Most tournaments consist of two stages – group and playoffs. Group matches are usually preceded by open and closed qualification stages, but usually the list of participating teams is formed in several ways – Some are invited on the basis of past merit and ranking, while others are selected through open qualification or lower ranked tournaments.
Group Stage
Depending on the number of participants, the number of groups can be as many as eight – European regional tournaments usually have the most groups, while similar events for Asia and Oceania are often organized under a shortened system because they have few teams. If a tournament has a group stage, it will follow one of the following schemes:
· Swiss scheme is usually chosen for events with a large number of participants. The pairs of teams for the starting matches are determined by lot or on the basis of ranking, and then in each subsequent stage the teams with the same win-loss ratio play each other. As a result, the opponents of approximately the same level play each other, and to pass to the next stage you need to collect a certain number of victories. This is how the group stage at IEMKatowice 2019 was conducted, for example.
· The GSL system, on the other hand, is used in groups with a small number of teams. At the same time, the scheme is set up so that there are no meaningless matches. The scheme is remotely similar to playoff games. For example, if there are four teams in a group, they will be divided into two pairs. The winners of these pairs will play each other. Whoever wins this match gets into the next stage, while the rest continue to fight. Then the strongest is determined by the teams that have suffered defeat. This is the scheme by which the group stage in the DreamHack series is held.
· Round-robin, or round-robin scheme. The match schedule is set up so that each team ends up playing everyone else. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, already in the group stage, the viewer can see interesting confrontations. On the other hand, by the end of the stage, there may be matches left that are no longer decisive. Because of this, the format is slowly losing ground to the GSL, although it was used again by many online tournaments during the pandemic, such as at BLASTSpringShowdown and ESLOne: RoadtoRio in 2020. ESLProLeagueSeason 16 is also played according to this scheme.
Playoffs
Figuring out how the playoffs are played is much easier. A simple scheme familiar to anyone who has watched major sporting events is often used: in each of the matches, the losing team leaves the tournament, and the winner gets one step closer to the final. In CS:GO , this format is called single elimination.
However, its alternative, called doubleelimination, has also become very widespread. In this case, the losing teams do not leave the tournament immediately, but continue to fight each other in the lower grid, keeping the chance to get to the final. This makes it more interesting for viewers to follow the development of events, even if their favorite team suffers its first defeat.