Progressive knockout (play-off for all places)
Losers don't go home: they play on for 3rd, 5th, 9th place. Everyone gets an exact finish.
- formula
- N/2 × log₂N
- complexity
- medium
- best for
- 8–32 players
How it works
A progressive knockout is a single elimination bracket with a play-off for all places. Losers are not knocked out of the event — they drop into a bracket for lower places: semifinal losers play for 3rd–4th, quarterfinal losers for 5th–8th, round-of-16 losers for 9th–16th. Each of those brackets splits again until every place from first to last is decided. Table tennis rules list it as a separate competition system; it is also known as single elimination with placement matches or a full placement bracket.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Every player gets an exact place, not a shared "5th–8th"
- With a full bracket everyone plays the same number of matches — log₂N
- Same number of rounds as a plain knockout, so barely longer
- Fits events where places count toward a ranking or team score
Cons
- More matches: 32 instead of 15 for 16 players
- Everyone plays every round — you need more tables or courts
- Matches for the bottom places are less motivating
- Harder to run by hand on paper
When to pick it
- 01Official events whose rules require every place
- 02Youth events — every child plays every round
- 03Places feed a ranking, team score or qualification
- 04You have enough tables or courts for everyone to play each round
How many matches
Match and round count by participant number — plan your courts and schedule.
Every round all players are on court — N/2 matches. The number of rounds matches a plain knockout: log₂N. For 16 players: 8 × 4 = 32 matches. If N is not a power of two, some slots are byes and there are fewer matches: 20 for 12 players, 52 for 24.
| Participants | Matches | Rounds |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 8 | 12 | 3 |
| 12 | 20 | 4 |
| 16 | 32 | 4 |
| 24 | 52 | 5 |
| 32 | 80 | 5 |
| 64 | 192 | 6 |
Frequently asked questions
- How is it different from a knockout with a 3rd place match?
- A knockout with a 3rd place match only decides the top four; everyone else shares "5th–8th", "9th–16th". A progressive knockout adds play-offs at every level of the bracket, so each player gets their own place.
- How do I run a progressive knockout in HoneyCup?
- Create a single elimination tournament and set "Place ranking" to "All places (5-8, 7-8…)". The placement brackets fill in automatically as results come in.