Round Robin and Ladder Types of Tournaments

FORMULA to determine the number of games to be played in the round robin.

Example:

Eight teams competing in a round robin

G =

G = Where G = number of games

G = 15 N = number of teams

The term round robin is derived from the French term ruban, meaning “ribbon”. After some time, the term was changed to robin.

Round Robin

Is a common type of tournament in team sports(e.g., football, softball, and baseball) which provides the opportunity for each competing team to play against every team.

Can also be called all-play-tournament

In this type of tournament, the number of entries must be smaller(6 to 8 is ideal).

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Disadvantages

• The number of games depends on the player’s initiative in challenging opponents
• Must have Tiebreaker
• Try to limit to 15 entries
• The players end up competing with the same people most of the time, making the tournament less exciting after a while.

photo (cc) Malte Sörensen @ flickr

Breaking Ties in a Round Robin Tournament

Advantages

• Easy to understand and run
• Tournament runs itself
• No one is eliminated
• You can conduct it over any period of time

Ladder Tournament

In a ladder tournament, each competitor receives a seed, or ranking, in order of perceived skill in the event. This tournament format does not include predetermined matchups. Instead, competitors challenge higher ranked opponents on the ladder. If the competitor with the lower rank upsets the higher seeded player, he moves up the ladder to one spot above the player he defeated. Individual events provide the most suitable candidates for the ladder tournament format. For example, many online checkers and chess tournaments use a ladder.

Disadvantages

• Requires many games
• Many games will not be close
• Very long tournament Requires many games
• Many games will not be close
• Very long tournament

Advantages

• All teams/players play each other
• True results
• Seeding is not important
• Good use of facilities
• No one is eliminated

Points For

139

136

145

Points Against

133(B&C)

144(A&C)

140(A&B)

Quotient

139/133 = 1.05

136/ 144 = 0.94

145/140 = 1.04

Rank

1st

3rd

2nd

Team A

Team B

Team C

How to compute the Qoutient System

To compute the quotient system in any amateur basketball league. You must first sum up all of the total points acquired on those games that the team won, and divide it by the number of games that was played. Then you can come up with the quotient of it.

Sometimes In a single round robin and double round robin tournament, two competing teams have the same number of wins and losses. If this happens, the tie should be broken to determine the placement of each team.

Steps in breaking ties:

1. In case of a tie between two teams, the win-over-the other rule shall apply.

2. If there is a triple tie among teams, break the tie by determining the winners and the losers when the teams meet. Then, get the difference of the scores of each match they play. Add the difference of the scores to the winning team and subtract the difference from the losing team. The team with the most number of plus points will be in 1st place and the team with the lowest number of plus points will be in 3rd place.

3. “The quotient system” can also be used in breaking a triple tie. The quotient between the total scores of a team and the total scores of the opponents will determine the placement of the team. The team with the highest quotient is in 1st place.