Single Elimination Format

Each player plays a match against one other player in the first round. Only the winning players of a round proceed to the next round; the losing players are eliminated from of the tournament. The player who is never eliminated wins the tournament.

Single Elimination format is also called Knockout or Sudden Death.

This format determines a definite winner in the fewest number of matches, and in a predictable number of matches.

Matches may consist of one or more games; usually an odd number of games to prevent ties. Matches in later rounds, after most players have been eliminated, often have more games than the early rounds. For example, the first-round matches might be just one game, while the final-round match might be three-out-of-five games.

The better players are seeded in the first round in such a way that their matches with each other occur in later rounds. Seeding is based on player's rankings or handicaps, or the tournament director's opinion.

When the total number of players is not equal to a power of two (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.), the next higher power of two is used, the players are seeded into a first round for the next higher power of two, and the empty slots are treated as byes. A player with a bye automatically advances to the next round.

Also, see the Croquet Association's Regulations for Tournaments.

Below, is an example of a Single Elimination format for eleven seeded players, using the sixteen-player first round with five byes. The first and second rounds are one-game matches. The semi-final round is two-out-of-three games. The final round is best of five.