The best thing about running Splash is our players tell us exactly what they think, whether we like it or not.
You had thoughts on the $21M Survivor contest. We heard them. Here's where we landed: a rule change, a fee free offer, and some data that might surprise you.
1) The $21M contest is getting more approachable.
Many users told us 8 double pick weeks starting in Week 3 is too intimidating, especially for casual players. So we're eliminating double picks in Weeks 3 and 6, reducing double pick weeks from 8 to 6.
One of the beautiful things about being a software company is we can listen to our users and make changes quickly. We're not brick and mortar, changes don't take months.
If you entered and no longer want to play because of the rule change, you're welcome to withdraw your entry.
So why double picks at all? With 22.7k entries in the contest, we need to make the contest more difficult or we’d end up with too many Survivors after Week 18, and a ton of people splitting the $21M. Double picks keep the number of winning entries small, which means a bigger payout to the winner(s).
6 double pick weeks is still plenty hard. We don't expect many winners splitting the $21M, and a solo winner is still in play. But the contest is now a favorite to have somebody get all the way through Week 18. We'll keep listening, but this is the only rule change this season.
2) Next up, Splash fees.
Some users have been adamant they don't want to pay them.
This contest only has a fee if we clear 21,000 entries, which is not a sure thing. Compare that to a flight to Vegas, hotel, meals, cabs, and a proxy all year. Our fees, if any, are a fraction of that.
That said, we're listening. Enter by 8/31 and your fees are $0, no matter what. $20 in site credit instantly. If fees come in over $20, we credit back every dollar of the difference, up to $75 total per entry.
Email 21M@splashsports.com and our VIP team will take care of you.
3) We've also heard that while people love Survivor, there are too few winners.
That's why we built the Survivor Marketplace, live ahead of the season. Sell your entry in part or in whole all year long and make money off your entries even if you don't get through Week 18. Learn more at splashsports.com/marketplace
4) Finally, we've heard that allowing 150 entries per user makes the game hard for the casual player.
We've been running big contests for years, so we pulled the real results. The data says otherwise:
Finally: thank you to everyone who told us what wasn't working. Not an easy decision, but we talked to all types of players and the answer was clear: these changes make the biggest Survivor contest in the world even better.
4 weeks to kickoff. See you in there.
TJ Ross, Co-Founder
**Join before Aug 31 and send an email to 21m@splashsports.com with your username and get:
- No Splash fees: earn credits if the contest fills above 21k entries, up to $75/entry
- A minimum of $20 in credits per entry just for joining