Tournament Bracketing Methodology

Most tournaments use brackets at some point during the competition, if not for the entire competition, to determine the champion. The NCAA Division I basketball tournament uses a single-elimination bracket. World Cup soccer uses pool play to narrow the field from 32 teams to 16 and then uses a single-elimination bracket to determine the winner. You should clarify how the champion will be determined well in advance of the tournament to avoid any disputes during the event.

  1. Purpose and Limits of Seeding

    • The purpose of assigning seeds to the teams is to prevent the best teams from eliminating each other early in the tournament. If you are using a pool-play system in which only two of four teams advance, it would be improper to put the top four teams in one pool; this would guarantee that two top teams will be out before the single-elimination rounds start. If you are using a pool system, you should distribute the top teams evenly among the pools. If you are using an elimination format, set up your bracket so the top teams play the weaker teams in the early rounds. For example, if you had an eight-team tournament, the top-seeded team would play the eighth-seeded team, the second-seeded team would play the seventh-seeded team and so forth. However, you should not use seeding to make the requirements for advancing lower for the higher-seeded teams. Aside from the first round. when the number of entrants is not an exponent of two, teams should not be given byes because that gives them an unnecessary advantage.

    Bracketing for a Double-Elimination Tournament

    • If you want to use a double-elimination format for your tournament, you must set up a losers bracket that teams will go into when they lose a game in the winners bracket. Teams in the winners bracket have an advantage because they do not have to play as many games to reach the finals. This format is advantageous because teams get to play at least two games before being eliminated.

    Bracketing for Pool-Play Tournaments

    • Before you start your tournament, determine which pools will play each other. If you have only two pools and two teams advancing from each, have the top team in pool A play the second-place team from pool B and the top team from pool B play the second-place team from pool A. The winners will then play for the championship. If you have four pools, set up your bracket so the winner of a pool cannot play a second-place finisher until the finals. This ensures that if the top two teams were placed in the same group they are able to play for the title. For example, if you had four pools and two teams advancing, the top team in pool A would be the top seed and the second-place team would be seeded seventh.