< Previous30 Decide your tournament format 8 The tournament format should be one of the first decisions you make when planning your event. The format you choose will determine how many participants you can invite, how many matches will need to be played, and over what period of time they can be conducted. In this chapter, Dr. Darina Goldin, Director Data Science at Bayes Esports, gives you a quick overview of the most commonly encountered esports tournament formats. We can roughly divide the types of tournaments into the knockout, group, and ladder formats, with additional formats created specifically for free-for-all types of games. In a knockout (also known as elimination) tournament, the loser of a match is eliminated, and only the winner moves on to the next stage. Conversely, in a group tournament, each participant is guaranteed to have several matches. Hybrid forms, usually consisting of a group stage and an elimination stage, are common in esports. Ladders are based around a series of challenges and most commonly found in amateur play. The perfect tournament format for esports events doesn’t exist. The system you choose should satisfy your personal criteria regarding the desired number of participants and time constraints. You will want a quicker format if the event is held in one day on LAN, and something more predictable when running a several-months-long league. In an invitational tournament, it’s easy to fit the number of participants so that your brackets are full. If people are free to sign up, you might need a format that can tolerate having 37 teams enter instead of 32 or 64. 1. Knockout Formats: Single and double elimination, GSL Single elimination The single elimination is the most straightforward tournament type. After each match, the losers are eliminated, and the winners move on to the next stage. This format requires the least number of matches to be played. With many participants, this will save time. But it can be frustrating, especially to the teams losing in the first round and especially if they are unlucky enough to face a favorite. Half of the tournament participants will only get to play one match, and one-quarter will only get to play two. Another drawback is that after the semi-finals, two teams will be left to compete for third place, so an additional decider match is necessary. Finally, the next round of the tournament can only take place after the last one is finished, which might lead to long delays if a match runs long or if the scheduling is not done well. The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format Good for: play-offs, short events, large number of participants31 Double elimination The double elimination aims to offset this, by ensuring that you must lose twice in order to be out of the tournament. This means that each participant will get at least two matches, and it will still be possible to win the tournament after losing in the first round. This format can be confusing at first glance, but it’s one of the most commonly found in esports. Everybody starts in the winner (W) bracket. After its first loss, the losing team goes to the loser’s (L) bracket. This means that the finals of the W bracket are the overall tournament semi-finals — the winner of this match will go on to the grand finals, and the loser will be the last to join the L bracket. The loser of the lower bracket finals automatically takes third place, while the winner goes on to the grand finals. There are two variations in how the final match can happen: If the winner of the W bracket wins the finals, then it is clear that they are the absolute winner. But if they lose, this will be their first loss in the tournament. Because everybody needs to lose twice to be eliminated, another finals match between the two teams needs to take place. However, some tournaments will choose to forgo this part, one notable example being The International in Dota 2. The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format32 Single eliminationDouble eliminationGSL GSL The GSL format takes its name from the Global Starcraft League and was developed specifically for esports. It is closely related, however, to how double elimination is played in traditional sports like judo. In this format, you cannot become the overall winner if you have lost a match, so the loser of the upper bracket final plays the winner of the lower bracket final for second place. In esports, you will most commonly find this in the group stage, with each group consisting of four participants and with two out of four advancing out of the group. In this case, the GSL rule can be summarized as requiring „two wins to advance.” Alternatively, when used for seeding, these results can separate participants in winner and loser brackets. + simple + fastest tournament form + few matches + increases chances of underdog victories + 3rd place automatically determined + a good team that played one bad game can still win + everyone plays at least two matches + clear winning condition + fewer matches than double elimination The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format - 50% of the competi tors only play one match, and 75% play at most two - requires extra play-off match to determine 3rd place - cannot have draws - requires really good seedings - byes are inevitable if the number of participants isn’t even - twice as many matches as in single elimination - unclear how many matches will be played in the finals - cannot handle draws - hard to understand - cannot handle draws - hard to understand33 2. Group formats: Round robin and Swiss A round robin tournament is what you will usually find in a league. Here, every team plays every team, and each win or draw awards a certain amount of points. At the end of the round robin, the winner can be decided either by choosing the one team with the most points or by holding play-offs, in which the top X-number of teams play in a single elimination tournament. One clear benefit is that round robin-type events can be scheduled completely in advance — unlike in elimination brackets, it is clear at the start who will play whom and when. A double round robin means that all teams play each other twice. This makes most sense in traditional sports, in which home and away matches are necessary. In esports, Blizzard is pushing Overwatch into this traditional model by having different teams host match days in their cities of origin. Some leagues choose to play a double round robin format even though all matches are being held online, League of Legends LEC being a notable example. One downside of round robin tournaments is the large number of matches that are required. For example, if 32 teams compete, you will need to conduct 496 matches. Usually, smaller formats (such as playing only one or two maps) are chosen in order to limit the amount of time the matches take. Another downside is that, in a large pool, there will be matches that showcase large skill differences and that are boring to both the competitors and the spectators A round robin split can be mitigated by splitting the round robin into several smaller ones, usually called divisions. For instance, instead of having 36 teams compete in one league, each having to play 35 matches, you could have four groups of eight teams. In order to determine the overall winner, you would then have the play-offs between the groups, usually taking the top two finishing positions. Here, proper seeding is critical. If the top three seeds end up in the same division, the third one will not be participating in the play-offs, painting an inaccurate picture of the participants Round robin Double round robin Round robin split The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format34 Another way of limiting the number of matches per team is by using the Swiss tournament format. It is similar to a round robin, but instead of teams playing each competitor in their division, only a set number of matches per team is played. Usually, you will randomly draw the first round, then use the results of that to set up the matches that appear closest in skill in the second round, and so on. A side rule is that no teams can play each other twice. After the last round, participants are ranked by their score. This might be followed by a play-off. This system is most often found in chess. In esports, a variation of this system is used for all CS:GO Major Championships, as well as many other events. Swiss Group Format: Swiss WIN 0-01-02-0 Team 1 Team 1 Team 1 0-2 Team 4 1-1 Team 2 2-1 Team 2 1-2 Team 3 Team 3 Team 2 0-1 Team 3 Team 4 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 WIN WIN WIN LOSS LOSS Eliminated Advance LOSS LOSS The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format35 The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format Round robinRound robin splitSwiss + guaranteed amount of games per participant + can be scheduled far in advance + doesn’t require seeding + can handle draws + produces ranking + easy to understand + fewer matches than round robin + fewer matches than round robin + fewer mismatched games than in round robin + produces ranking - largest amount of matches - usually not possible in one day - matches with large skill discrepancy can be frustrating - winner might be clear before season end due to point lead - odd number of partici- pants means a bye for one competitor in each round - needs a way to handle tiebreaks - requires seeding - uneven number of participants per division can seem unfair - can be “gamed” by participants (playing badly at the start, winner decides who gets second place...) - winner might be clear be fore season end - ranking is fuzzy in the middle ranks - hard to understand Good for: long-running events, self-organized events The ladder is made up of players who are ranked based on their wins and losses. Each rung is populated by competitors of similar skill, who can challenge those positioned above them. If the lower ranked competitor wins, the two will switch places. Usually it is not possible for the higher ranked competitor to refuse a challenge. In a large ladder, there should be a limit on how many rungs above them players may challenge. Unlike the other formats discussed so far, a ladder tournament can go on indefinitely. In theory, it is not necessary to seed, because the ladder will sort itself very quickly. It is good practice, however, to put the most skilled players at the bottom of the ladder at the start, so they can work their way up. 3. Ladder/pyramid36 While strictly a game rather than a tournament format, the free for all (FFA) is worth its own mention. Specific to esports, this format is encountered in titles in which a lot of players enter into a battle arena. It can be a „last man standing” type of game, like PUBG or Super Smash Brothers. The format also works for racing games like Mario Kart. After each game, the participants are awarded a number of points based on their performance (eliminations, final placement, objectives achieved, and so on). The overall winner is determined by the tally of points at the end of the event. A format that you will encounter most often in esports is a mixed tournament consisting of two stages. Usually there will first be a group stage, with several divisions playing either round robin or GSL. The top X-number (most often two) of teams in each division then move on to the elimination stage, which is single or double elimination. The result of the group stage can be directly used for seeding by placing the first finisher of each group against the second finisher of another group, and by putting competitors from the same group on opposite sides of the bracket. This setup offers a lot of benefits from the mix, and all competitors get a minimum number of games. It’s relatively easy to seed, since you only want to make sure that your favorites are evenly distributed in the divisions. It also lends itself well to having an online/offline mix, with group stages conducted over a longer period offline and a LAN final. A note on tiebreaks In almost all the formats we have considered, it is possible for two teams to accumulate the same amount of points. It is extremely important to define a procedure for this situation before the event. How will you decide who advances? It could be based on secondary statistics, such as whoever won the most rounds. Or you might require an additional match. The participants will often base their strategy partly on this. In order to avoid complaints, this should be communicated clearly, along with all the other rules. Free for all Two-stage tournament The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format + does not need a time limit + can be organized by players themselves - not all players are challenged equally often - ranking may not reflect actual skill if player is not challenged often enough37 The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format Don’t forget these details There are so many different aspects you need to take care of when you’re organizing a tournament that it’s easy to forget important details. To have a better time estimate and rulebook, you should immediately decide how many games should be played in each match and how the map and/or hero selection will be handled. How many maps should the teams play? ■ Best of 1 — A single game is played by two teams. This is usually only fitting in group stages, though it could work well for one-day fun tournaments, in which keeping the matches brief is more important than having the most deserving winner. ■ Best of 2 — Two games are played, making draws possible. This format is suitable only for round robin- type and traditional Swiss events, in which draws are possible. ■ Best of 3 — This is the most common format in knockout stages of tournaments, though it can also be useful for group stages. ■ Best of 5 — This format is usually reserved for the grand finals of a tournament. In the worst case (when the winner wins 3:2), a full five maps are played. This might take up to five hours and is extremely taxing on both the competitors and the viewers. Some events have gone further, hosting Best of 7 matches, but these are rare.38 4. The virtual coin flip In traditional sports, all you need to usually decide is who picks which side of the arena and who gets to serve first. In esports, there are a lot more minutiae to organize and decide, and not planning for this might make the matches less fair than they should be. In titles in which different heroes can be selected, like LOL and Dota 2, a tournament will usually have an approved hero pool at the start or a list of heroes that are banned (due to being unbalanced, for example). This pool will be much larger than the number required to play the match. At the start of each map, the teams will ban heroes from the map pool (so their opponents cannot use them) and pick their own heroes. For large MOBA titles, there are established procedures for this that are already built into the game software. For smaller esports, the tournament organizer might have to manually enable the selection process. In titles like Overwatch, CS:GO, or Team Fortress 2, different maps can be played. It is customary for a tournament to define the map pool before the event — usually selecting from a commonly accepted, standard active pool of maps. Beware, though, that for newer and smaller titles, such a consensus may not yet exist; it might be necessary to get some additional information as to which maps are currently a good choice for a competition. Based on the rules of the event, teams will participate in a predetermined series of rounds of bans and picks that will ultimately determine the map(s) and the order in which they will be played. This is important, as some teams specialize in certain maps. Since almost all formats (except Bo2) require an uneven number of maps to be played, it is not trivial to pick the decider. For Bo1, the common procedure is to let teams ban maps until only one is left. That one is then played. Picking heroes Picking maps The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament format39 For higher numbered BoX, teams will ban one map and pick one map, possibly several times, with the decider being randomly selected from the remaining pool or eliminated by banning further maps, as in Bo1. Of course, there are many variations of this process suitable to particular titles. In a league format, it might be interesting to have all teams play on all maps. For example, the European Team Fortress 2 League runs in a round robin Bo2 format over seven weeks and has a map pool of seven maps. Each week, two maps from the map pool are assigned, with each map appearing twice during the season. Which side you play on can lead to a significant advantage in esports. Even in capture points maps such as those in Overwatch that appear completely symmetrical, the symmetry is not perfect. In MOBA games like LOL or Dota 2, one side might have an advantage that is as high as 7%. This advantage can be statistically shown, just as it can be demonstrated in games like CS:GO, in which terrorists are more or less likely to win, depending on the map that is being played. Finally, for attack/defense formats, it might simply be the personal preference of the teams. In any case, your tournament rules should define how the team’s sides are picked. A good idea, for instance, is to have the team that picks heroes (or maps) then pick the side it plays on in the first map. Picking sides The Bayes esports data report 2020 I Decide your tournament formatNext >