Tiebreakers
A tiebreaker is a rule that separates participants who finish level in a table. The organizer picks the order, and the first rule that tells two participants apart decides who ranks higher. If one rule cannot separate them, the next rule is tried.
Which tiebreakers you can choose depends on the format. Seed is always the last step.
Round robin
Default order: Tournament points, Head-to-head tournament points, then Points difference (or Game difference when the stage does not require a score for every game).
The first rule that separates any of the tied teams splits them. The teams still level are then compared again from the top of the chain. The rules marked "head-to-head" only look at matches among the teams still level.
| Tiebreaker | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tournament points | Points from results: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss unless the stage sets other values. Compared across the whole group. |
| Match wins | The number of matches won. |
| Head-to-head wins | Wins in the matches played among the tied teams only. |
| Head-to-head tournament points | Points from the matches among the tied teams only, so a draw counts. |
| Head-to-head points difference | Points scored minus points conceded in the matches among the tied teams only. |
| Points difference | Points scored minus points conceded over all matches. |
| Points scored | Total points scored. |
| Game wins | Total games (maps) won. |
| Game difference | Games won minus games lost. |
Points difference, Points scored and Head-to-head points difference need a score for every game. They are only available on stages set to "Score for every game". See Match formats.
Swiss
Swiss standings are ordered by points first. The tiebreaker chain only applies to players level on points.
Default order: Buchholz, Buchholz cut 1, Match wins, Head-to-head.
| Tiebreaker | What it means |
|---|---|
| Buchholz | The sum of your opponents' points. It measures how strong your opponents were. A bye counts as a virtual opponent. |
| Buchholz cut 1 | Buchholz without your weakest opponent. |
| Median Buchholz | Buchholz without your strongest and your weakest opponent. |
| Match wins | Matches won, byes included. |
| Head-to-head | Between two players still level who played each other, the winner of that match ranks first. |
| Opponents' match-win % | The average match-win percentage of your opponents. |
| Game-win % | The share of possible game points you earned: 3 for a game won, 1 for a game drawn, over the games you played. |
| Opponents' game-win % | The average game-win percentage of your opponents. |
The percentage rules follow the Magic: The Gathering tournament rules. Each percentage is never counted below one third, so playing someone who lost everything is not a penalty. A bye counts as a match won with no games played, and is never counted as an opponent. These percentages use 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw, whatever points the stage gives.
Battle royale
Standings are ordered by total score first. Default order: Wins, Average kills, Average placement.
| Tiebreaker | What it means |
|---|---|
| Wins | The number of games won (first place). Higher is better. |
| Total kills | Eliminations over all games. Higher is better. |
| Average kills | Eliminations per game played. Higher is better. |
| Average placement | Your mean finishing place. Lower is better. |
| Best placement | Your single best finishing place. Lower is better. |
| Latest game score | Your score in the last game you were drawn into, whether or not it counts toward your total. Higher is better. |
Every tiebreaker except Latest game score reads only the games that count toward your total. If "Best games counted" drops a game, it is ignored here too. A game you were drawn into and missed counts as last place in its lobby with no eliminations. Participants who played nothing have no value for the averages, so they rank last on those rules.
Match tiebreaks
A match tiebreak is different. It decides one match that ends level on game wins, such as a fixed 2-game match that ends 1:1. The organizer lists up to three, tried in order.
| Tiebreaker | What it means |
|---|---|
| Score difference | The side with the higher total score over all games played. Needs a score for every game. |
| Higher seed advances | The better seed wins. Not available where nobody is seeded. |
| Extra game | One more game is played and counted. Used at most once per match. |
In round robin and Swiss, a chain that runs out leaves a draw. A bracket cannot advance a draw, so a fixed-games match there needs a chain.
Formats without tiebreakers
- Single elimination and Double elimination rank by how far you got.
- Race ranks by status, laps and time.
- Points ranks by score.
Frequently asked
Still need help?
A problem with a match or a result? Ask the tournament's organizer first — see who handles what.