Swiss System

The Swiss System pairs participants with a similar record in every round. Nobody drops out, nobody plays the same opponent twice, and the ranking sharpens with every round. Use it for ranked events of any size where you want a fixed number of rounds instead of a full round robin. With 5 to 7 rounds a field of 32 to 64 teams gets a reliable ranking, and the top of the table is ready for a knockout.

Entry types: Single, Doubles, Team Name. Groups are not supported; the whole field plays in one table.

How a round is drawn

Round 1 has no standings yet, so Kickertool pairs by position in the entry list. The pairing style decides how: with Monrad neighbours play each other, 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, and so on. With Dutch the first half plays the second half: with 16 teams, 1 vs 9, 2 vs 10, and so on. With an odd field the last entry gets the bye. Randomize entries before tournament start is on by default and shuffles the list first. Turn it off if you have seeded the list yourself, for example by ranking.

Every later round is drawn from the current table. Kickertool builds a complete round in which every participant is paired or gets the bye, and applies these rules in this order. A higher rule always beats a lower one.

1. No rematch. Two participants never play each other twice in the same stage.
2. Fresh bye. With an odd field, nobody gets a second bye while somebody without a bye is still available.
3. Bye to the bottom. The bye goes to the lowest-placed participant for whom the rest of the field can still be paired within the point-difference limit.
4. Smallest point difference. Participants are paired with as small a difference in points as possible. The allowed difference grows with the tournament: about 0.4 wins per round played, at least one win. Only if no round is possible within that limit does Kickertool widen it step by step.
5. Pairing style. Among all rounds that are equally fair by rules 1 to 4, the pairing style decides which one is chosen, see below.

Byes give no points unless Bye Rating is on.

Monrad or Dutch

Both styles pair within point groups, meaning participants with the same number of points. They differ in who inside a point group meets whom.

Monrad pairs standings neighbours: 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, 5 vs 6. If a point group is odd, the last one of the group plays the first one of the next group. This is the default and the style Kickertool has always used. Matches are as even as possible, and the leaders meet early.

Dutch (FIDE) is the style used in chess. Every point group is split in half, and the top half plays the bottom half: in a group of 8, 1 vs 5, 2 vs 6, 3 vs 7, 4 vs 8. If a group is odd, the best participant of the next group moves up to fill it. The strong participants of a group meet later, and the seeding from the entry list carries further into the tournament. Choose Dutch if your federation or your players expect FIDE pairings.

Both styles are bound by rules 1 to 4. If the exact pairing would produce a rematch or exceed the point limit, Kickertool takes the closest legal alternative.

The table

Columns in sorting order:

1. Points
2. Buchholz Score 1 (BH₁): the sum of the points of all your opponents. Two participants with the same points are separated by whose opponents were stronger.
3. Buchholz Score 2 (BH₂): the sum of the BH₁ values of all your opponents. Hidden by default, still used for sorting.

Goal and set differences are not used in the Swiss System by default. You can add them in the table settings of the discipline.

Options

• Planned number of rounds: how many rounds you intend to play. A rule of thumb: enough rounds that the winner is unique, that is log₂ of the field size rounded up, plus one or two rounds for a stable table. 32 teams: 5 rounds minimum, 6 or 7 are better.
• Pre-Draw Matches when possible: see below.
• Pairing style: Monrad or Dutch (FIDE).
• Bye Rating: a bye counts as a won match. The score is the goals to win against half of that, 7:4 with 7 goals, and it adds to goal difference. Without it a bye gives 0 points, which is a disadvantage when points decide.
• Randomize entries before tournament start: shuffle the field before round 1. On by default.

Pre-draw

Without the pre-draw a round is drawn in one go, and you start it with New Round once every match of the current round has a result. The last matches of a round leave tables idle.

With Pre-Draw Matches when possible Kickertool draws a match of the next round whenever a table becomes free, while other matches of the current round are still running. The next round is built piece by piece. Once the current round is complete, the rest of the next round is drawn at once.

Kickertool does not simply pair whoever happens to be free. Every pre-drawn match follows these rules:

1. Enough choice. Kickertool only pre-draws while at least 10 participants are free. With fewer free participants there are too few candidates, and the pairings become inaccurate. So Kickertool waits for more results.
2. Same rules as a full round. No rematch, no double bye, and the point difference stays within a limit that grows with the rounds played.
3. Top-down. The best-placed free participant gets the best-placed suitable opponent. Then the next one.
4. Safe for the rest of the round. Before a pairing is fixed, Kickertool plays through every possible outcome of the matches still running. The pairing is only drawn if the rest of the round can still be paired fairly in every case. If not, Kickertool holds these participants back and draws a different pairing or waits.

What Kickertool cannot know is how the running matches will end. A round drawn in one go, with all results known, can therefore produce closer pairings in the late rounds than a pre-drawn one. This is the trade-off of the pre-draw: tables stay busy, and in exchange the pairings are not always the best possible ones. No algorithm can avoid that, because the missing information only exists once the round is over.

Consequences you should know:

• The New Round button disappears. Rounds are created automatically until the Planned number of rounds is reached. To play on, raise that number in the discipline settings.
• A pre-drawn match is final.
• If you turn the pre-draw off while a round is only partly drawn, New Round first completes that round with the missing participants. A new round only starts once the last round is complete, so every participant plays the same number of rounds.
• Participants who finish late find fewer suitable opponents, because many are already paired. If a drawn match waits long before it is announced, it also finishes late. Announce pre-drawn matches promptly, or switch the match overview to Automatic Match Start, see below.
• If fair score groups matter more than table utilisation, for example in a qualification for a championship, leave the pre-draw off.

Tip

In the match overview, the Settings tab on the right has the option Match announcement. With Automatic Match Start a match starts as soon as it is drawn onto a table. With Manual Match Announcement it waits until you announce it.

Running the stage

• You can remove the latest round as long as no result has been entered in it.
• Late check-in is possible until the first round is complete. New entries fill open byes or form new matches in round 1. After that, check-in is closed for this stage.
• If the field is exhausted, meaning no rematch-free round exists any more, Kickertool tells you that no new round is possible. With n participants that happens after n minus 1 rounds at the earliest.

FAQ

Why does the leader play against a team with fewer points?

The pre-draw is on. Kickertool draws when a table becomes free, while other matches are still running. If nobody with the same points is free, or if the only fitting opponent has to be kept for another team to complete the round, the leader gets the next suitable opponent within the point limit. Turn the pre-draw off if you want every round drawn in one go.

Why does an analysis of the results show better pairings than Kickertool drew?

Such an analysis pairs every round with all its results known. The pre-draw never has that knowledge: it draws while matches are still running and cannot know how they end. The comparison is therefore between the pre-draw and a round drawn in one go. If you want exactly those pairings, turn the pre-draw off.

Why was a free team not drawn although a table was free?

Either fewer than 10 participants were free, or every possible pairing for that team would have made the rest of the round impossible to pair fairly for at least one outcome of the running matches. Kickertool then holds the team back until more results are in.

Where is the New Round button?

With the pre-draw on, rounds are created automatically until the Planned number of rounds is reached, and the button is hidden. To play more rounds, raise the number in the discipline settings.

What happens if I turn off the pre-draw in the middle of a round?

The New Round button is back. Pressing it completes the partly drawn round: Kickertool pairs only the participants who have no match in that round yet. The next round starts with the next press, once every match of the current round has a result.

Does a bye give points?

Not by default. Turn on Bye Rating and a bye counts as a won match with the score of the goals to win against half of that, for example 7:4. The result also counts towards the goal difference.

Can participants join after the tournament has started?

Yes, until the first round is complete. New entries fill open byes or form new matches in round 1. Once round 1 is complete, check-in is closed for this stage.

How many rounds should I plan?

Enough that the winner is unique: log₂ of the field size rounded up, plus one or two rounds for a stable table. With 32 teams that is 5 rounds minimum, 6 or 7 are better.

Next steps

Add a knockout stage for the top of the table: Elimination.