Double elim

Lose twice and you're out. The competitive standard. One bad game never ends your day, because everybody gets a second life.

1. Everyone starts in the winners bracket.
2. Your first loss drops you into the losers bracket, where you keep playing.
3. A second loss knocks you out for good.
4. The last team standing in each bracket meets in the final.

Good for most weekly tournaments.

Single elim

Lose once and you're out. The fastest way to crown a winner. Straight knockout, no second chances.

1. Everyone is placed into one bracket.
2. Win and you advance; lose and your tournament is over.
3. Half the field is eliminated every round until one is left.

Good for big fields and tight schedules.

Round robin

Everyone plays everyone. No bracket and no elimination — just a full schedule and a final table.

1. Every team is scheduled against every other team exactly once.
2. Nobody is ever eliminated; you play your whole schedule.
3. Most wins takes it, with ties broken by match win % and then game win %.

Good for 4 to 8 teams, or a league.

Monster DYP

New partners every round, and you're scored as an individual. The classic social format. You never keep the same partner, so your result is entirely your own.

1. Each round, partners are drawn at random and matched against a fresh opponent.
2. Points go to you, not your team: a win is 2, a tie is 1, a loss is 0.
3. Repeat partners and repeat opponents are avoided for as long as possible.
4. After the last round the leaderboard decides it — or the top finishers advance to a knockout bracket.

Good for mixed skill and a room of new faces.

Swiss

A set number of rounds, a real ranking, and nobody eliminated. You know exactly how many games you'll play before you start, and everyone plays all of them.

1. You keep the same team (or play singles) for the whole tournament.
2. Each round you're matched against someone on a similar record, so winners play winners — or draw a random opponent instead, if you'd rather keep it social.
3. A win is worth 1 point and a draw 0.5. Rematches are avoided.
4. After the last round the standings decide it — or the top finishers advance to a knockout bracket.

Good for bigger fields and qualifiers.