Tournament Planning Considerations

Tournament Directors can choose from several competition formats, including Round Robins and Knockouts. However, not every format will work for every situation - time is usually your biggest constraint.

Use our Tournament Run-Time Calculator to estimate how long your tournament will last based on real-life tournament data.

As a Tournament Director, your responsibility is to create the best possible player experience while balancing time constraints and available game time.

Key Planning Factors

Number of Players

  • Expected Attendance: If you only have a few hours available (such as evening events), you may need to cap entries at a specific number.
  • Venue Capacity: Ensure there’s adequate space for these players plus spectators if needed.

Number of Boards

Board availability plays a significant role in tournament pacing. For knockout tournaments, this determines how many matches can run simultaneously. For Round Robin events, it affects how many groups you can accommodate.

Player Skill Level

This is often the most difficult factor to predict, but it requires consideration. Events for newer players or areas with developing talent should expect longer match durations. Higher-standard tournaments can see best-of-5 matches completed in as few as 50 darts, while lower standards might require 50 darts to win a single leg.

Match Format

Match length directly impacts tournament duration. Best-of-3 (first to 2) provides quick-fire games for faster progression, while best-of-7 (first to 4) gives players more game time but significantly increases match length.

Tournament format selection is equally important: a 32-player knockout requires 31 matches to complete, while a 32-player Round Robin consists of 112 matches across 4 groups.

While Round Robins offer more matches for the players, they do take longer.

Minimizing Delays

The time between matches can significantly impact the overall tournament length. To reduce these intervals:

  • Ensure players know when they’re on next so they can be ready immediately after the previous match clears the oche
  • Confirm players understand the marking structure (who marks which games), so they’re prepared as soon as players are ready

While enforcing strict timing might seem excessive, reducing these intervals can significantly shorten tournament duration and ultimately improve the player experience.

Tournament Run-Time Calculator

The Tournament Run-Time Calculator uses pre-determined variables combined with user inputs to estimate tournament duration in hours and minutes.

User Inputs

  • Number of Players (4 to n)
  • Structure (Knockout or Round-Robin)
  • If round-robin: How many players in the knockout
  • Skill Level (Low, Medium, High)
  • Match Length (an integer from 1 to n)
  • Number of Boards (an integer from 1 to n)
  • How closely are people paying attention? (Low, Medium, High)

Calculation Variables

Skill/Attention Level Average Time Per Visit Average Visits to Win a Leg Average Time Between Legs Average Time Between Matches
Low 0:00:30 25 0:00:30 0:07:30
Medium 0:00:25 13 0:00:25 0:05:00
High 0:00:20 8 0:00:20 0:03:00

Round-Robin Calculation Method

  1. Group Distribution: Distribute players as evenly as possible into groups based on number of boards. Use the largest group size for calculations.

  2. Matches Per Group:
    • For odd number of players: (players ÷ 2, rounded down) × players
    • For even number of players: ((players ÷ 2) × (players - 1))
  3. Average Legs Per Match:
    • Divide match length by 2, round up if odd
    • Find halfway point between this number and original match length
  4. Time Calculations:
    • Per-leg time (L) = (Average Time Per Visit × Average Visits to Win a Leg) + Average Time Between Legs
    • Per-match time (M) = (L × Average Legs Per Match) + Average Time Between Matches
    • Total Round-Robin time = M × Total Number of Matches

Knockout Calculation Method

  1. Total Matches: Determine total knockout matches needed (B-1, where B = bracket size)

  2. Matches Per Board: Divide total matches by number of boards, round up

  3. Time Calculations: Use same formula as Round-Robin for per-match time

  4. Total Knockout Time: M × Total Number of Matches

Output

  • Knockout tournaments: Single time value
  • Round-Robin tournaments: Two values (Round-Robin time + Knockout time)