Draw Types

SportyHQ has 24 draw types to choose from. Should you find that there is a draw type not already provided by SportyHQ, please be sure to contact us, so that we can discuss how we can add this for you.

In this section, we will cover all of the draw types.

Round Robin Draw

In a single round-robin schedule, each participant plays every other participant once. In theory, a round-robin tournament is the fairest way to determine the champion among a known and fixed number of participants. Each participant, player or team, has equal chances against all other opposites. The element of luck is seen to be reduced as compared to a knockout system since bad performances need not cripple a competitor's chance of ultimate victory. Final records of participants are, thus, seen to be more accurate as they represent the results over a longer period against equal competition. This can also be used to determine which teams are the poorest performers and thus subject to relegation if the format is used in a multi-tiered league. This is also helpful to determine the final rank of all competitors from strongest to weakest for purposes of qualification for another stage or competition as well as for prize money. 

The standard format for round-robins is to assign each competitor a number, and pair them off in the first round …

Round 1. (1 plays 14, 2 plays 13, ... )
 1  2  3  4  5  6  7
 14 13 12 11 10 9  8   

then fix one of the contributors in the first or last column of the table (number one in this example) and rotate the others clockwise one position

Round 2. (1 plays 13, 14 plays 12, ... )
 1  14 2  3  4  5  6
 13 12 11 10 9  8  7

until you end up almost back at the initial position

Round Robin  - 1 Box. No Finals

No final game is played as the player with the game points would be classified as the winner.

To set up a Round Robin Draw - Box 1, select Manage Draws from your tournament's home page. After seeding your players click Generate Draw. 

Round Robin - 1 Box. Standard Finals Format

For this format, the player's with the two highest game points will play off for positions 1 and 2 and so on through to the players with the two lowest game points, who will play off for positions 7 and 8.
To set up the draw, select Manage Draws from your tournament's home page. After seeding the players click Generate Draw. 

Round Robin - 2 Box. Standard Finals Format

In this format, players are divided into 2 boxes. With 8 players, each box will play out to get positions 1 to 4.  The players with the highest game points from box 1 and 2 will play off for positions 1 and 2 and so on through to the players with lowest game points from box 1 and 2 which will play off for positions 7 and 8.

Round Robin - 4 Box. Standard Finals Format

Players are divided into 4 boxes.  With 16 players divided into 4 groups of four after seeding has been done and games played out to find positions 1 through 4 in each box. The winner of each box will go into a 1/2 Playoff draw, where box 1 will play box 3 and box 2 will play box 4.  The losers of the 1/2 Playoff (Game A3) will play off for positions 3 and 4.  The process follows the same format for players in positions 2, 3 and 4from each box.

Round Robin - 8 Boxes. No Finals

Players are divided into 8 boxes and playoff for positions 1 through to x in each box.

Round Robin - 1 Box. Crossover Finals Format

For this format, the player's with the two highest game points will play off for positions 1 and 2 and so on through to the players with the two lowest game points, who will play off for positions 7 and 8.

Round Robin - 2 Box. Crossover Finals Format

In this format, players are divided into 2 boxes. With 8 players, each box will play out to get positions 1 to 4.  The players with the two highest game points from box 1 and 2 will go into a 1/2 Playoff, where player 1 of box 1 will play player 2 of box 2.  Player 1 of box 2 will play player 2 of box 1. The losers of the 1/2 Playoff (Game A3) will play off for positions 3 and 4.  The same process follows for 5/6 Playoff and 7/8 Playoff.

Bracket Draws

A tournament bracket is a tree diagram that represents the series of games played during a knockout tournament. Different knockout tournament formats have different brackets; the simplest and most common is that of the single-elimination tournament.

Bracket - 1 Match Guarantee

Each player is guaranteed 1 match in a standard knock-out draw. To set up the draw, select Manage Draws from your tournament's home page, click Players for the draw you would like to set up. Seed all the players in the draw and click Generate Draw.

Bracket - 1 Match Guarantee. Include 3/4 Playoff

Each player is guaranteed 1 match however, the losing semi-finalists (A13 and A14) play off for positions 3 and 4.

Bracket - 1 Match Guarantee. Include 3/4 Playoff & 5/6 Playoff

Each player is guaranteed 1 match however, the losing semi-finalists (A13 and A14) play off for positions 3 and 4. The losers of games A9, A10, A11 and A12 will go into a draw to play off for positions 5 and 6.

Bracket - 2 Match Guarantee Standard

This format essentially creates a consolation bracket so if a person were to lose in the first round, they would be guaranteed a second match. The consolation bracket will be half the size of the main bracket because half the players of round 1 drop down.

Bracket - 2 Match Guarantee, Standard. Include 3/4 Playoff

This format also creates a consolation bracket so if a person were to lose in the first round, they would be guaranteed a second match. The consolation bracket will be half the size of the main bracket because half the players of round 1 drop down.  The losing semi-finalists (Games A13 & A14) will play off positions 3 and 4.

Bracket - 2 Match Guarantee, Standard. Include 3/4 Playoff & 5/6 Playoff

This format too creates a consolation bracket so if a person were to lose in the first round, they would be guaranteed a second match. The consolation bracket will be half the size of the main bracket because half the players of round 1 drop down.  The losing semi-finalists (Games A29 & A30) will play off positions 3 and 4. The losers of games A25, A26, A27 and A28 will play off for positions 5 and 6. The 5/6 Playoff doesn't work on small draws as your first round losers are generally playing for those positions.

Bracket - MONRAD Format

In this format, you essentially have the option to play out for every position from 1 down to however many players make up the draw.  The players are first ranked based on their score, then on their starting number (which can be random or based on seeding). Then #1 meets #2, #3 meets #4 etc., with modifications made to ensure that other rules are adhered to. Players are sorted by score (not score groups) and original rank, then each player paired to the next opponent, typically excluding repeats.

Bracket - 3 Match Guarantee, Standard

This format guarantees each player 3 matches. This format is popular for social tournaments.  Players from the first and second round of the main draw will make up a consolation bracket to guarantee those players 3 matches.  There is also a plate draw which makes up the third bracket.

Bracket - 3 Match Guarantee, Standard. Include 3/4 Playoff enforced

Players from the first and second round of the main draw will make up a consolation bracket to guarantee those players 3 matches.  Losers of games A13 and A14 will play off for positions 3 and 4. There is also a plate draw which makes up a third bracket.

Bracket - 3 Match Guarantee, Standard. Include 3/4 & 5/6 Playoff enforced

Players from the first and second round of the main draw will make up a consolation bracket to guarantee those players 3 matches.  Losers of games A13 and A14 will play off for positions 3 and 4. Losers of games A25, A26, A27 and A28 play off for positions 5 and 6. There is also a plate draw which makes up the third bracket.

Bracket - 3 Match Guarantee, Feed in Consolation (until Quarter Finals)

In this format, each player is guaranteed 3 matches and essentially until the quarter-final matches (up to game A24) , players are fed into the consolation bracket. Losers of the first round of the consolation draw will make up the third bracket.

Bracket - 3 Match Guarantee, Feed in Consolation (until Quarter Finals) with 3/4 Playoff

Until the quarter-final matches (up to game A24) , players are fed into the consolation bracket. Losers of games A29 and A30 will play off for positions 3 and 4. Losers of the first round of the consolation draw will make up the third bracket.

3 Brackets. 1st Round Losers Drop Down.

In this format, the first round losers in bracket 1 will feed into bracket 2 while the first round losers of bracket 2 will feed into bracket 3.

3 Brackets. 1st Round Losers Drop Down. With 3/4 Playoff enforced

In this format, the first round losers in bracket 1 will feed into bracket 2 while the first round losers of bracket 2 will feed into bracket 3. Losers of games A29 and a30 will play off for positions 3 and 4.

3 Brackets. 1st Round Losers Drop Down. With 3/4 & 5/6 Playoff enforced

In this format, the first round losers in bracket 1 will feed into bracket 2 while the first round losers of bracket 2 will feed into bracket 3. Losers of games A29 and a30 will play off for positions 3 and 4 while losers of games A25, A26, A27 and A28 will play off for positions 5 and 6.

Swiss Draw

A swiss draw is a non-eliminating tournament format which features a predetermined number of rounds of competition, but considerably fewer than in a round-robin tournament. In a Swiss tournament, each competitor (team or individual) does not play every other. Competitors meet one-to-one in each round and are paired using a predetermined set of rules designed to ensure that each competitor plays opponents with a similar running score, but not the same opponent more than once. The winner is the competitor with the highest aggregate points earned in all rounds. All competitors play in each round unless there is an odd number of them.  A Swiss draw should result in a clear winner, without having to play all opponents as in round robin, and without a single bad result terminating participation.

This format guarantees everybody the same number of matches.Based on your results, most players can land in the number 1 position no matter where you are placed in the draw, except for a few exceptions if you are placed at the very bottom of the draw.  Essentially you follow your number through, therefore if player 1 plays player 16 and loses, they will move to the 16 spot of the second round.  In the second round, if they lost to player 9, they would stay in spot 16 in the third round. If they won, they would move to position 9 in the 3 round and so on.