Editing Tournament (section)

=={{anchor|Knockout}}<!-- [[Knockout tournament]] [[elimination tournament]] redirect here-->Knockout tournaments==
A '''knockout tournament''' or '''elimination tournament''' is divided into successive rounds; each [[Competition|competitor]] plays in at least one fixture per round. The top-ranked competitors in each fixture progress to the next round. As rounds progress, the number of competitors and fixtures decreases. The final round, usually known as the final or cup final, consists of just one fixture; the winner of which is the overall champion.

[[File:SixteenPlayerSingleEliminationTournamentBracket.svg|thumb|A 16-player single elimination tournament: 12 games have been played, and the winner of Lisa vs Ernie will play the winner of Andrew vs Robert, in the final round. ]]
In a [[single-elimination tournament]], only the top-ranked competitors in a fixture progress; in 2-competitor games, only the winner progresses. All other competitors are eliminated. This ensures a winner is decided with the minimum number of fixtures. However, most competitors will be eliminated after relatively few matches; a single bad or unlucky performance can nullify many preceding excellent ones.

A [[double-elimination tournament]] may be used in 2-competitor games to allow each competitor a single loss without being eliminated from the tournament. All losers from the main [[bracket (tournament)|bracket]] enter a losers' bracket, the winner of which plays off against the main bracket's winner.

A triple-elimination tournament allows a competitor to lose two games and creates a third bracket or fourth bracket which are usually followed by a playoff. It is commonly used in [[curling]] tournaments.

Some elimination tournaments are in a [[Playoff format#Best-of formats|best-of-''n'' series]], requiring a competitor to lose a majority of ''n'' games (in a series against the same opponent) before being eliminated (e.g. in a best-of-7 games series, the winner must win 4 games).

Some formats use a [[repechage]], allowing losers to play extra rounds before re-entering the main competition in a later round. [[Sport rowing|Rowing]] [[regatta]]s often have repechage rounds for the "fastest loser" from the heats. The winners of these progress, but are at a disadvantage in later rounds owing to the extra effort expended during the repechage.

A [[McIntyre system|family of tournament systems]] that grew from a system devised for the Victorian Football League, the historic predecessor to the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL), allow the teams with the best record before the playoffs to lose a game without being eliminated, whereas lesser qualifiers are not. Several of the most prominent leagues in Australia use such a system, such as the AFL and the [[National Rugby League]] in rugby league. The [[A-League]] of association football also used such a system through its 2011–12 season, but now uses a pure knockout playoff. Similar systems are used in cricket's [[Indian Premier League]] and most [[curling]] tournaments, and were also used by the [[Super League]] of European rugby league before being scrapped after the 2014 season.

In [[athletics (sport)|athletics]] meetings, fastest losers may progress in a running event held over several rounds; e.g. the qualifiers for a later round might be the first 4 from each of 6 heats, plus the 8 fastest losers from among the remaining runners.

An extreme form of the knockout tournament is the stepladder format where the strongest team (or individual, depending on the sport) is assured of a berth at the final round while the next strongest teams are given byes according to their strength/seeds; for example, in a four team tournament, the fourth and third seed figure in the first round, then the winner goes to the semifinals against the second seed, while the survivor faces the first seed at the final. Four American sports organizations either currently use this format, or have in the past:
* Since the mid-1960s, most [[ten-pin bowling]] events use a stepladder final, usually involving five bowlers.
* Two U.S. college conferences operate a tournament format in basketball that combines two stepladder tournaments into one—that is, both halves of the bracket are organized as stepladder tournaments. When eight teams are involved in the tournament, the bottom four teams play in the first round; the survivors will face the #3 and #4 seeds, and the winners of those matches take on the top two seeds in the semifinals. This format was used by the [[West Coast Conference]] (WCC) for its men's and women's tournaments from 2003 through 2013, and has been used by the [[Ohio Valley Conference]] (OVC) for men since 2011 and women from 2011 through 2014. From 2019 forward, the WCC tournaments will return to the aforementioned format, but add an extra round so that all 10 current conference members will participate (the OVC tournament does not involve all of the league's members, currently 12).
* In the Philippines, the [[UAAP Basketball Championship]] and the [[NCAA Basketball Championship (Philippines)|NCAA Basketball Championship]] both use the stepladder format if a team wins all elimination round (group stage) games. This format has been adopted to other sports in both leagues, and to other leagues. If no team wins all elimination round games, the playoffs remain in the usual two-round playoff format.
* The now-defunct [[Women's Professional Soccer]] used this format in all of its three seasons of existence. For an example of its playoff system, see [[2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs]].