Most tournaments consist of two stages – group and playoffs. Group matches are usually preceded by open and closed qualifying stages, but usually the list of participating teams is formed in several ways at once – someone receives an invitation based on past merits and place in the ranking, and someone is selected based on the results of open qualifications or lower-rank tournaments.
Group stage
Depending on the number of participants, the number of groups can reach eight – Most of them are usually at European regional tournaments, and similar events for countries in Asia and Oceania are often held according to a shortened system, since few teams participate in them. If a tournament has a group stage, it will take place according to one of the following schemes:
· The Swiss scheme is usually chosen for events with a large number of participants. Pairs of teams for the starting matches are determined by lot or based on the rating, and then teams with the same win-loss record play each other in each subsequent stage. As a result, opponents of approximately the same level play against each other, and to advance to the next stage you need to accumulate a certain number of victories. This is how, for example, the group stage was held at IEMKatowice 2019.
· The GSL-system, on the contrary, is used in groups with a small number of teams. At the same time, the scheme is built so that there are no meaningless matches. The scheme is vaguely reminiscent of playoff matches. 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. The one who wins this match goes to the next stage, and the rest continue to fight. Then the strongest is determined by the teams that were defeated. This is exactly how the group stage in the DreamHack series is held.
· Round-robin, or circular pattern. The match schedule is designed 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 that are no longer decisive. Because of this, the format is gradually giving way to GSL, although during the pandemic it was again used by many online tournaments, for example, at BLASTSpringShowdown and ESLOne: RoadtoRio in 2020. ESLProLeagueSeason 16.
Playoffs
It's much easier to understand how the playoffs are played. Often, a simple scheme is used, familiar to anyone who has watched major sports: in each match, the losing team leaves the tournament, and the winner moves one step closer to the final. In CS:GO this format is called single elimination.
However, its alternative called doubleelimination has also become widespread. In this case, the losing teams do not leave the tournament immediately, but continue to fight each other in the lower bracket, maintaining a chance to reach the final. Thanks to this, it is more interesting for viewers to follow the developments of events, even if their favorite team suffers its first defeat.
