single day catch during competition
On the first two days of competition, Iaconelli weighed in 10-7 and 13-5, respectively. Omori had 13-14 and 9-14. On the strength of his first day catch of 13-14, Omori breaks the tie and gets to advance to the final round. Ike's Classic is over.
And, in case you're wondering, if (3) didn't take of it, the fourth tie-breaker goes like this:
(4) second heaviest single day catch during competition
If the tie still isn't broken, it remains a tie.