Steal this Tournament Format I Came Up With

Discussions
,
1

The Progressive Double Group Stage Tournament Format: Sample | Blank

Hey y’all, I created this tournament format for the Rising Stars Invitational Tournament that was hosted in Boston this summer and I’m putting it up here (with a sample and blank versions) so that others can steal and use it for their own tournaments if they like. This was inspired by Dames VII 2024 in CDMX and also the FIFA World Cup Group Stage.

Concept:

Two Round Robin Group Stages followed by a Split Elimination Bracket

16 teams (but can be modified for most non-prime numbers)

Group Stage 1:

Randomized teams in 4 Groups of 4 (or sorted vaguely based on team strength, spreading teams of equal skill across the groups); Groups A, B, C, and D. Each team plays each other team once. Rankings are determined by, in order; Wins, Draws, Head-to-Head Result, Goal Difference, Goals For, Penalty Shoot Out.

Group Stage 2:

Groups formed by the final ranking of Group Stage 1. (e.g. teams that finish first in the first group stage form Group I, teams that finish second in their respective group form Group II, etc.) The ranking is the same as Stage 1.

Split Elimination Bracket:

The Top 6 Seeded Teams go to the Winner’s Bracket which is a double elimination, the bottom 6 go straight to the Loser’s Bracket, which is a single elimination, and the middle 4 teams go into two play ins for 2 spots in the Winner’s Bracket and the losers go to the Loser’s Bracket. Seeding is done according to a chart in the spreadsheet.

Pros/Cons:

Pros:

  1. The secondary group stage creates opportunity for teams of all abilities to play closely matched games that have a dramatic impact on seeding but are not knock out games.
  2. Games are announced in advance, 3 at a time, which allows for a smoother transition between games and more time for teams to plan ahead for lunch/breaks.
  3. The double group stages mean that each team plays each team in their group, creating little ecosystems of possibly overlapping results, (where X beats Y, Y beats Z, but Z beats X)
  4. The Split-Elim means more games at higher levels of play and fewer games than a double elimination, but not enough.

Cons:

  1. Lots of games
  2. There may be blow outs in the first group stage.
  3. The Split-Elim bracket means that some teams will only play 1 elimination game (but most will play 2+)
    1. This makes it better for more competitive tournaments, IMO.

To see a sample of this, go here
To get a blank copy with pre-set formulas for your convenience, go here

Why I Like It:

Just means good games all around and I like the concept of little groups and I like knowing games in advance. And, as mentioned, can be modifiable for a bunch of different number of teams.

Feedback is more than welcome!

2 Likes