9-team pool play and bracket

Ways to split 9 teams

3 pools (A: seeds 1, 6, 7; B: seeds 2, 5, 8; C: seeds 3, 4, 9). 9 pool games, then 4 teams in the bracket: the top 1 from each pool plus 1 wildcard. 12 games in all.

3 pools (A: seeds 1, 6, 7; B: seeds 2, 5, 8; C: seeds 3, 4, 9). 9 pool games, then 8 teams in the bracket: the top 2 from each pool plus 2 wildcards. 16 games in all.

2 pools (A: seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, 9; B: seeds 2, 3, 6, 7). 16 pool games, then 2 teams in the bracket: the top 1 from each pool. 17 games in all.

2 pools (A: seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, 9; B: seeds 2, 3, 6, 7). 16 pool games, then 4 teams in the bracket: the top 2 from each pool. 19 games in all.

The one drawn above

The drawing shows 3 pools with the top 1 and 1 wildcard advancing, the split with the fewest games (12). Pools are snake-seeded, so pool A gets seed 1 and the bracket seeds pool-mates apart in round 1.

Pool games in the 3-pool split

Pool A (seeds 1, 6, 7) plays 1 v 6, 1 v 7, 6 v 7.

Pool B (seeds 2, 5, 8) plays 2 v 5, 2 v 8, 5 v 8.

The other 1 pool follows the same pattern with their own seeds.

Games per team before the bracket

A pool of 3 gives each of its teams 2 games. All pools are the same size, so every team gets the same number of games.

The bracket after pools

4 teams advance, so the bracket has 4 places and no byes. The 1 wildcard are the best of the teams that finished just outside the automatic places, ranked on points, then point difference.

Time for the pool stage

The largest pool is 3 teams, so pools need 3 rounds to finish. All 3 pools play each round together.

If your field changes

Dropping to 8 teams gives 4 fewer games. Going up to 10 teams gives 4 more games. Page sizes differ by the formats the numbers allow, so check the nearest size before you commit.

Questions