Draft
draftPrivateSet up tournament details, venue, contacts, events, and rules.
Finish core setup before making it public.
Public view: Not public yet. Only organizers and collaborators can open the tournament while it stays in draft.
A quick organizer guide for how to run a table tennis tournament from setup to completion — the same flow used inside Table Tennis Tube, expanded into a full page you can share with your team.
Draft is private. As soon as you move to Published, the tournament page is available for the public to open and share. Registration, groups, live scores, and final results unlock in later stages.
Each stage maps to a tournament status in the app. Follow the organizer action and check when the public can see it.
Set up tournament details, venue, contacts, events, and rules.
Tournament becomes visible. Organizers can still fine-tune structure.
Players can register for events.
No new entries accepted. Event lists become final.
Groups and draw structure are generated.
Matches are live and results advance standings and brackets.
Tournament is officially finished with finalized outcomes.
Complete this checklist so players see accurate details and you can open registration with confidence.
Players in a group are ranked using the rules below. Each rule only breaks a tie left by the rule above it — the same "i" info button appears on the Standings tab inside every tournament.
Two-way tie: Eric and Emile both finish 2 wins–1 loss = 5 points each (tied). Eric beat Emile head-to-head, so Eric ranks above Emile — even if Emile has a better overall points scored−conceded total.
Three-way tie: Alice, Bob, and Carol all finish on the same points. Among matches between just those three, Alice's games won/lost ratio is best, then Carol, then Bob. Final order: Alice 1st, Carol 2nd, Bob 3rd.
A quick formula you can do on a phone before you book the hall, plus worked examples from 8 to 64 players.
The numbers below are playing time only. Add 20 to 40 minutes for check-in and a break between groups and knockout. The longer planning table further down adds that real-world slack.
| Field | Format | Matches | Tables | Waves | Playing time (best of 3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 players | Single elimination | 7 | 4 | 3 | 45 min – 1 h 15 min |
| 8 players | Round robin (everyone plays everyone) | 28 | 4 | 7 | 1 h 45 min – 2 h 55 min |
| 16 players | Single elimination | 15 | 8 | 4 | 1 h – 1 h 40 min |
| 16 players | 4 groups of 4, top 2 to quarterfinals | 31 | 8 | 6 | 1 h 30 min – 2 h 30 min |
| 24 players | 8 groups of 3, top 2 to a round of 16 | 39 | 8 | 7 | 1 h 45 min – 2 h 55 min |
| 32 players | Single elimination | 31 | 8 | 6 | 1 h 30 min – 2 h 30 min |
| 32 players | 8 groups of 4, top 2 to a round of 16 | 63 | 8 | 10 | 2 h 30 min – 4 h 10 min |
| 64 players | Single elimination | 63 | 16 | 7 | 1 h 45 min – 2 h 55 min |
Worked example: 24 players in eight groups of three on eight tables. Each group owns one table and plays three matches, which is three waves. The round of 16 is then 8, 4, 2, and 1 matches, which is four more waves. Seven waves × 15 to 25 minutes is about 1 h 45 min to 2 h 55 min of play. Not sure which bracket size you need? The tournament bracket generator guide lists rounds, matches, and byes for 4 to 64 entrants.
The question that decides the format is not “which bracket looks official.” It is whether the last final finishes before the hall wants the lights off. These ranges are for GTA club nights and one-day opens, not for a national championship with full umpiring.
Count on 15 to 25 minutes per match slot, including the walk to the table, a short warm-up, and writing the score. Best of three games to 11 at club pace lands in that band. Best of five between evenly rated adults sits at the slow end, and best of seven or long deuces can run past it. Add 20 to 40 minutes for check-in and a short break between the group stage and knockout so you can post the draw without guessing.
Rough clock time is match waves, not raw match count. If eight matches are in the round and you have eight free tables, that round is one wave. If you have four tables, it is two waves. A group of four on one table plays six matches in a row; give that group a second table and the same six matches become three waves. The table below uses that idea. It is a planning band, not a promise that every match ends in twenty minutes.
| Field | Format that usually fits | Matches | Tables | Plan for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 4 groups of 4, top 2 to quarterfinals | 24 group + 7 knockout (8 if you play for third) | 8 | 3 to 3.5 hours |
| 16 | Same groups, one table per group | 24 group + 7 knockout | 4 | 4 to 4.5 hours |
| 16 | Straight knockout, optional bronze | 15 or 16 | 8 | 1.5 to 2.5 hours |
| 24 | 8 groups of 3, top 2 into a round of 16 | 24 group + 15 knockout | 8 | 3.5 to 4.5 hours |
| 24 | 6 groups of 4, top 2 (12) into a round of 16 with 4 byes | 36 group + 15 knockout | 10 to 12 | A full Saturday block |
| 32 | 8 groups of 4, top 2 to a round of 16 | 48 group + 15 knockout | 8 | 4.5 to 5.5 hours |
| 32 | Same groups, two tables per group | 48 group + 15 knockout | 16 | 3.5 to 4.5 hours |
| 32 | Straight knockout, optional consolation | 31, plus consolation if you add it | 8 to 16 | 2.5 to 3.5 hours |
Four groups of four is the format most club players already understand. Each group plays six matches. On eight tables you can give every group two tables, so the group stage is about three waves — often 60 to 75 minutes if you start together and do not let a social match drift to 40 minutes. The quarterfinals are an eight-player knockout: four matches, two, then the final. On four of those tables that is another hour to eighty minutes.
On four tables the same group stage is the problem. Each group owns one table and plays six matches in sequence, which is two hours before anyone is in the knockout. That can still work for a 6:00 start with a 10:30 close, but only if check-in is finished before the first serve and you do not add a full bronze plus a consolation. If the booking is 7:00 to 10:00, skip groups or play best of three until the semifinals. Tell players which one you chose when they enter, not when they arrive.
Twenty-four players split cleanly into eight groups of three. Every group is a triangle: three matches, and nobody sits out a round inside the group. Top two advance and you have a full round of 16 with no byes. On eight tables, assign one table per group. The groups finish in roughly an hour, you post the crossover, then the knockout is four more waves. Build in a fifteen-minute break. Parents in the lobby will use it. So will you, because the draw is easier to explain when you are not also hunting a missing score.
Thirty-two players in eight groups of four is 48 group matches before a round of 16. On eight tables that is a Saturday, or a very disciplined Sunday block. Larger halls in Markham and Mississauga can put two tables on a group and bring the groups down toward ninety minutes; a four-table community room cannot. Straight knockout of 32 is 31 matches and can finish in an evening on eight or sixteen tables, but the player who loses at 7:20 drove from Brampton or Burlington for one match. If that is your field, add a consolation or say plainly in the registration note that this event is a champion’s bracket.
Sketch the structure first in the free table tennis bracket generator, then compare it with the table count you actually reserved.
Decide these five things before registration opens. The times assume best of five games to 11, including the walk to the table, and a hall you have already booked.
Players accept a hard first-round match. They do not accept a draw that looks shuffled after they have already seen the list. Seed from rating or from the order your club already uses, then preview the sheet before you set status to Groups Created.
Say the entry list is already ordered, strongest first. For a small round robin that still needs a knockout — eight players, four groups of two would be silly, so use this same snake when you have eight players and four groups of two only as a teaching picture, or more usefully when you have sixteen players and four groups of four. The first pass of a sixteen-player snake with four groups looks like this for the top and bottom of the list:
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed 1 | Seed 2 | Seed 3 | Seed 4 |
| Seed 8 | Seed 7 | Seed 6 | Seed 5 |
| Seed 9 | Seed 10 | Seed 11 | Seed 12 |
| Seed 16 | Seed 15 | Seed 14 | Seed 13 |
Seed 1 is not in a group with seed 2. Each group has one player from the top four, one from the next four, and so on. If you only have ratings for the top half, seed those and let the rest fall in by name. Write that rule on the event page so a player who expected a manual “club ranking” does not hear it for the first time at 6:40. The full walk-through, including random versus seeded snakes, is on table tennis seeding.
After groups, line qualifiers up by place: A1, B1, C1, D1, then A2, B2, C2, D2. Drop that list onto a classic bracket so 1 plays the last name on the list. For four groups with two advancing, the top half and bottom half separate the strongest group winners if the list is ordered that way. Byes, when the knockout is not a power of two, land toward the end of that list — not always beside A1.
Use Standard for most opens. It is the sheet players can check with a pencil. If two organizers disagree, open both versions before anyone has played, not after Group C has finished.
Top-seed locks A1 on the top line and B1 on the bottom line, rotates other group winners into separate quarters, and gives byes to those protected slots first. Same twelve qualifiers as Standard can produce a different round of 16. The favorite’s first match is easier. Two group winners are less likely to meet in round one.
Use it when the event is a rating open and the top two seeds are clearly ahead of the field, and you would rather they meet in the final than in a quarterfinal because of an unlucky crossover. Say so in the event notes. “We protected the top seeds” is a fair sentence. “The computer did it” is not.
This layout exists for a specific clipboard: exactly two groups, at most eight players in a group, sixteen players overall. Group 1 place n plays Group 2 place (9 − n). The winner of group 1 sits at the top, the winner of group 2 at the bottom. If both favorites keep winning, they cannot meet until the final. Places you do not have become byes.
Two groups do not force this method. You can still run Standard or Top-seed on the same sixteen names. Pick 2-group Club when the hall already prints that sheet and players will compare your draw to last month’s paper. Preview it in the playground with the same player count you will use on the night.
The readiness list above is what the public page needs before registration opens. This one is what the person with the laptop needs so a Thursday in Scarborough, North York, or Mississauga does not turn into a group chat.
A ladder is a season of challenges, not a one-night group stage and knockout. Players stay on one ranked list. There are no groups and no bracket.
A player may challenge someone up to that many ranks above. They cannot jump the whole list. A player who already has an open challenge waits until that match has a result.
Enter the result on the open challenge. Challenger won means they take the defender’s rank and everyone in between moves down one. Defender held means the order does not change. Cancel a challenge that was never played.
After the season end date, new challenges stop. Finish any match that is still open, then choose End season & snapshot. Rank 1 is the champion. The snapshot stays on the page.
Prizes and trophies stay outside the app. A ladder does not build groups, standings points, or a knockout. If you want one night and a final, use round robin or knockout instead.
Draft tournaments stay private for organizers and collaborators. Once you move the tournament to Published, the public tournament page is visible. Registration, groups and draws, live scores, and final results unlock in later stages.
Yes. When the tournament status is In Progress, scores, standings, brackets, and match timelines update publicly for anyone following the event.
Set the tournament name, date and time, venue, at least one event with format and limits, contacts, organization details, and a registration deadline for sanctioned events.
Divide the number of matches by the number of tables and round up to get match waves, but never count fewer waves than the event has rounds, because a player cannot play two matches at once. Multiply the waves by 15 to 25 minutes for best of three. Example: a 16-player single-elimination draw is 15 matches; on eight tables that is four waves, about 60 to 100 minutes of play before check-in and breaks.
With four groups of four and the top two advancing, plan about three to three and a half hours on eight tables, or four to four and a half hours on four tables. That assumes roughly 15 to 25 minutes per match slot (best of three to 11 at club pace; best of five runs toward the slow end), plus check-in and a break before the knockout. Straight knockout of 16 is shorter, often 90 minutes to two and a half hours on eight tables, but early losers play only once unless you add a consolation.
Use groups when people drove across the GTA and you want everyone to play at least twice. Eight groups of three (24 players, top two to a round of 16) fits a Saturday block on eight tables. Eight groups of four (32 players) usually needs a Saturday or 12 to 16 tables. Use straight knockout when the clock is a weeknight and the goal is a champion, and add placement matches if first-round losers would otherwise leave.
Standard seeding is the default players expect: snake the entry list into groups, then place qualifiers with classic 1-versus-last pairings. Top-seed protects group winners and hands them byes first. 2-group Club is only for exactly two groups and at most 16 players, when you want the printed sheet where same-group players cannot meet until the final. Preview the choice before you publish.
The night before: freeze the entry list, share the public link, assign tables, and name one person on the desk. On arrival: check-in window, late-entry rule, and a warm-up cutoff. During play: who enters scores, how you call the next match, and what a default looks like. After the final: publish results, note withdrawals for next time, and thank the volunteer who stayed to stack tables.
Add one single-stage event and set the format to Ladder. Put players in starting order, choose a challenge range of 2 or 3 spots above, and set a season end date if you want the ladder to close on a day. Publish the tournament, then open the ladder. A lower player challenges someone inside that range. If the challenger wins, they take that rank and everyone in between moves down one. If the defender holds, the order stays. When the season date has passed, finish open matches and snapshot the final order. Rank 1 is the champion. A ladder does not create groups or a knockout.
Write the rule before registration opens and put it on the public page. A common club rule is a 10-minute default once the match is called, and no redraw after the first group match has started. If someone withdraws before groups are created, remove them and regenerate. If they withdraw after groups exist, mark the remaining matches as forfeits so the table still ranks the group.
The draw tools live in table tennis tournament software you can open in a browser. Standings order is spelled out in the group standings guide.
Create a free tournament, walk through the flow above, and share live results with players and fans.