Triple Knockout Tournament Brackets

Triple knockout tournament brackets describe draw formats in which all teams start in a main Single elimination bracket. There are three additional consolation bracket that losers drop into, depending on when the player’s loss has occurred.

In a triple knockout tournament brackets system, the main draw is referred to as the gold draw. Winners advancing in this division earn final standings of 1st – 4th in the division.

Regardless if a team has a bye or not, after winning their first match in the gold draw, then losing their second one, the team will feed into a silver consolation draw, as opposed to the Olympic format division where the round determines which consolation bracket the loser drops into. Players in the silver draw compete for places 5th – 8th.

Players losing their first match in the main draw will drop into another dropdown bracket called the bronze draw where they compete for the final standings of 9th – 12th.

Competitors who lose their first match in the main draw and their first match in the bronze draw drop into the yellow consolation draw. They compete for places 13th – 16th.

Triple knockout tournament brackets use “if necessary” and “if not necessary” place holders in the consolation brackets. This is because a team with a bye sometimes competes against a team that played a feeder match. If the feeder team loses, it is his second match, so they drop into the silver draw. However, if the participant with the bye loses, it is their first match to lose and they drop to the bronze bracket.

When scheduling triple knockout tournament brackets, a director has to overbook and plan times for more games than actually need to be played. Double booking certain matches should be used as only 1 of the 2 will be used depending on which player lost, the one with or without the bye.

Advantages:

Allows final standing to be determined all the way out to 16th place

Does not consider a bye as a win, so players with a first round bye have to win their first match to have a chance at achieving places 5th – 8th, as opposed to the Olympic format division where they would have the chance to get up to 5th place.

Disadvantages:

One of the Hardest draw formats to schedule because of the “if loser” or “if not loser” feed in spots because some matches will not be played but still must be scheduled.

Requires more matches than the Olympic format division because the byes are not counted as a win and have to be played.