Polish Soccer: New Playoff System to Kick-In: Legia Warszawa has 5 point lead in Championship Group;

BALTIMORE, Maryland April 12, 2014 - This was the last weekend of the regular season and all of the games were scheduled for Saturday. Polish soccer's new format for play at the end of the season will now begin. The teams that finished in positions 1 through 8 are eligible to play for the league championship. Teams in positions 9-16 play to avoid relegation. These are the scores from Saturday: Ruch Chorzow beat back
Zawisza Bydgoszcz, 3-0; Korona Kielce downed Cracovia Krakow, 1-0; Slask Wroclaw defeated Lechia Gdansk, 1-0; League Leading Legia Warszawa downed Zaglebie Lubin, 3-1;
Pogon Szczecin edged Widzew Lodz, 1-0; Jagiellonia Bialystok and Piast Gliwice drew at 1; 14th place Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala defeated fifth place Wisla Krakow, 1-0; and Lech Poznan ripped Górnik Zabrze, 3-0. Heading into the playoffs - each team plays seven more games - these are the standings:

1. Legia Warszawa: 63 points, 20 wins, 3 draws, 7 losses, 30 matches played
2. Lech Poznan: 53 points, 15 wins, 8 draws, 7 losses, 30 matches played
3. Ruch Chorzów: 50 points, 14 wins, 8 draws, 8 losses, 30 matches played
4. Pogon Szczecin: 47 points, 11 wins, 14 draws, 5 losses, 30 matches played
5. Wisla Kraków: 45 points, 12 wins, 9 draws, 9 losses, 30 matches played
6. Zawisza Bydgoszcz: 42 points, 11 wins, 9 draws, 10 losses, 30 matches played
7. Górnik Zabrze: 42 points, 11 wins, 9 draws, 10 losses, 30 matches played
8. Lechia Gdansk: 40 points, 10 wins, 10 draws, 10 losses, 30 matches played
9. Jagiellonia Bialystok: 39 points, 10 wins, 9 draws, 11 losses, 30 matches played
10. Cracovia Kraków: 39 points, 11 wins, 6 draws, 13 losses, 30 matches played
11. Korona Kielce: 37 points, 9 wins, 10 draws, 11 losses, 30 matches played
12. Slask Wroclaw: 34 points, 7 wins, 13 draws, 10 losses, 30 matches played
13. Piast Gliwice: 34 points, 8 wins, 10 draws, 12 losses, 30 matches played
14. Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala: 31 points, 6 wins, 13 draws, 13 losses, 30 matches pl.
15. Zaglebie Lubin: 29 points, 7 wins, 8 draws, 15 losses, 30 matches played
16. Widzew Lódz: 22 points, 5 wins, 7 draws, 18 losses
Championship play-off
Relegation play-off
Share 30 matches played

According to the league's new rules, at this point in the season, each team divides its point totals in half, and if you have an odd number of points, add one point before you do the division. The result of the division is the number of points your team has entering these final seven games. No team from the bottom eight can enter the top eight from here on out, nor can a team from the top eight fall into the bottom eight. Thus, going forward, here are the two groups with their new point totals:

Championship Group:
1. Legia Warszawa: 32 points
2. Lech Poznan: 27 points
3. Ruch Chorzów: 25 points
4. Pogon Szczecin: 24 points
5. Wisla Kraków: 23 points
6. Zawisza Bydgoszcz: 21 points
7. Górnik Zabrze: 21 points
8. Lechia Gdansk: 20 points

Relegation Group
9. Jagiellonia Bialystok: 20 points
10. Cracovia Kraków: 20 points
11. Korona Kielce: 19 points
12. Slask Wroclaw: 17 points
13. Piast Gliwice: 17 points
14. Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala: 16 points
15. Zaglebie Lubin: 15 points
16. Widzew Lódz: 11 points