With fans being able to vote for the four participants from a selection of 16 top-flight teams, as expected, Chiefs have taken the lead in the first round of voting with close to 100 000 votes.
Pirates, who have featured against Chiefs in the two-team format cup competition since 2011, are in second place having surpassed the 50 000 mark.
The league's most successful club in the modern era, Mamelodi Sundowns, sits third in the voting with AmaZulu a distant fourth.
All 16 top-flight teams are eligible, with fans voting for the top four to contest the one-day competition at the close of voting which will be made public.
The revamped competition will be hosted at the FNB Stadium when domestic football will have been paused due to the World Cup in Qatar.
Arne Rust, the brand director at Carling Black Label confirmed the voting mechanism remains the same as in previous years.
"This is democracy at work," he noted.
"The voting will close on October 2 in determining the top four teams and from October 3 fans will start voting for who they want to see playing for their team, the captain, and ultimately the man of the match on the day of the competition.
"There will be no champion coach on the fan this year but a lucky fan who votes will win R100 000.
"Tickets for the spectacle will be ready from Thursday at R80 for all three matches.
"The top two teams at the close of the voting will meet in the second semi-final while the opening match will pit number three versus at the close of voting."
Next year the Carling KnockOut Cup will be played over eight weeks as a replacement for the Telkom KnockOut.
