A tournament is a competition organized and run by individuals or teams that gives participants the chance to compete in games, usually with a winner being declared. The games may be based on skill or luck, such as in poker or pinball. The tournament is usually divided into multiple rounds and each round is played over a specific time period, usually one or two days. The top-ranked players progress into the next rounds. The final round, typically referred to as the Cup or Championship Final, is played over a single fixture.
There are many different types of tournaments. Some are single-elimination while others have more elaborate bracket structures. Some tournaments are multi-stage with a group stage acting as qualification for the post season or playoffs. Some are round robin while others use a Swiss system. Some are pair events while others are team events.
A single elimination tournament (SE) means that a competitor loses a set and they are out of the competition. This type of format is very efficient and puts a lot of pressure on players to perform at their peak. It is also more likely to result in long sets and is often used for games that are very intense or require a large amount of strategy, such as MOBAS and RTSs.
In a double elimination tournament (DE) competitors have the opportunity to make it back to the upper bracket by winning a set in the losers bracket. This format allows players to get a second chance and it removes some of the pressure of SE, while still requiring them to play at their peak level. This type of tournament is more common in tennis and some sports with a best-of-n series, such as curling or basketball.
In tournaments with more than 2 competitors, the rankings are generally ordered Wins-Losses(-Ties) or Wins-Ties-Wins in order to de-emphasize ties and encourage competitors to play to a decisive result. When a tie cannot be resolved, the ranking is generally ordered by Wins-Ties-Losses.
Some tournaments, especially those with a lot of participants, will split the competitors into Groups or Pools to help finish the event in a timely fashion. This also helps with seeding as competitors that have similar wins-losses records are paired together.
Some tournaments have a “death pool” that is a group of competitors who registered on-site after the overall registration closed. The winners of this group will advance into the next phase that all groups progress into. This can create scheduling and seeding issues, so it is not recommended for most tournaments. However, some organizers do this to promote their event and to give people the opportunity to compete in a tournament that they might not otherwise have been able to attend. It can also be a good way to reward people who showed up late and pushed through the last rounds of the event.