UPA Manual of Tournament Formats Four Teams Copyright (c) The Ultimate Players Association, 1994 Please direct comments on this document to Eric Simon (70540.1522@compuserve.com). 4. Four Teams

For Regional Championships:

Even though there are only four teams, two days of play are expected for teams that will be competing for spots at nationals.

One team advances:

Use 4.1 on the first day, and 4.3 the second day.

Two or three teams advance:

Use 4.1 on the first day, and 4.4 the second day, the modified double-elimination. This is a very exciting format because, on the second day, there is a game for first place (in the second round), and, in the third round, there is only one game: the match for second place.

For Sectional Championships:

Whether or not there are two days of play depends on the characteristics of the section. See the discussion of "A One-Day or Two-Day Format".

One day format:

one team advances: Use 4.2.1.
two teams advance: Use 4.2.2.
three teams advance: Use 4.2.1.
four teams advance: Use 4.2.1.

Two day format:

one team advances: Use 4.1 on the first day, and 4.3 the second day.
two teams advance: Use 4.1 on the first day, and 4.4 the second day.
three teams advance: Use 4.1 on the first day, and 4.4 the second day.
four teams advance: Use 4.1 on the first day, and 4.4 the second day.

Table 4.1 - Pre-set four-team round-robin

                1  2  3
                -  -  -
            1 - 3  2  4        1 v  3   2 v  4
            2 - 4  1  3        1 v  2   3 v  4
            3 - 1  4  2        1 v  4   2 v  3
            4 - 2  3  1
    

If the top two teams are advancing you probably want to have the 2-3 game last, since that is the most important game. If you are trying to choose a winner, or the top team out of the four-team pool, the 1-2 game should be scheduled last. 4.2. The flexible four-team round-robin Who plays who in the first round should be dependant upon whether 2nd place "matters" or not. For example, if, say, all you are choosing is a winner, or, all four teams are advancing and all you are accomplishing with the round-robin is seeding for the four teams, you might schedule 1-4 and 2-3 for the first round. However, suppose the top two teams advance. In that case 2-3 is a very important game, and it would be better not to schedule it for the first round. A first round of 1-3 and 2-4 would be preferable. If, say, second place is crucial for some reason or another, you would want to play 1-3 and 2-4 the first round, and have the two winners each play each other the seond round. In that way, one of the third round games may be "the game" for second place.

Table 4.2.1. Flexible four-team round-robin; 1 and 4 play first

First round:

1-4 and 2-3.

Second round:

winners play losers. In other words, the winner of each game plays the loser of the other game. This will increase the chances pof two undefeated teams playing each other in the third round.

Third round:

the remaining game of the round-robin.

Table 4.2.2. Flexible four-team round-robin; 1 and 3 play first

First round:

1-3 and 2-4.

Second round:

winners play losers. In other words, the winner of each game plays the loser of the other game. This will increase the chances of two undefeated teams playing each other in the third round.

Third round:

the remaining game of the round-robin.

Table 4.3. Four-team single elimination This should never be used alone. A team should never be eliminated from a tournament after losing only one game. On the other hand, this is a fairly typical format for use in the second half of a tournament.

            1 -----
                A  -----_
            4 -----     _
                     C  _ -----
            2 -----     _ first place
                B  -----
            3 -----
    

Table 4.4. Modified four-team double elimination This format is very exciting if second place matters. Alone, it doesn't offer much. A team that loses two games is finished. But it has its place if used as the second day of a tournament where you have eliminated down to four teams the day earlier.

            1 -----                          LA -----
                A  -----_                         D  -----_
            4 -----     _                    LB -----  E  _ ------
                     C  _ -----                           _ second place
            2 -----     _ first place             LC -----
                B  -----
            3 -----                          loser of game E is third place