How it works
A 3 team round robin is three games: each team plays the other two once, and whoever is not playing rests. The example runs 30-minute games from 6:30 and ends at 8:00 pm. Type your three teams, or three players, over the sample names, then print.
Read the full guide
Three games, one court, 90 minutes
Only one game is ever on, so a second court ends the evening no sooner. Change Minutes per match to fit your sport: three 45-minute games from 6:30 end at 8:45, three 20-minute games at 7:30.
Who plays twice in a row, and who plays last
Untick Random draw, press Make schedule, and typing order sets the night. Line 3 plays rounds 1 and 2 back to back and is done by 7:30. Line 1 rests first, so it can turn up at 7:00 and play the last two. Line 2 plays first and last, with a game off between. If the team in both early rounds wins round 1, swap rounds 2 and 3. The round 1 loser then stays on court, and first place is still open when the last game starts.
- Two games each feels short? Press Twice (double): six games, four each, 6:30 to 9:30 pm, and nobody plays more than two in a row.
- Each team is listed first once and second once, so first serve or kick-off splits evenly.
- Three wrestlers in one weight class, or friends at a dartboard? Clear First match starts for an order of play without clock times.
Questions and answers
Does any team get an easier schedule with three teams?
Slightly. The team in rounds 1 and 3 rests between its games, and its round 3 opponent comes straight off a game. The team in rounds 1 and 2 has it hardest: its second game is against a side that has not played yet. Leave Random draw on so luck hands out the slots, or add a short break between rounds.
What happens if all three teams finish with one win and one loss?
That is A beats B, B beats C and C beats A. If every game were a coin toss, two of the eight sets of results would end this way: one in four. Head-to-head cannot split a circle, so agree on point difference over both games before the first whistle.
What does a three team round robin bracket look like?
Three small tables, one per round, and no tree. A knockout tree for three saves just one game, and one team sits in the final on a bye while the first loser plays once. For a final here, send the top two back out straight after round 3: a rematch, since every pair has already met.