Why bettors need to be familiar with esports tournament formats
The esports scene has massive tournaments anticipated yearly. You should be familiar with how they work so you can maximize your knowledge.
Why bettors need to be familiar with esports tournament formats
The esports scene has massive tournaments anticipated yearly. You should be familiar with how they work so you can maximize your knowledge. Some formats have surprised people because it’s convoluted but we will dive into what formats are in esports.
People are more familiar with traditional sports leagues where you can see a solidified format with either a league table where points will be the decider on which team wins. Some leagues use a regular-season format and then they’re moved to a bracket where the seeds are based on the season records.
In esports, there is a wide variety of formats that we will get into. Since you’re familiar with free CSGO skins, you might be aware of some of the events held in that game. They usually have a model to follow but some organizers have tried to do something different. Let’s dive into some of the formats and examples of it around the esports scene.
Group stages
Group stages come in various forms because the individuals and/or teams are split into groups. Most of the time, these are all randomized but there are some times when there are seeds attached to the squads. Most of esports’ formats are in these group stages so let’s talk about them.
Double Round Robin
This is where the teams play each other twice. They will then receive a different number of points whether they win, draw or lose. If you are familiar with football leagues, this is the format they use for their games. However, there are times when the number of games against a team will depend on the organizers because sometimes it’s a best-of-one but it can stretch until a best-of-five series. Most of the time, the maximum number of games is a best-of-three.
After the group stage, you can expect there will be a logjam in the standings. If there are ties, you can expect there will be tiebreakers between the teams involved. There is criticism regarding this format because those tiebreakers always happen. This stretches the team’s schedules if they already had gruelling days, they are forced to play even more games. Fatigue sets in for these players because they can get mentally and physically tired by playing around eight hours of games.
Swiss Seeding
Swiss Seeding is a format that is mostly used when there is a larger number of teams to sign up and a round-robin is not possible. Time constraints are a big part of esports because there are games where there is no set timeline. Take a look at League of Legends and Dota 2, these are games that can end after 20 minutes but they can stretch to around two hours. If one game lasts that long, you can expect the players to be fatigued and their quality of play will plummet.
So in Swiss Seeding, there are two rounds. In the first, opponents are drawn at random or there are predetermined seeds. In the second round, the winning teams from the first round will play against each other and the teams that lost will play amongst themselves. Teams will keep playing against other teams with the same score and the winner will be determined by the number of points accumulated.
Most of the series that are played in Swiss Seeding is a best-of-one which is rather quick. Time constraints are not usually a problem with the Swiss format because best-of-one games are fast. The Rocket League Championship Series is one of the most well-known events known for its quick but exciting group stage.
Playoff or Knockout stages
After the group stage, teams will advance to the playoffs which are usually dubbed the ‘main event’. These are usually easy to understand but you should still be aware of the basics that people look into. Let’s dive into these playoff stages and some examples of tournaments that have made their way into the mainstream stage using these formats.
Single Elimination bracket
For anyone who follows any kind of competition, the single-elimination bracket is very easy to follow. Qualifying teams are put into a bracket which depends on either a random draw or they’re seeded according to their record in the group stage. The teams then play a series which is usually from a best-of-three to a best-of-five. The grand final will usually be longer since it can range as much as a best-of-seven which is similar to how the playoffs work for sports like ice hockey and basketball.
After they’re seeded, the fixtures will be played out and whoever loses the series is outright eliminated from the main event. The winner will advance to the next round and continue their quest to win the title at the end of the bracket.
Most of the time, the single-elim bracket is seen as a do-or-die part of a tournament. Some people have criticized its use because it does not reward the top performers from the group stage as much. That is understandable because there are times when the best group stage teams get bounced out early and they’re not given a second chance to redeem themselves.
Despite those criticisms, there have been some fantastic events over the years. League’s World Championship comes to mind as one of the best events that adopt this format. You can expect the best of the best to play in their main stage and for most of its run, T1 has taken the most titles with three to their name over the years.
The single-elim format is mostly adopted from traditional sports and it has translated well to esports too. The games are usually fun and you can expect the event to run smoothly with this format since it’s so familiar to both the players and the viewers at home and in the arena if it is a LAN event.
Double Elimination bracket
While it’s more convoluted than the single-elim format, the double-elimination bracket is still similar to how the previous one worked but with a fun twist. The best teams from the group stage are put into an upper bracket which is reserved for the best of the best. This means that they can lose a series but they will not be instantly eliminated. They will drop down to the lower bracket where they will fight for a chance to stay alive in the event.
The lower bracket’s initial teams will be filled with the teams that did not perform at the top level of the group stage. This system rewards the teams that performed well in the group stage and it is worse for the teams that underperformed. Of course, there are teams that just barely made or missed the upper bracket but that is the name of the game for the double-elim format.
For the upper bracket, best-of-three or best-of-five series are usually played to find out who advances and who drops down. For the initial matches of the lower bracket, it is usually a thrilling best-of-one because it brings more intrigue to the event. Of course, the bo1 is not required but it does bring more gravity for the teams that barely made it to the lower bracket. It can serve as punishment for underperforming and can be a motivating factor for the teams while they’re still in the group stage.
The best example of this format is Dota 2’s The International. Over the past decade, the best Dota teams have competed for the Aegis of Champions. This bracket has consistently been the highlight of the event because you can get dominant runs as Wings did in TI6 or you can get amazing lower bracket runs like what Team Liquid did back at TI7.
This also forges more storylines because the teams that lost in the upper bracket can go on a vengeful journey to make it far to the point that they can face their tormentors again. At TI, this has happened so many times which includes the TI8 grand final between PSG.LGD and OG. The Europeans won the upper bracket final series to advance into the grand final which led to LGD dropping down and they had to grind their way into the final stage.
OG is the only team that has won TI twice and they did so by running through the upper bracket on both occasions. They were rewarded for solid group stage runs and they made sure to not drop a series on their way to the Aegis.
Most esports fans prefer the double-elim but it does run into time constraints. If you have such a big event like TI, it can be forgiven but most of the time, online events are usually hurt by time which is why some event orgs prefer using the single-elim format.
Why this knowledge is big for bettors
Since you’re now aware of the formats in esports, you can easily bet on some tournaments based on the research that you did on the teams and the fresh knowledge that you have of the formats. At first, people tend to overlook the formats’ significance in events but it does play a factor. Players get fatigued and formats play a huge role in that.
Hopefully, you can win in your free CSGO skins betting but you need to do the work to earn those wins. The formats are just one factor because you should also look into how teams/players perform and what their tactics are. Good luck and have fun!
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Words: Pocholo Magsino
