Tournament Formats
Four ways to structure an event. The choice determines how many games people get, how long the day runs, and how well the result reflects actual skill.
Single Elimination
Lose once and you're out.
Games guaranteed: one.
Fastest format and the most brutal. Half the field is finished after the first round, and someone drives across town to play a single game against the eventual winner.
Use it when time is genuinely tight, or when the bracket is the point. Avoid it for social or beginner events — the people it eliminates first are usually the ones who most needed the practice.
Round Robin
Every team plays every other team in their pool.
Games guaranteed: the most of any format.
The best format for most purposes. Everyone plays everyone, one bad match doesn't end your day, and the standings genuinely reflect who played well rather than who avoided a bad draw.
The cost is time — game count grows quickly with team count. This is where the creation screen's projections matter most.
Default to this for social events, first events, and anything where you want people to leave having played.
Pool Play with Bracket
Pools first, then top finishers advance to a single-elimination bracket.
Games guaranteed: several, plus a real finish.
The best of both. Everyone gets guaranteed games in the pool stage, and the event still ends with a decisive bracket rather than a table.
This is the standard serious-tournament format for a reason. If you have the time for it, it's usually the right answer.
King of the Court
Winners stay on court, losers rotate to the back. Continuous action.
Games guaranteed: depends on how you do.
Built for larger groups and continuous play rather than a bracket. Nobody's sitting out for long, and the format handles awkward player counts that would break a bracket.
Less a tournament than a structured session — good for a big casual turnout, weaker for producing a definitive champion.
Choosing
| You want | Format | |---|---| | Everyone plays a lot | Round Robin | | A real winner, and time | Pool Play with Bracket | | Done fast | Single Elimination | | Big group, continuous play | King of the Court |
Use the projections
Projections — courts, total games, duration — update as you adjust teams and courts on the creation screen.
Check them before committing. Format and team count interact non-linearly, and a round robin that looks reasonable at eight teams is a different event at sixteen. Adding a court often does more for your schedule than changing format.
Rules apply across every match
Whatever format you pick, the game rules you set — game point, win condition, scoring style — apply to every match in the event.
Pair a long format with short games. A round robin at 21 points win-by-2 is a full day; the same round robin at 11 win-by-1 is an afternoon.