The Tournament Format decides which stages the tournament has and how matches are arranged. It is the most fundamental decision: teams, draw and fixtures all follow from it.
The five main formats
- League
- All teams play each other in one table. It can be single or double round.
- Group Stage
- Teams are split into groups and each group plays within itself.
- Groups + Knockout
- The groups are played and a set number of teams from each group advance to a knockout stage.
- League + Knockout
- A single league is played and its top N teams advance to a knockout stage.
- Direct Knockout
- There is no league or group stage; teams are paired directly in a knockout bracket.
When is it chosen?
After the teams have been added. Which formats can be built depends on how many teams you have (a four-group structure needs enough teams, for example), so the options are clearest once the teams are known. You can change the format until the teams taking part in the draw are confirmed.
Can I change it later?
Yes, until the teams taking part in the draw are confirmed. Once the team list is confirmed, a draw is made or fixtures exist, the format is protected, because they were produced for that format. The protection is not permanent: once they are undone, the format can be edited again.
If you really must change it: reset the fixtures if any exist, then on the Draw screen undo the draw and reopen the participants, change the format, then make a new draw.
Changing the format requires a new draw. The old draw result stops being in force, and this path is closed once matches have been played.
One Format screen: Quick Start and stages
Tournament Format is a single screen; there is no “Simple” or “Advanced” mode. While no stage exists yet, the five formats above are offered as Quick Start cards: tapping one really creates the stages and the cards disappear. You can also add stages yourself with “+ Add Stage” (League, Groups, Knockout, Limited-Opponent League, Preliminary); stage types your package does not include appear disabled with the reason.
Every stage is listed as a numbered card; the three short facts under it (team count, the stage’s defining setting — rounds, group count, opponents per team, single/two-leg or target size — and the total number of matches) are derived from the real settings; if the match count is not yet certain you see “—” instead of a guess. How many teams advance from a stage is shown in the transition line between two cards, not inside the card. “Settings” opens the card: single/double round and teams advancing for a League, group count and per-group qualifiers (plus best-placed extras when needed) for Groups, single/two-leg ties, tiebreak policy and the third-place match for a Knockout. When you add a stage with “+ Add stage”, these basic settings (including tie format, tiebreak and third place for a Knockout) are asked before the stage is created; the new card arrives collapsed.
The main button is “Approve Format and Go to Draw”: it validates and approves the format and takes you straight to the draw screen (Format → Draw → Fixtures → Matches). Approval does not lock the format permanently: you can add and remove stages until the team list is confirmed; after that adding and removing stages closes and the card states the reason (stages are always appended, there is no reordering). Safe stage settings (for example league rounds or group count before the draw, knockout tie format before fixtures exist, the tiebreak policy) stay editable where allowed and the card states the reason otherwise. The approved format is summarised at the bottom of the page as the “Tournament Flow”.