Showing a brand new face, the 2004 World's Strongest Man contest will start off with twelve athletes in the qualifiers, and while the top scorers will once again go on to the finals, how the athletes accumulate their points will be dramatically different this year.

With a maximum of six points per event, one point will be given to the winner and zero to the loser, as each athlete competes directly against one other athlete, with the pairs changing for each event. In addition, bonus points will be used, with one point given for designated levels reached in each event.

For example, on the Atlas stones and Fingal's Fingers, the bonus is one point per stone or Finger lifted. In the yoke, refrigerator carry and fire truck pull, there is one point, for example, for every five meters the athlete covers (with the exact distance to be determined).

Points awarded in events based on distance, for example, will have the different point zones marked in different colors (for example, the one-point zone will be blue, the two-point zone will be red, etc.) to make it easier for viewers to follow the action when the shows have been edited.