In single knock out tournament, the teams once defeated, are eliminated and not given another chance to play.
Total number of matches in the tournament = N – 1, where N is the number of teams competing.
For example, if N = 13
Total number of matches = 13 –1 = 12
Method of Drawing Fixtures
1. Drawing fixture for a certain number of teams competing is decided by the power of two, viz. 2, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, … etc., i.e., 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, … respectively.
2. Suppose 16 teams have entered for a tournament, there will be no byes i.e. 16 – 16 = 0.
3. If the number of teams participating is not a power of 2, the byes will be given to a specific number of teams in the first round.
4. The number of ‘Byes’ to be given is decided by subtracting the number of teams from its next higher number which is the power of two. For example, if 13 teams entered for a competition, number of Byes = 16 – 13 = 3 and for 25 teams, number of Byes = 32 – 25 = 7
Seeding
Single Knock out Fixture for 8 Teams
Single Knock out Fixture for 10 Teams
Single Knock out Fixture for 11 Teams
Procedure of giving byes
Ist Bye — Bottom of the lower half
IInd Bye — Top of the upper half
IIIrd Bye — Top of the bottom half
IVth Bye — Bottom of the upper half
This process continues in case the number of byes are more than four.
This process continues in case the number of byes are more than four.
A knock-out fixture is usually drawn by lots and if it is drawn purely on the basis of lots without considering the standards of the teams, strong teams may meet each other in the earlier rounds, hence allowing the weaker teams reaching upto semifinals resulting in unfair and uninteresting competition. To avoid this, seeding is done. Seeding is sorting of strong teams and fitting them into the fixtures so that these teams do not meet in the earlier rounds.
If there is no marked difference in the standard of the seeded teams, then these teams are distributed in the fixture by lots among them.
Number of Teams in each Quarter
(N = No. of Teams, Q = Quotient)
Merits and Demerits of Single Knock out or Elimination Tournament
Merits
(i) Tournament finishes in a short time.
(ii) There will be economy of expenditure.
(iii) The competition will be keen and intense due to the fear of elimination of a team from the tournament, when defeated.
Demerits
(i) A team may be eliminated by chance and will not get another chance to play.
(ii) If the fixture is drawn purely by lots, there is a possibility of matches between strong teams in the earlier rounds, which would get eliminated, thus weaker teams reaching Semifinals or the Finals.
(iii) Winner of a match/round may have to wait for the winner of another match to play the next round.
Special Seeding
When some top ranking players or teams participate in a tournament, the fixtures are generally drawn in such a manner that these players or teams play directly at Quarter Finals or Semifinals stage.
A fixture of 24 teams participating in a tournament including 4 teams, i.e., 1, 12, 13 and 24, are given special seeding direct at the Quarter Finals stage.
For deciding the number of byes for the fixture of special seeding, first subtract the number of teams that are given special seeding (4) from the total number of teams participating (24), i.e., 24 – 4 = 20.
Now, Number of Byes = 32 – 20 = 12 Byes.
Single Knock out Fixture for 24 Teams (Special Seeding 4 teams)
Rd. I Rd. II Rd. III Rd. IV Rd. V Rd. VI
