Editing Tournament (section)

==Alternatives to tournament systems==
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While tournament structures attempt to provide an objective format for determining the best competitor in a game or sport, other methods exist.

;[[Challenge (competition)|Challenge]]{{anchor|Challenge}}: In this format, champions retain their title until they are defeated by an opponent, known as the ''challenger''. This system is used in [[Boxing#Professional boxing|professional boxing]] (see [[lineal championship]]), and the [[World Chess Championship]]. The right to become a contender may be awarded through a tournament, as in chess, or through a ranking system: the ranking systems used by boxing's governing bodies are controversial and opaque. If the champion retires or dies, then the current top challenger may be declared champion or the title may be vacant until a match between two challengers is held. Prior to 1920, the reigning Wimbledon champion received a bye to the final; the official name of the [[FA Cup|FA Challenge Cup]] reflects a similar arrangement which applied only in that tournament's very early years. The [[America's Cup]] is decided between the winners of separate champion and challenger tournaments, respectively for yachts from the country of the reigning champion, and of all other countries. The [[Ranfurly Shield]] in New Zealand rugby union is a challenge trophy between provincial teams, in which the holders of the Shield retain it until they are beaten by a challenging province.

;[[Ladder tournament]]: The ladder is an extension of the challenge system. All competitors are ranked on a "ladder". New contestants join the bottom of the ladder. Any contestant can challenge a competitor ranked slightly higher; if the challenger wins the match (or the challenge is refused) they swap places on the ladder. Ladders are common in internal club competitions in individual sports, like [[Squash (sport)|squash]] and [[Billiards|pool]]. Another ladder system is to give competitors a certain number of ranking points at the start. If two competitors play each other, then the winner will gain a percentage of the loser's ranking points. In this way competitors that join later will generally start in the middle, since top competitors already have won ranking points and bottom competitors have lost them.

;Selection: A champion may be selected by an authorised or self-appointed group, often after a [[voting|vote]]. While common in non-competitive activities, ranging from [[science fair]]s to [[Film|cinema]]'s [[Academy Awards|Oscars]], this is rarely significant in sports and games. Though unofficial, the polls run by the [[Associated Press]] and others were prestigious titles in [[College football|American college football]] prior to the creation in [[1998 NCAA Division I-A football season|1998]] of the [[Bowl Championship Series]], a quasi-official national championship (to this day, the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] does not officially award [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|a championship]] in [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|the top division]] of college football). From [[2005 NCAA Division I-A football season|2005]] until the final season of the BCS in [[2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2013]], the [[AP Poll]] operated independently from the BCS, and two other polls were part of the BCS formula. The BCS was replaced by the [[College Football Playoff]], a four-team tournament whose participants are chosen by a selection committee, in [[2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2014]]; since then, all polls have operated independently from the CFP.<ref name="f040">{{cite web | title=College Football Playoff to replace BCS | website=SI.com | date=2013-04-24 | url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2013/04/24/college-football-playoff-replace-bcs | access-date=2024-11-12}}</ref>