TourneyPilot
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Draw Generation

Deep dive into tournament formats including Knockout, Round Robin, Group stages, and Banded tournaments

TourneyPilot supports multiple tournament formats to suit different competition styles. Understanding each format helps you choose the right structure for your event.

Available Formats

🏆 Knockout

Single elimination bracket. Losers are eliminated immediately. Fast and exciting.

🔄 Round Robin

Everyone plays everyone. Most matches, best for determining true rankings.

📊 Group + Knockout

Groups stage followed by knockout. Combines fairness with excitement.

🎯 Banded

Players grouped by skill level. Ensures competitive matches at all levels.

Knockout Format

The classic single elimination format. Each match eliminates one player until only the champion remains. Best for time-limited tournaments or when you want maximum drama.

Characteristics

  • Fastest format - fewest total matches
  • High stakes - one loss and you're out
  • Seeding matters - higher seeds face easier paths
  • Works best with power-of-2 entries (4, 8, 16, 32...)

Knockout with Consolation

An optional consolation bracket lets first-round losers continue competing for lower positions. This ensures everyone plays multiple matches.

Round Robin Format

Every player plays every other player. This format produces the most accurate rankings but requires the most matches.

Match Count Formula

For N players, the total matches are: N × (N-1) / 2

  • 4 players = 6 matches
  • 8 players = 28 matches
  • 16 players = 120 matches
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Time Consideration

Round Robin match counts grow quickly. Use this format only when you have sufficient time and tables, or for small player counts (8 or fewer).

Group + Knockout Format

Combines the fairness of group play with the excitement of knockout. Players first compete in groups, with top performers advancing to a knockout bracket.

How It Works

  1. Group Stage - Players divided into groups, play round robin within group
  2. Advancement - Top players from each group advance to knockout
  3. Knockout Stage - Single elimination bracket determines winner

Configuration Options

  • Group Count - How many groups (typically 2, 4, or 8)
  • Advance Count - How many players per group advance (1 or 2)

Banded Format

Players are grouped by skill level (rank/seed) into bands. Each band plays its own competition. This ensures competitive matches regardless of skill level.

Example

With 16 players and 4 bands:

  • Band A (1-4) - Top 4 seeds compete for Championship
  • Band B (5-8) - Seeds 5-8 compete for Plate
  • Band C (9-12) - Seeds 9-12 compete for Bowl
  • Band D (13-16) - Seeds 13-16 compete for Shield
💡

Perfect for All Levels

Banded tournaments ensure every player has a chance to win something, making them ideal for club events and tournaments with mixed skill levels.

Generating a Draw

To generate a draw for your competition:

  1. Open the competition and go to the Bracket tab
  2. Select your preferred format from the generator
  3. Configure any format-specific options
  4. Click Generate to create the draw
  5. Review and Start Competition when ready

Seeding

Seeding determines the bracket placement of players. Higher seeds (lower numbers) are placed to avoid meeting each other until later rounds.

Seeding Tips

  • Set player ranks before generating the draw
  • Rank 1 = Top seed (best player)
  • Unranked players are randomly placed