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Stages & Formats

Competitions are organized into one or more stages. Each stage has its own format, scoring, and advancement rules.

How Stages Work

A stage represents a phase of competition. Simple events use a single stage. Complex events chain multiple stages together:

  • Single-stage example: A Swiss tournament with 5 rounds
  • Multi-stage example: Round-robin group stage → single-elimination playoffs

Stage Properties

  • Name — display name (e.g., "Group Stage", "Playoffs")
  • Format — the competition format (Swiss, elimination, etc.)
  • Sequence — position in the competition (stage 1, stage 2, etc.)
  • Status — Pending → Active → Completed
  • Scoring — point values and tiebreaker configuration
  • Advancement — how participants move to the next stage

Stage Lifecycle

  1. Create the stage and configure its format and scoring
  2. Activate it when you're ready to start play
  3. Run matches — generate pairings, record results
  4. Finalize when all matches are complete — optionally advance top participants to the next stage

Available Formats

Swiss

Players with similar records are paired each round. Everyone plays all rounds — no elimination.

  • Best for: 8–64+ players, 3–7 rounds
  • Config: Number of rounds, bye point value

| Players | Recommended Rounds | |---------|-------------------| | 8 | 3 | | 16 | 4 | | 32 | 5 | | 64 | 6 |

Single Elimination

Classic bracket — win or go home.

  • Best for: Top cuts, quick events, 8–32 players
  • Config: Seeding method, optional third-place match

Double Elimination

Two losses to eliminate. Winners bracket and losers bracket converge in grand finals.

  • Best for: Competitive events, 8–32 players
  • Config: Grand finals rules (single set, bracket reset, advantage)

Round Robin

Everyone plays everyone. Best for small groups.

  • Best for: 4–8 players, league play, group stages
  • Config: Double round (home/away) toggle

Ladder

Continuous ranked play with tiers.

  • Best for: Ongoing competitive seasons
  • Config: Tier thresholds (1–4), allow demotion, win streak bonus

Open

Freeform play — participants create their own matches against anyone else in the stage.

  • Best for: Casual leagues, practice seasons, community play
  • Config:
    • Default match format (BO1, BO3, BO5, Two-Game)
    • Allow participants to choose format (toggle)
    • Max matches per opponent pair (or unlimited)
    • Show/hide standings leaderboard

GSL (Group Stage League)

A group stage format used in esports-style events, where groups play a specific bracket structure.

Multi-Stage Templates

When creating stages, you can start from a template:

| Template | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | |----------|---------|---------| | Group + Knockout | Round Robin groups | Single Elimination playoffs | | Group + Swiss | Swiss groups | Swiss finals | | GSL + Playoffs | GSL groups | Single Elimination playoffs |

Or create stages individually for full control.

Scoring Configuration

Each stage has its own scoring settings.

Match Points

Points awarded per match result:

| Result | Default Points | |--------|---------------| | Win | 3 | | Draw | 1 | | Loss | 0 | | Bye | 3 | | Forfeit Win | 3 | | Forfeit Loss | 0 |

Customize these per stage (e.g., Win = 1 for simple formats).

Game Points

For Best-of-3 or Best-of-5 matches, individual game results are tracked:

| Result | Default Points | |--------|---------------| | Game Win | 3 | | Game Draw | 1 | | Game Loss | 0 |

Tiebreakers

Configure tiebreaker priority when players have equal match points:

| Tiebreaker | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Buchholz | Sum of opponents' scores (strength of schedule) | | Sonneborn-Berger | Weighted sum based on results against each opponent | | Head-to-Head | Direct result if tied players faced each other | | Game Win % | Individual game performance | | Match Win % | Overall match win percentage | | Total Games | Total games played |

Select and order the tiebreakers that make sense for your format.

Advancement

When a stage finishes, you can advance top participants to the next stage:

  • By standings — automatically advance the top N participants based on final standings
  • Manual — hand-pick who advances (useful for wildcard spots or special circumstances)

Configure the advance count (total or per group) when setting up the stage.

Match Formats

Individual matches within any stage use one of these formats:

| Format | Description | |--------|-------------| | BO1 | Best of 1 — single game | | BO3 | Best of 3 — first to 2 wins | | BO5 | Best of 5 — first to 3 wins | | Two-Game | Both players play twice (common in chess-style events) |