Tournament Design (again)

This is how I would suggest designing tournaments so that:

a) you get to play more different people - not having to play everybody twice

b) you can get a high knockout rate per game played, like 2(2)->1, but without it being spoiled by ties.

c) more like Swiss, without taking for ever.

Here's how it works. The TD specifies two things: the number of games per round, and the "cut" (as in golf) per round. The cut can be either a percentage: 50% of the field, or 80% or whatever (plus ties). Or it can be based on absolute score relative to the leader eg, anybody more than 2 points behind the current leader is knocked out.

You could also have a maximum number of rounds specified, or the tournament is over when the field is shrunk to a certain number, and the top two - if their scores are the same - have played each other.

Within each round, seed players into brackets by rating, as now, only instead of drawing groups from the brackets, draw each player against a random player in each bracket but their own, who (if possible) they haven't already played. So the number of brackets is determined by the number of games per round. If necessary give 1 point byes to the lowest standing player(s), who have not already had byes, for one of their games.

Then the result, like Swiss, is based on your overall score for the tournament.

This sounds like a good option for tournament directors.

ADK