"King of the Hill"

The tournament starts on January 3, 2013. The first winner will be determined on January 1, 2014.

This is the end. What comes after will be a new cycle, not a continuation.

Saying that I'm ready to play for a whole year with a weekly availability period seems a bit unserious, especially considering that there's no way to adjust to the dates, as the queue might come up at any moment. Some kind of certainty is simply necessary in such a long marathon.
And if randomness is going to be used when determining the contender, then open online lotteries should be held, as I think.