Skip to main content

Seeds Explained

· 4 min read
Dylan Perkins
Dylan Perkins
Community Manager @ Joyn.gg

Tournament seeding is a very complicated, yet important, topic. In this blog post, we will try to explain how seeds work in the context of the upcoming tournament.

What is seeding and why is it important?​

Tournament seeding refers to the process of assigning a ranking or position to each participant or team in a tournament. This ranking determines the matchups in the initial rounds of the tournament. The purpose of seeding is to ensure a fair and balanced competition by placing stronger participants against weaker ones in the early stages, leading to more exciting and competitive matches as the tournament progresses.

It is important to do seeding correctly to ensure that the best competitors do not face each other too early in the tournament. If the seeding is done poorly or not at all, there is a higher chance of strong participants facing each other in the early rounds. This can lead to potentially unfair outcomes and reduce the overall competitiveness of the tournament.

How can you determine seedings?​

There are several ways that you can determine seeding for a tournament. Here are a few of the most common methods:

  • Ranking System: In this method, participants are seeded based on their previous performance or rankings in tournaments. This method usually accounts for factors like win-loss records or elo ratings.
  • Pool Seeding (Group Stages): In this method, participants are seeded based on their performance during the group stages of the tournament where they face off against each other in a round-robin format. This method is usually used when there are too many participants to seed individually, when there is not enough recent tournament rankings data for each participant, or when the tournament is very large.
  • Randomized Seeding: In this method, participants are seeded randomly. This method is usually used when there is no ranking system available or when the tournament is very small.
    • This method goes against the purpose of seeding, as it does not ensure that the best competitors do not face each other too early in the tournament. But, it can also provide a more exciting and unpredictable tournament.

How does seeding work in different bracket types?​

Seeding works different in different bracket types. Here are a few examples:

Single Elimination/Double Elimination​

In a these bracket types, the top seed is placed against the bottom seed in the first round. The second seed is placed against the second-to-last seed in the first round. The third seed is placed against the third-to-last seed in the first round and so on.

To learn more about these bracket types, head here:

Swiss​

In a Swiss bracket, the top seed is placed against the second seed in the first round. The third seed is placed against the fourth seed in the first round and so on. Seeds in Swiss brackets are not as important compared to other bracket types, as matches starting from round 2 are determined by the participant's performance in previous rounds.

To learn more about this bracket type, head here: Swiss

Round Robin​

In a Round Robin bracket, seeding refers to the initial order in which participants are placed in the bracket. Seeds in Round Robin brackets are not as important compared to other bracket types, as all participants will face each other at least once.

  • First Round: The top seed is placed against the last seed, the second seed is placed against the second-to-last seed, the third seed is placed against the third-to-last seed and so on.
  • Second Round: The top seed is placed against the second seed, the third seed is placed against the fourth seed and so on.

This pattern continues until all participants have faced each other once.

To learn more about this bracket type, head here: Round Robin

Conclusion​

Now you know what a seed is and how it works in different bracket types. We hope this blog post has helped you understand seeding better and will help you in your future tournaments.