Formats for ACF Tournaments
Last updated: August 25, 2025
Table of Contents ¶ ↑
Table of Formats ¶ ↑
Note
Differences between formats with the same number of teams but different number of rounds or games are highlighted in italics.
| Teams | Games | Rounds | Type | Team Bye Instructions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 12 | 12+ | quadruple round robin with no-bye or limited single-bye round robins | non-blind packets used for byes | |
| 5 | 10 | 12–13 | double round robin → top 3 / bottom 2 split round robin | non-blind packets used for byes | Bottom 2 teams must play twice to achieve 10 and can be structured as a best-of-3 type series if they are close in record. |
| 6 | 10 | 10+ | double round robin with no-bye or limited single-bye round robins | non-blind packets used for byes | |
| 7 | 12 | 14 | double round robin | ||
|
8
|
10
|
10 | no-bye round robin → top 4/bottom 4 split round robin | ||
| 11 | limited single-bye round robin → top 4/bottom 4 split round robin | non-blind packets used for byes | |||
| 9 | 10 | 12 | round robin → top 3/middle 3/bottom 3 split round robin | non-blind packets used for byes | |
| 10 | 11–12 | 12 | round robin → top 4/middle 3/bottom 3 split round robin | if 5 non-blind packets, at least 1 must be from a team with a playoff bye and 2 others from teams not involved in the finals | |
| 11 | 10 | 11 | round robin | ||
|
12
|
11 | 11 | no-bye round robin | non-blind packets run in different rooms [2 packets per round] | Run X packet in one room and Y packet in another to avoid teams hearing their own packet. |
| 11 | 12 | limited single-bye round robin | non-blind packets used for byes | ||
| 13 | 12 | 13 | round robin | non-blind packets used for byes | |
|
14
|
10–11
|
11–12
|
split 7/7 for prelim round robin → top 3 / bottom 4 split with top 3 playing full round robin and bottom 4 playing crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | |
| split 7/7 for prelim round robin → top 4 / bottom 3 split with top 4 playing crossover and bottom 3 playing full round robin | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | ||||
| 15 | 10–11 | 11 | split 8/7 for prelim round robin → top 4 / bottom (3/4) crossover | ||
|
16
|
11
|
11 | split 8/8 for prelim no-bye round robin → top 4/bottom 4 crossover | ||
| 12 | split 8/8 for prelim limited single-bye round robin → top 4/bottom 4 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | |||
|
17
|
10–11
|
12
|
split 9/8 for prelim no-bye round robin → top 3 / middle 3 / bottom 3(2) crossover
|
non-blind packets run in different rooms [2 packets per round]
|
Bottom crossover bracket gets 3 teams from 9 bracket and 2 from 8 bracket. |
| 8 bracket is run as a straight round robin (7, no byes) and so finishes 2 earlier than 9 bracket. | |||||
| split 9/8 for prelim round robin or limited single-bye round robin → top 3 / middle 3 / bottom 3(2) crossover
|
non-blind packets used for byes during prelims
|
Bottom crossover bracket gets 3 teams from 9 bracket and 2 from 8 bracket. | |||
| 8 bracket is run as a limited single-bye (8, 1 paired bye per team) and so finishes 1 round earlier than 9 bracket. | |||||
| split 9/8 for prelim round robin or double-bye round robin → top 3 / middle 3 / bottom 3(2) crossover
|
non-blind packets used for byes during prelims
|
Bottom crossover bracket gets 3 teams from 9 bracket and 2 from 8 bracket. | |||
| 8 bracket is run as a double-bye (9 rounds, 2 paired byes per team) and so finishes with 9 bracket. | |||||
| 18 | 11 | 12 | split 9/9 for prelim round robin → top 3/middle 3/bottom 3 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | |
| 19 | 11–13 | 12–13 | split 10/9 for prelim round robin → top 4/middle 3/bottom 3(2) crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | Bottom crossover bracket gets 3 teams from 10 bracket and 2 from 9 bracket. |
|
20
|
11
|
11 | split 10/10 for prelim no-bye round robin → 2/2/2/2/2 crossover | ||
| 12 | split 10/10 for prelim limited single-bye round robin → 2/2/2/2/2 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | |||
| 11–12 | 12–13 | split 10/10 for prelim limited single-bye round robin → 3/3/2/2 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | ||
| 21 | 10–11 | 12 | split 7/7/7 for prelim round robin → 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 | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | See warning below. |
|
22
|
11–12 | 12–13 | split 11/11 for prelim round robin → 2/2/2/2/2/1 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | |
| 11–13 | 13–14 | split 11/11 for prelim round robin → 3/2/2/2/2 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | ||
| 23 | 12–13 | 13 | split 12/11 for prelim round robin → 2/2/2/2/2/2(1) crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims | Bottom crossover bracket gets 2 teams from 12 bracket and 1 from 11 bracket. |
|
24
|
11
|
11 | split 8/8/8 for prelim no-bye round robin → 2/2/2/2 crossover | ||
| 12 | split 8/8/8 for prelim limited single-bye round robin → 2/2/2/2 crossover | non-blind packets used for byes during prelims |
Caution
The 21-team format requires that stats must 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.
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. See Wikipedia for the definitions of the phrases “games ahead” or “games behind”
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.