Rapid_Assassin
Smash Master
Recently, I was at a small local tournament that I did very well at. Granted, the results would have been different if there weren't people who left early, and if there had been tie breakers. And even so, I still wouldn't have been dead last (like I often am). The main difference between this and every other tournament I've ever been to was that it was entirely round robin. Everyone played vs. everyone else.
There are benefits to a round robin system regardless of your skill level:
1. For new people starting out, most double elim tournaments are seeded so that they end up playing vs. the best one there first round, and then the best one in the "bottom half" second round. This can be discouraging for someone who is trying to learn and get better. They still wouldn't have a chance to win the tournament, but it is better for them to get experience vs. multiple opponents, not the same people that they always lose to every tournament.
2. For average players (by tournament standards), the round robin will generally place them higher than a double elim bracket, proving basically the same thing that my small local tournament did: they aren't the worst players there. Also, it gives the same benefit of playing vs. multiple opponents that the double elim bracket generally won't give.
3. For pros, what better way is there to prove that you dominate at the game than to beat every single person there?
Of course, there does need to be some tweaking to some formats of round robin that I've seen. Only winning a set vs. someone should count. If you won 1 match and still lost the set, it should count the same as if you lost both matches. Also, if there are any ties between the top 4 players (only ones concerned with winning money anyway) there should be a tie breaker set played between them. And any ties between players ranked below 4th should be noted in the results.
Unfortunately, round robin takes a long time, and isn't realistic if it's a large tournament. A better solution for larger tournaments would be the Swiss System. A Swiss tournament will have the same benefits as a round robin, without an unrealistic number of matches that needs to be played. In a larger tournament, Swiss system will take about as long as double elimination will, produce more accurate results, and provide the same benefits as round robin for non-pro players.
For those unfamiliar with tournament theory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_system_tournament
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-elimination_tournament
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robin_tournament
Discuss
There are benefits to a round robin system regardless of your skill level:
1. For new people starting out, most double elim tournaments are seeded so that they end up playing vs. the best one there first round, and then the best one in the "bottom half" second round. This can be discouraging for someone who is trying to learn and get better. They still wouldn't have a chance to win the tournament, but it is better for them to get experience vs. multiple opponents, not the same people that they always lose to every tournament.
2. For average players (by tournament standards), the round robin will generally place them higher than a double elim bracket, proving basically the same thing that my small local tournament did: they aren't the worst players there. Also, it gives the same benefit of playing vs. multiple opponents that the double elim bracket generally won't give.
3. For pros, what better way is there to prove that you dominate at the game than to beat every single person there?
Of course, there does need to be some tweaking to some formats of round robin that I've seen. Only winning a set vs. someone should count. If you won 1 match and still lost the set, it should count the same as if you lost both matches. Also, if there are any ties between the top 4 players (only ones concerned with winning money anyway) there should be a tie breaker set played between them. And any ties between players ranked below 4th should be noted in the results.
Unfortunately, round robin takes a long time, and isn't realistic if it's a large tournament. A better solution for larger tournaments would be the Swiss System. A Swiss tournament will have the same benefits as a round robin, without an unrealistic number of matches that needs to be played. In a larger tournament, Swiss system will take about as long as double elimination will, produce more accurate results, and provide the same benefits as round robin for non-pro players.
For those unfamiliar with tournament theory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_system_tournament
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-elimination_tournament
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robin_tournament
Discuss