Tournament Formats & Byes

Win and advance, lose and you're out. Brackets are sized to the next power of two; empty slots become byes so the top seeds advance automatically in round one. An optional third-place match may be played.

Your first loss drops you into the losers' bracket; a second loss eliminates you. The winners'-bracket champion meets the losers'-bracket champion in the grand final. If the losers'-bracket player wins the first final, a deciding second final is played (the "reset"). If the winners'-bracket finalist wins the first final, the reset is not needed.

Everyone plays everyone in their group. Each match win is worth 1 point. Final standings are by points, then by match wins; players who are still level share the place.

Players are paired each round against opponents with a similar score, without repeating opponents where possible. The number of rounds is set by the organiser or defaults to enough rounds to separate the field (the base-2 logarithm of the number of entrants, rounded up). A match win is 1 point; a Swiss bye also scores 1 point.

See Survivor & Chip and Scotch Doubles & Mixer.

• Register from the tournament page while registration is open. Entry fees, if any, are shown on the page and are currently settled with the organiser directly — the in-app wallet is not live yet.
• When a tournament requires check-in, check-in opens 24 hours before the start time. Only checked-in entrants are seeded; registered players who don't check in are left out of the draw.
• Organisers seed the field (often by rating). Ranked tournaments need at least one Ringmaster on staff before they can start.

A bye advances a player without a match. Byes are created automatically for empty bracket slots. A bye never changes anyone's rating, and in elimination brackets it does not count as a match win.

If a player doesn't show, withdraws or can't continue, the Ringmaster or organiser can override the bracket and advance the other player. An override must include a written reason (for example "no-show after 15 minutes"). If a match had already been created it is voided — voided matches do not change ratings. Every override is logged.