Playoffs
Playoffs are an elimination competition. Participants play series: the winner advances and the loser leaves that bracket. This progresses through quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
Playoffs can be standalone or follow Swiss or round-robin qualification in a mixed system. Qualification standings determine who enters the bracket and their starting seed.
When playoffs are used
Playoffs provide a clear path to one winner: every series affects advancement. They often conclude qualification, for example when 16 participants play Swiss and the top eight advance to quarterfinals.
Standalone playoffs suit a small, known field of 4, 8, 16 or 32 participants. In contrast, round robin has everyone meet, while Swiss combines several rounds without elimination.
Compare all options in Tournament systems.
Playoff settings
| Setting | What it determines |
|---|---|
| Bracket | One bracket or two independent upper and lower brackets. Two brackets reduce stages and matches within each, letting lower-ranked qualifiers compete for lower places instead of losing immediately to a leader. |
| Advance to playoffs | In one bracket, all participants or a specified number of top places. With two brackets, split the field equally or specify each size separately. |
| Time control | Starting time, increment and category. In mixed events, it can match qualification or be configured separately. |
| Winner determination | A series ends after a specified game count or once a points threshold is reached. |
| If tied | Armageddon, Black wins, play until a win, drawing lots, or a game followed by Armageddon. Armageddon is not created automatically: add it manually or play it outside the service, then select the winner when creating the next stage. See Managing a tournament. |
| Team scoring | Team tournaments only. By boards adds all game scores: a 2–1 three-board match contributes 2 and 1 series points. By rounds gives 1 for a match win, 0.5 for a draw and 0 for a loss. |
| Colors | For individual playoffs: random, higher seeds play White, or higher seeds play Black in the first game of a series. |
See the Playoffs section of Creating a tournament for setup.
Building the bracket
Seeding
Before starting, the service uses the playoff participant order. In mixed events, this is qualification placement, starting with the leader. Standalone events use the selected lineup.
Opening pairings match first against last. Eight participants produce 1–8, 2–7, 3–6 and 4–5. A higher qualification place affects the first opponent but does not guarantee a series win.
Bracket size
Each bracket must have 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or another power-of-two number of participants. Each round halves the remaining field until the final without byes.
An eight-player bracket starts with four quarterfinals, then two semifinals and a final. Seven cannot start: use four or eight, or divide the field between two separate brackets.
Important
For upper and lower brackets, each size is checked separately. A split of 8 + 8 is valid; 8 + 7 is not.
Bracket
Bracket determines whether there is one path to victory or two separate playoffs.
One bracket
All selected participants compete for one winner. For example, the top eight qualifiers play quarterfinals, semifinals and a final.
Advance to playoffs offers two choices for one bracket:
- All. All registered participants enter. Their count must be 2, 4, 8, 16 and so on.
- Set a number. The specified number of top places advance. A value of 8 takes the top eight qualifiers.
Upper and lower brackets (Top & Bottom)
This creates two independent elimination brackets:
- the upper bracket usually contains qualification leaders;
- the lower bracket contains the next participants or everyone remaining;
- each has its own pairings, stages and final.
This is not a losers’ bracket: a participant who loses in the upper bracket does not enter the lower one. The lower bracket is a separate competition for its group. With 16 participants, places 1–8 may enter the upper bracket and 9–16 the lower, producing one winner in each.
There are three ways to split the field:
- Split in half. Divide qualification into upper and lower halves, each with a valid playoff size.
- Participant count. Set a count for bracket 1 and bracket 2. Top places enter the first, followed by the next places in the second.
- All remaining. Set bracket 1’s size; everyone else enters bracket 2. Its size must also be 2, 4, 8, 16 and so on.
Series and deciding the winner
A series includes all games or team matches between two sides at one bracket position. Its winner advances from quarterfinal to semifinal, or semifinal to final.
By number of games
Set a game count. After the last game, the side with the higher total wins. In two games, 1.5–0.5 wins the series; 1–1 invokes the tie rule.
By points
Set a winning points threshold. The series ends when a side reaches it. At 1.5, one win and one draw are enough.
If tied
One of these rules is stored for a tied series:
- Armageddon — a deciding game with special time conditions; a draw favors Black.
- Black wins — the side playing Black advances on a tie.
- Until a win — extra games continue until there is a winner.
- Drawing lots — the winner is chosen randomly.
- Game and Armageddon — play an extra regular game, then Armageddon if still tied.
INFO
The service saves the rule but does not automatically create extra games or choose a winner. Play the extra game manually or outside the service, then select the winner when creating the next stage.
Time control and colors
Standalone playoffs specify starting time, increment and category: Bullet, Blitz, Rapid or Classic.
In mixed events, Shared time control links playoffs to qualification. When disabled, playoffs have separate time, increment and category settings.
Colors in individual series
Three preferences are available for the first game:
- Random — randomly assign White;
- Higher seeds play White — the higher-ranked selected participant receives White;
- Higher seeds play Black — the higher-ranked participant receives Black.
Subsequent games in the same series swap colors from the previous game. This setting applies to individual playoffs; team match colors are assigned per board.
Team playoffs
Team tournaments add Team scoring:
- By boards. Sum all board points. A 2–1 match on three boards adds 2 series points for the winner and 1 for the opponent.
- By rounds. Each team match gives one result: 1 for a win, 0.5 for a draw, 0 for a loss. These results are added across the series.
The selected series winning condition is then applied: a round count or points threshold. See Format and teams.
Playoffs in the service
Start playoffs from the tournament page. Before starting, review the participant lineup and order used for opening pairings. Saved pairings, results and subsequent stages appear on Pairings.
The bracket progresses as follows:
- Opening series are created from seed order;
- Results determine series winners;
- Winners form the next stage;
- Repeat until each bracket’s final.
See Managing a tournament for permissions and starting actions, and the Playoffs section of Tournament pairings for stages and series scores.