2017 Nicky Rackard Cup
2017 Nicky Rackard Cup| Teams |
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The 2017 Nicky Rackard Cup is the 13th staging of the Nicky Rackard Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It is the third tier of senior inter-county championship hurling.[1]
Mayo, the 2016 champions, were promoted to the 2017 Christy Ring Cup after defeating Derry in the promotion/relegation playoff 1-21 to 1-14.
Format
The 2017 Nicky Rackard Cup is played in a double-elimination format. For clarity, the match-ups are explained in each round below.
The seven teams competing in 2017 are 
Armagh, 
Derry, 
Donegal, 
Longford, Louth, 
Monaghan, and 
Tyrone. 
Fingal were scheduled to compete but have withdrawn for 2017.
Round 1
Six of the seven teams play in Round 1.
Round 2
Round 2A
Contested by the three winners of Round 1 and the team that received a bye.
Round 2B
Contested by the four losers of Round 1.
Quarter-finals
The two losers of round 2A (who won a match and lost a match) play the two winners of round 2B (who lost a match and won a match). These two matches are referred to as quarter-finals.
Semi-finals
The winners of round 2A play the winners of the two quarter-finals.
Final
Christy Ring/Nicky Rackard Play-Off
The winner of this year's Nicky Rackard Cup (tier 3) plays the bottom team in this year's Christy Ring Cup (tier 2).
Nicky Rackard/Lory Meagher Play-Offs
Bottom play-off
Contested by the two losers from round 2B. Both these teams lost their first two matches.
Relegation/Promotion play-off
The bottom team in this year's Nicky Rackard Cup (tier 3) plays the winner of this year's Lory Meagher Cup (tier 4).
References
- ↑ Hurling tiers - 1. All-Ireland (Liam McCarthy) 2. Christy Ring 3. Nicky Rackard 4. Lory Meagher