Swiss system
In a Swiss-system tournament every team plays the same number of rounds and nobody is eliminated. Each round pairs teams with equal or similar records — winners meet winners, losers meet losers — which makes it the fairest format for large fields on limited time.
How it works
Round 1 is drawn randomly (or seeded); afterwards teams with the same win count are paired against each other.
No rematches: two teams never meet twice.
Final ranking is by wins, then Buchholz score (the sum of your opponents' wins), then points difference.
5 rounds comfortably rank 16–32 teams; 6–7 rounds handle up to 64.
Why choose it
- Nobody is knocked out — every team plays the whole day.
- Predictable schedule: the number of rounds is fixed in advance.
- Strength-matched pairings keep matches close and exciting.
Best for
The go-to format for club tournaments and large one-day events where everyone should keep playing. Often combined with a knockout final for the top teams.
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PlusPetanque handles the draw, pairings, live scores and final rankings automatically.
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