Before anyone asks, thought it would be helpful to explain how the draw works...
The process for the draw for round 1 was entirely random. I printed thumbnails of all 44 entries, turned them upside down, shuffled them, dealt out 22, then randomly dealt out 22 on top of the first 22.
This has resulted in some interesting matches, one or two co-incidences, and a few mismatches. But I think it's the fairest way to do it.
As the league progresses however, please be aware that there will need to be some manual intervention, since the principle is that nobody should compete against the same opponent twice. This will require some swapping around, especially as we get into the later rounds. I shall be as objective and even-handed as possible in this.
Also, as we head towards the last few matches - in keeping with the principles applied by The Prof in earlier seasons - I will match the top few contenders for the title against each other, to make sure there is meaningful competition at the top of the table as well as further down.