How PT Ranks Teams in Round Robin Events with Pools and Playoffs
How PT ranks teams in round robin events with multiple pools and playoff rounds is a common question for tournament directors. This article explains the ranking logic PT uses both within pools and across pools when determining playoff seeding.
Table of Contents
Within-pool ranking
PT ranks teams within each pool using this tiebreaker order:
| Priority | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wins (most wins ranked highest) |
| 2 | Head to Head when there is a win tie |
| 3 | Point Differential across the entire bracket if head-to-head is tied |
| 4 | Point Differential within just the head-to-head matchups if #3 is tied |
| 5 | Point Differential against the next highest team if #4 is still tied |
Cross-pool ranking for playoffs
After teams are ranked within each pool, PT ranks them across pools for playoff seeding. PT uses percentages rather than raw numbers because pools may be uneven in size — percentages normalize the comparison correctly.
- Win % is the primary factor — teams are compared by their win percentage across all pool play
- Point Differential % is used as the tiebreaker when win percentages are equal
Example: 2 pools of 5 teams, top 2 from each advancing
Teams are grouped by their finish position within their pool first, then ranked against others who finished in the same position: The top person in each pool would each be ranked 1, and the second person in each pool would be ranked 2. The top person from Pool 1 plays Pool 2's second place, while the top person from Pool 2 plays Pool 1's second place. The winners would then move to a gold/silver match, while the losers would move to a bronze match. This is the "normal" settings when verifying your event, however, other customizations can be made, such as how many from each pool move forward etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does PT use percentages instead of raw wins or points?
PT uses percentages instead of raw win counts or point totals because pools may have different numbers of teams. A team that went 4-1 in a 6-team pool had a harder schedule than a team that went 3-0 in a 4-team pool. Win % and point differential % normalize those differences.
Does the top team from each pool always seed higher than second-place teams?
Pool finish position is the primary grouping factor. All teams who finished first in their pools are ranked against each other, all second-place finishers are ranked against each other, and so on. This means the #1 seed from Pool A doesn't automatically rank ahead of the #2 seed from Pool B — they're in separate groupings.
Related Resources
- How to Verify Your Brackets in Live Console
- How to Set Up an Event in Your Tournament in PT
- How to Merge or Unmerge Events in PT
- How to Create Separate Playoffs After a Merged Round Robin Event in PT
Questions about rankings or bracket logic? Email support@pickleball.com.