Tournament Format

Tournament Format

The Al Muneera tournament involves 12 teams and only one net.  We don’t want teams to have too long between matches, so the tournament format was designed to get all of us onto the court for at least five matches with the shortest wait time between matches possible.   

Group Draw

We will draw teams randomly out of a hat to determine which four teams will play in each group.  We aren’t going to make any assumptions about which teams are the strongest, so the group draw is going to be completely random.  It would be fun to gather for the dramatic reveal of our tournament groups in one of the Al Muneera cafes or restaurants some evening next week.  If you’re interested, comment below or let the WhatsApp group know.

Group Play

Group Matches will be played to a total of 20 points instead of to a particular score.  That means games may end with a score of 10 – 10, 11 – 9, 15 – 5, or any other combination that adds up to 20.  The wind and the sun can be a big factor, especially early in the morning, so teams will switch sides after 10 total points have been scored. 

Teams will be awarded 2 points for a victory, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in each of their Group Matches.  Total match points scored will also be tracked and the results of Group Play will be used for seeding in the double elimination tournament.

Main Bracket

Every team will be placed into the Main Bracket based on the group stage results.  Matches in the Main Bracket will be to 15 points with side changes every seven points.  The 5^th through 12^th teams from the group stage will battle in the first round to advance in the Main Bracket and the top four teams will get a first round bye.  The winning teams in each round will advance to the next round and the losing teams will be moved to the Last Chance Bracket.  The final two teams in the Main Bracket will advance to the Championship Bracket.

Last Chance Bracket

The Last Chance Bracket matches are also played to 15 points with side changes after every 7 points.  Each match is identified by a letter of the alphabet.  LA vs LF indicates that the loser of match A will play against the loser of match F.  If you win in the Last Chance Bracket, you get to keep playing.  If you lose, your tournament is over.  Please stick around and cheer for the other teams and enjoy a great day at the beach watching your friends play.  The final two teams in the Last Chance Bracket advance to the Championship Bracket.

Matches in both the Main Bracket and the Last Chance Bracket will be played in their alphabetical order.  So, there will be eight Main Bracket matches followed by four Last Chance Bracket matches, then back to the Main Bracket and so on.

Championship Bracket

The Championship Bracket is the final four teams of the tournament.  Matches in this stage will be played to 21 points with side switches every 7 points.  At this stage, it is no longer a double elimination tournament.  If your first loss of the tournament happens in the semifinal round, there are no second chances. 

Timings

Based on our usual match lengths when we play 3 v 3 this is the latest estimated timings for the start of each round of the tournament.  If things are moving more quickly than expected, we will start each round earlier, so please pay attention and be ready to play as soon as the match ahead of yours ends.

1^st Group Start – 8:00

2^nd Group Start – 8:45

3^rd Group Start – 9:30

Main Bracket Round 1 Start – 10:15

Main Bracket Round 2 Start – 10:55

Last Chance Bracket Round 1 Start – 11:35

Main Bracket Round 3 Start – 12:15

Last Chance Bracket Round 2 Start – 12:35

Last Chance Bracket Round 3 Start – 12:55

Championship Round Start – 1:15