Formats for ACF Tournaments
Last updated: October 29, 2019
Table of Contents
Table of Formats
| # teams | Type | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 teams | quadruple round robin with zero or more limited single-bye round robins | 12 games in 12 (or more) rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes |
| 5 teams | double round robin, followed by top 3/bottom 2 split round robin | 10 games in 12–13 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes note: the bottom 2 teams must play twice to achieve 10 rounds and can be structured as a best-of-3 type series if they are close in record |
| 6 teams | double round robin with zero or more limited single-bye round robins | 10 games in 10 (or more) rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes |
| 7 teams | double round robin | 12 games in 14 rounds | |
| 8 teams | round robin, followed by top 4/bottom 4 split round robin | 10 games in 10 rounds | |
| 8 teams | limited single-bye round robin, followed by top 4/bottom 4 split round robin | 10 games in 11 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes |
| 9 teams | round robin, followed by top 3/middle 3/bottom 3 split round robin | 10 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes |
| 10 teams | round robin, followed by top 4/middle 3/bottom 3 split round robin | 11–12 games in 12 rounds | if there are five non-blind packets, then at least 1 must be from a team with a playoff bye and 2 others from teams not involved in the finals |
| 11 teams | round robin | 10 games in 11 rounds | |
| 12 teams | round robin | 11 games in 11 rounds | run non-blind packets in different rooms [2 packets per round] (i.e. run Chicago A packet in one room and Michigan A packet in another room to avoid teams hearing their own packet) |
| 12 teams | limited single-bye round robin | 11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes |
| 13 teams | round robin | 12 games in 13 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes |
| 14 teams | split 7/7 for prelim round robin, followed by top 3/bottom 4 split with top 3 playing full round robin and bottom 4 playing crossover | 10–11 games in 11–12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 14 teams | split 7/7 for prelim round robin, followed by top 4/bottom 3 split with top 4 playing crossover and bottom 3 playing full round robin | 10–11 games in 11–12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 15 teams | split 8/7 for prelim round robin, followed by top 4/bottom (3/4) crossover | 10–11 games in 11 rounds | |
| 16 teams | split 8/8 for prelim round robin, followed by top 4/bottom 4 crossover | 11 games in 11 rounds | |
| 16 teams | split 8/8 for prelim limited single-bye round robin, followed by top 4/bottom 4 crossover | 11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 17 teams | split 9/8 for prelim round robin, followed by top 3/middle 3/ bottom 3(2) crossover | 10–11 games in 12 rounds | run non-blind packets in different rooms [2 packets per round] (note that the bottom crossover bracket ends up with 3 teams from the 9 bracket and 2 from the 8 bracket) note: the 8 team bracket is run as a straight round robin (7 rounds, no byes) and so finishes 2 rounds earlier than the 9 bracket |
| 17 teams | split 9/8 for prelim round robin/limited single-bye round robin, followed by top 3/middle 3/ bottom 3(2) crossover | 10–11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims (note that the bottom crossover bracket ends up with 3 teams from the 9 bracket and 2 from the 8 bracket) note: the 8 bracket is run as a limited single-bye (8 rounds, 1 paired bye per team) and so finishes 1 round earlier than the 9 bracket |
| 17 teams | split 9/8 for prelim round robin/double-bye round robin, followed by top 3/middle 3/ bottom 3(2) crossover | 10–11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims (note that the bottom crossover bracket ends up with 3 teams from the 9 bracket and 2 from the 8 bracket) note: the 8 bracket is run as a double-bye (9 rounds, 2 paired byes per team) and so finishes with the 9 bracket |
| 18 teams | split 9/9 for prelim round robin, followed by top 3/middle 3/bottom 3 crossover | 11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 19 teams | split 10/9 for prelim round robin, followed by top 4/middle 3/bottom 3(2) crossover | 11–13 games in 12–13 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims note: the bottom crossover bracket ends up with 3 teams from the 10 bracket and 2 from the 9 bracket |
| 20 teams | split 10/10 for prelim round robin, followed by 2/2/2/2/2 crossover | 11 games in 11 rounds | |
| 20 teams | split 10/10 for prelim limited single-bye round robin, followed by 2/2/2/2/2 crossover | 11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 20 teams | split 10/10 for prelim limited single-bye round robin, followed by 3/3/2/2 crossover | 11–12 games in 12–13 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 21 teams | split 7/7/7 for prelim round robin, followed by taking the top 2 in each bracket to a crossover, with the remaining 15 teams divided into 5-team brackets for a round robin using PPB tiebreakers | 10–11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims note: this format requires stats to be completed at the end of the prelims. the #1s & #2s by W-L go to a crossover in the 1st bracket. all #3s and (2) #4s [determined by highest PPB] go to the 2nd bracket. the remaining (1) #4, all #5s, and (1) #6 [determined by highest PPB] go to the 3rd bracket. the remaining (2) #6s and all #7s go to the 4th bracket. |
| 22 teams | split 11/11 for prelim round robin, followed by 2/2/2/2/2/1 crossover | 11–12 games in 12–13 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 22 teams | split 11/11 for prelim round robin, followed by 3/2/2/2/2 crossover | 11–13 games in 13–14 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
| 23 teams | split 12/11 for prelim round robin, followed by 2/2/2/2/2/2(1) crossover | 12–13 games in 13 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims note: the bottom crossover bracket ends up with 2 teams from the 12 bracket and 1 from the 11 bracket |
| 24 teams | split 8/8/8 for prelim round robin, then 2/2/2/2 crossover | 11 games in 11 rounds | |
| 24 teams | split 8/8/8 for prelim limited single-bye round robin, then 2/2/2/2 crossover | 11 games in 12 rounds | non-blind packets used on teams’ byes during prelims |
Round-robin schedules
3 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Bye |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 3 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 v 3 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 v 2 | 3 |
4 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 |
| 2 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 3 |
| 3 | 1 v 2 | 3 v 4 |
5 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 | 5 |
| 2 | 3 v 5 | 1 v 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 5 | 3 |
| 4 | 1 v 3 | 4 v 5 | 2 |
| 5 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 | 1 |
6 teams, no byes
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 6 | 3 v 5 | 1 v 4 |
| 2 | 2 v 5 | 1 v 6 | 3 v 4 |
| 3 | 4 v 5 | 3 v 6 | 1 v 2 |
| 4 | 4 v 6 | 1 v 5 | 2 v 3 |
| 5 | 1 v 3 | 2 v 4 | 5 v 6 |
6 teams, limited single bye
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 5 | 1 v 6 | 3, 4 | |
| 2 | 3 v 5 | 1 v 4 | 2, 6 | |
| 3 | 4 v 5 | 3 v 6 | 1 v 2 | |
| 4 | 4 v 6 | 2 v 3 | 1, 5 | |
| 5 | 1 v 3 | 2 v 4 | 5 v 6 | |
| 6 | 2 v 6 | 1 v 5 | 3 v 4 |
7 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 1 v 7 | 4 |
| 2 | 5 v 7 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 v 6 | 3 v 7 | 1 v 2 | 5 |
| 4 | 1 v 6 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 | 7 |
| 5 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 5 | 6 v 7 | 3 |
| 6 | 1 v 3 | 4 v 7 | 5 v 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 2 v 7 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 | 1 |
8 teams, no byes
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 v 7 | 4 v 6 | 1 v 5 | 2 v 8 |
| 2 | 2 v 7 | 1 v 8 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 |
| 3 | 5 v 6 | 3 v 8 | 4 v 7 | 1 v 2 |
| 4 | 2 v 3 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 1 v 6 |
| 5 | 5 v 8 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 3 | 6 v 7 |
| 6 | 6 v 8 | 1 v 7 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 |
| 7 | 1 v 4 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 7 v 8 |
8 teams, limited single bye
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 7 | 1 v 8 | 3 v 6 | 4, 5 | |
| 2 | 3 v 7 | 4 v 6 | 1 v 5 | 2 v 8 | |
| 3 | 5 v 6 | 4 v 7 | 1 v 2 | 3, 8 | |
| 4 | 2 v 3 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 1 v 6 | |
| 5 | 5 v 8 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 3 | 6 v 7 | |
| 6 | 6 v 8 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 | 1, 7 | |
| 7 | 1 v 4 | 3 v 5 | 7 v 8 | 2, 6 | |
| 8 | 3 v 8 | 1 v 7 | 2 v 6 | 4 v 5 |
9 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 1 v 7 | 8 v 9 | 4 |
| 2 | 7 v 9 | 1 v 6 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 | 8 |
| 3 | 6 v 8 | 5 v 9 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 | 7 |
| 4 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 3 v 9 | 1 v 2 | 6 |
| 5 | 4 v 6 | 3 v 7 | 2 v 8 | 1 v 9 | 5 |
| 6 | 1 v 8 | 2 v 7 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 | 9 |
| 7 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 5 | 6 v 9 | 7 v 8 | 3 |
| 8 | 1 v 3 | 4 v 9 | 5 v 8 | 6 v 7 | 2 |
| 9 | 2 v 9 | 3 v 8 | 4 v 7 | 5 v 6 | 1 |
10 teams, no byes
Taken from “Designing Schedules for Leagues and Tournaments” by Jeffrey H. Dinitz
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Room 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 v 10 | 6 v 9 | 1 v 4 | 5 v 8 | 2 v 7 |
| 2 | 5 v 9 | 4 v 10 | 6 v 7 | 2 v 3 | 1 v 8 |
| 3 | 2 v 4 | 5 v 7 | 8 v 9 | 1 v 10 | 3 v 6 |
| 4 | 6 v 8 | 1 v 3 | 2 v 10 | 7 v 9 | 4 v 5 |
| 5 | 1 v 7 | 2 v 8 | 3 v 5 | 4 v 6 | 9 v 10 |
| 6 | 3 v 4 | 5 v 10 | 7 v 8 | 1 v 9 | 2 v 6 |
| 7 | 5 v 6 | 3 v 9 | 1 v 2 | 7 v 10 | 4 v 8 |
| 8 | 8 v 10 | 1 v 6 | 4 v 9 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 7 |
| 9 | 2 v 9 | 4 v 7 | 6 v 10 | 3 v 8 | 1 v 5 |
10 teams, limited single bye
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Room 5 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 v 9 | 4 v 10 | 6 v 7 | 1 v 8 | 2, 3 | |
| 2 | 3 v 10 | 6 v 9 | 5 v 8 | 2 v 7 | 1, 4 | |
| 3 | 2 v 4 | 8 v 9 | 1 v 10 | 3 v 6 | 5, 7 | |
| 4 | 1 v 3 | 2 v 10 | 7 v 9 | 4 v 5 | 6, 8 | |
| 5 | 1 v 7 | 2 v 8 | 3 v 5 | 4 v 6 | 9, 10 | |
| 6 | 3 v 4 | 5 v 10 | 7 v 8 | 1 v 9 | 2 v 6 | |
| 7 | 5 v 6 | 3 v 9 | 1 v 2 | 7 v 10 | 4 v 8 | |
| 8 | 8 v 10 | 1 v 6 | 4 v 9 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 7 | |
| 9 | 2 v 9 | 4 v 7 | 6 v 10 | 3 v 8 | 1 v 5 | |
| 10 | 6 v 8 | 5 v 7 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 | 9 v 10 |
11 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Room 5 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 10 | 2 v 9 | 3 v 8 | 4 v 7 | 5 v 6 | 11 |
| 2 | 9 v 11 | 1 v 8 | 2 v 7 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 | 10 |
| 3 | 8 v 10 | 7 v 11 | 1 v 6 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 | 9 |
| 4 | 7 v 9 | 6 v 10 | 5 v 11 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 | 8 |
| 5 | 6 v 8 | 5 v 9 | 4 v 10 | 3 v 11 | 1 v 2 | 7 |
| 6 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 3 v 9 | 2 v 10 | 1 v 11 | 6 |
| 7 | 4 v 6 | 3 v 7 | 2 v 8 | 1 v 9 | 10 v 11 | 5 |
| 8 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 1 v 7 | 8 v 11 | 9 v 10 | 4 |
| 9 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 5 | 6 v 11 | 7 v 10 | 8 v 9 | 3 |
| 10 | 1 v 3 | 4 v 11 | 5 v 10 | 6 v 9 | 7 v 8 | 2 |
| 11 | 2 v 11 | 3 v 10 | 4 v 9 | 5 v 8 | 6 v 7 | 1 |
12 teams, no byes
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Room 5 | Room 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 11 | 1 v 12 | 3 v 10 | 4 v 9 | 5 v 8 | 6 v 7 |
| 2 | 5 v 9 | 6 v 8 | 1 v 7 | 4 v 10 | 3 v 11 | 2 v 12 |
| 3 | 5 v 10 | 3 v 12 | 4 v 11 | 1 v 2 | 6 v 9 | 7 v 8 |
| 4 | 4 v 12 | 7 v 9 | 6 v 10 | 5 v 11 | 1 v 8 | 2 v 3 |
| 5 | 8 v 9 | 2 v 4 | 5 v 12 | 6 v 11 | 7 v 10 | 1 v 3 |
| 6 | 3 v 4 | 8 v 10 | 7 v 11 | 6 v 12 | 2 v 5 | 1 v 9 |
| 7 | 8 v 11 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 7 v 12 | 1 v 4 | 9 v 10 |
| 8 | 2 v 7 | 9 v 11 | 8 v 12 | 1 v 10 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 |
| 9 | 3 v 7 | 4 v 6 | 1 v 5 | 2 v 8 | 9 v 12 | 10 v 11 |
| 10 | 10 v 12 | 1 v 11 | 2 v 9 | 3 v 8 | 4 v 7 | 5 v 6 |
| 11 | 1 v 6 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 3 v 9 | 2 v 10 | 11 v 12 |
12 teams, limited single bye
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Room 5 | Room 6 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 11 | 1 v 12 | 3 v 10 | 5 v 8 | 6 v 7 | 4, 9 | |
| 2 | 5 v 9 | 6 v 8 | 1 v 7 | 4 v 10 | 3 v 11 | 2 v 12 | |
| 3 | 5 v 10 | 3 v 12 | 4 v 11 | 1 v 2 | 6 v 9 | 7 v 8 | |
| 4 | 4 v 12 | 7 v 9 | 6 v 10 | 5 v 11 | 1 v 8 | 2 v 3 | |
| 5 | 8 v 9 | 2 v 4 | 6 v 11 | 7 v 10 | 1 v 3 | 5, 12 | |
| 6 | 3 v 4 | 8 v 10 | 7 v 11 | 6 v 12 | 2 v 5 | 1 v 9 | |
| 7 | 8 v 11 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 7 v 12 | 1 v 4 | 9 v 10 | |
| 8 | 2 v 7 | 9 v 11 | 8 v 12 | 1 v 10 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 | |
| 9 | 4 v 6 | 1 v 5 | 2 v 8 | 9 v 12 | 10 v 11 | 3, 7 | |
| 10 | 10 v 12 | 2 v 9 | 3 v 8 | 4 v 7 | 5 v 6 | 1, 11 | |
| 11 | 1 v 6 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 3 v 9 | 11 v 12 | 2, 10 | |
| 12 | 3 v 7 | 1 v 11 | 5 v 12 | 4 v 9 | 2 v 10 | 6, 8 |
13 teams
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 | Room 5 | Room 6 | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 12 | 2 v 11 | 3 v 10 | 4 v 9 | 5 v 8 | 6 v 7 | 13 |
| 2 | 11 v 13 | 1 v 10 | 2 v 9 | 3 v 8 | 4 v 7 | 5 v 6 | 12 |
| 3 | 10 v 12 | 9 v 13 | 1 v 8 | 2 v 7 | 3 v 6 | 4 v 5 | 11 |
| 4 | 9 v 11 | 8 v 12 | 7 v 13 | 1 v 6 | 2 v 5 | 3 v 4 | 10 |
| 5 | 8 v 10 | 7 v 11 | 6 v 12 | 5 v 13 | 1 v 4 | 2 v 3 | 9 |
| 6 | 7 v 9 | 6 v 10 | 5 v 11 | 4 v 12 | 3 v 13 | 1 v 2 | 8 |
| 7 | 6 v 8 | 5 v 9 | 4 v 10 | 3 v 11 | 2 v 12 | 1 v 13 | 7 |
| 8 | 5 v 7 | 4 v 8 | 3 v 9 | 2 v 10 | 1 v 11 | 12 v 13 | 6 |
| 9 | 4 v 6 | 3 v 7 | 2 v 8 | 1 v 9 | 10 v 13 | 11 v 12 | 5 |
| 10 | 3 v 5 | 2 v 6 | 1 v 7 | 8 v 13 | 9 v 12 | 10 v 11 | 4 |
| 11 | 2 v 4 | 1 v 5 | 6 v 13 | 7 v 12 | 8 v 11 | 9 v 10 | 3 |
| 12 | 1 v 3 | 4 v 13 | 5 v 12 | 6 v 11 | 7 v 10 | 8 v 9 | 2 |
| 13 | 2 v 13 | 3 v 12 | 4 v 11 | 5 v 10 | 6 v 9 | 7 v 8 | 1 |
Determining win–loss records
If all teams in a given playoff bracket have played the same pool of preliminary opponents, their preliminary win–loss records carry over to playoffs. This is usually the case when a large preliminary field is broken down into smaller playoff brackets.
If multiple preliminary brackets feed into each playoff bracket, the only games that carry over to playoffs are any preliminary games played against opponents placed in the same playoff bracket. This is usually the case when a very large preliminary field is broken into multiple preliminary brackets, followed by crossover playoff games.
Finals procedures
The procedures below should be used for overall finals.
Undergraduate and Division II
If there are at least four Undergraduate teams and/or four Division II teams, but the field is not entirely comprised of those teams (see ACF’s trophy policies, these procedures should also be used for those titles.
If the field composition merits awarding Undergraduate and/or Division II titles and the tournament format involves rebracketing, and only one Undergraduate and/or Division II team is in the top bracket, they automatically win that title. If an Undergraduate and/or Division II team finishes one game ahead of another Undergraduate and/or Division II team, but the team with the higher placement is involved with finals procedures, they automatically win that title.
Two teams
At the end of normal phases of play, if the top team is two or more games ahead of the second-place team, no final is played. The phrases “games ahead” or “games behind” is defined here.
If the top team is one game ahead of the second-place team, the two teams play a disadvantaged final series of up to two games. If the top team wins the first final game, they are declared the tournament winner. If the second-place team wins the first final game, the teams play a second final game, the winner of which is declared the tournament winner.
If the top two teams have the same record, they play a single game to determine the tournament winner.
More than two teams
If two teams are tied for second place, with records that put them one game behind a team in first place, the tied teams play a single game (a “play-in” game). The winner of the play-in game then plays a disadvantaged final against the top team, in a standard final series of up to two games.
If three teams are tied for first place, they are seeded statistically by points per game by common games. This may include both carried-over preliminary games and playoff games, see the Statistics guidelines. The second- and third-seeded teams play a play-in game, the winner of which plays a single-game final against the first-seeded team.
If four teams are tied for first place, they are seeded statistically by points per game by common games. The first- and fourth-seeded teams and the second- and third-seeded teams play a semi-finals game. The winners of those two games play a single-game final.