How it works
A 19 team round robin tournament is 171 games: every team plays the other 18 once. One team sits out each round, so it takes 19 rounds of nine games. The example runs 20-minute games on nine courts, 9:00 to 3:20 pm.
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171 games on nine courts, five or three
Nine courts play a round in one slot: 19 slots. Five courts need two slots a round and end at 9:40 pm; a sixth, seventh or eighth ends no sooner. Three or four courts mean 19 hours: a second day, or a league. Clear First match starts and each round prints without times.
Pool play when 171 games is too many
Nineteen is a prime number, so no split makes equal pools. Three pools of five and one of four play 10, 10, 10 and 6 games: 36 in place of 171, four games a team at most. Two pools, of ten and nine, play 45 and 36. Seed the top two of four pools into an 8 team bracket.
- A team that must leave early wants the last-round bye. Untick Random draw and put it third on your list: it is done by 3:00.
- Twice (double) is 38 rounds and 342 games: on nine courts, 9:00 am to 9:40 pm.
Questions and answers
What does a team's day look like in a 19 team round robin tournament?
On nine courts: 18 games of 20 minutes and one slot off between 9:00 and 3:20. The team resting in round 10 breaks at 12:00 with nine games either side. The teams resting in round 1 or round 19 play 18 in a row.
What if a 20th team enters after the schedule is printed?
No reprint is needed: write the newcomer in against the resting team of each round. Twenty teams play the same 19 rounds, nobody sits out, and 171 games become 190, ten a round, so a full round needs a tenth court.
How long is a 19 team round robin league season?
Nineteen weeks at a round a week: 18 games and one week off per team. Short of weeks? Stop after any round and no pair has met twice, though teams whose week off has passed are a game behind the rest.