Competition structures
Parful runs thisGroup stage into knockout
Also called Pool play, Group stage and knockout, Pools into a bracket, World Cup format, Groups then knockout.
A group stage competition splits the field into pools of at least three, plays a round robin in each pool, and advances the top one or two from every group into a seeded knockout. Group winners are seeded first (A1, B1, C1, D1) and runners-up after them (A2, B2, C2, D2).
- Groups
- 2, 3 or 4, each of at least 3 entrants
- Draw
- Serpentine by seed: A B C D, then D C B A, then A B C D
- Group play
- Round robin, 3 for a win and 1 for a draw
- Qualify
- 1 or 2 per group
- Knockout seeds
- A1, B1, C1, D1, then A2, B2, C2, D2
- Advance
- Only once every group fixture has a result
How a group stage works
A group stage combines the two things a knockout and a round robin each do well. Every entrant gets several matches instead of risking elimination on day one, and the competition still ends with a final. The field is drawn into groups, each group plays a round robin, and the best finishers in each group go into a knockout bracket.
Parful runs 2, 3 or 4 groups and needs at least 3 entrants in each, so the minimum field for four groups is 12. One or two entrants qualify from each group. Four groups with two qualifiers give an 8-player knockout; two groups with one qualifier each give a straight final.
The serpentine draw
Entrants are seeded first, by handicap, at random or by hand. Then the seeds are dealt into the groups in a serpentine: seed 1 to group A, 2 to B, 3 to C, 4 to D, then the row reverses so 5 goes to D, 6 to C, 7 to B, 8 to A, then forward again with 9 to A and so on. The snake means each group gets one seed from each band and the groups are balanced rather than group A holding all the low handicaps.
Inside each group the fixtures are built by the circle method: a group of 3 plays 3 matches over 3 rounds with one bye per round, a group of 4 plays 6 matches over 3 rounds.
Qualifying and the knockout
Group standings use the round robin rules: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, head to head then net difference to separate ties. The top one or two in each group qualify. The knockout is seeded with every group winner first in group order and then every runner-up, so with four groups and two qualifiers the seeds are A1, B1, C1, D1, A2, B2, C2, D2 and the standard bracket order pairs A1 with D2, D1 with A2, B1 with C2 and C1 with B2. A group winner never meets another group winner in the first knockout round, and no entrant meets a member of its own group there either.
If the number of qualifiers is not a power of two, three groups with one qualifier for instance, the knockout takes the next size up and the top seeds receive byes.
How Parful runs it
A group stage on Parful is one competition with a group phase and a knockout phase. The admin sets the team size, the number of groups and the qualifiers per group, and Parful seeds the field, deals the groups, generates every group fixture and builds the knockout with placeholders for A1, B1 and the rest. Group fixtures are scheduled across outings or self-scheduled with the usual 21-day deadline reminders.
Advancement is gated on the groups being finished. Every group fixture must have a terminal result, completed, walkover or conceded, with byes and voids not blocking, before the knockout can be filled. When that is true the admin's next action becomes advance to knockout, the final group standings are computed, the qualifiers replace the placeholders and the bracket runs as a normal knockout from there.
Worked example
A worked example: 12 players, 4 groups, 2 qualify
Twelve players seeded 1 to 12 by Course Handicap™ and dealt in a serpentine into four groups of three. Each group plays a three-match round robin. The group winner and runner-up qualify for an 8-player knockout.
| Group | Seeds dealt | Players | Group winner | Runner-up | Knockout seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1, 8, 9 | Ana, Hal, Ivy | Ana (6 pts) | Ivy (3 pts, beat Hal) | A1 = 1, A2 = 5 |
| B | 2, 7, 10 | Ben, Gil, Jon | Gil (4 pts) | Ben (4 pts, lost to Gil) | B1 = 2, B2 = 6 |
| C | 3, 6, 11 | Cal, Fay, Kim | Cal (6 pts) | Fay (3 pts) | C1 = 3, C2 = 7 |
| D | 4, 5, 12 | Dee, Eve, Lou | Eve (6 pts) | Dee (3 pts) | D1 = 4, D2 = 8 |
- Group B finished with Gil and Ben level on 4 points each: both beat Jon for 3 and halved with each other for 1. The head-to-head was drawn, so net difference across their results placed Gil first. Ben, the number 2 seed, goes into the knockout as B2 and meets Cal in the quarter-final.
- Nobody meets a member of their own group in the quarter-finals, and no group winner meets another group winner until the semi-finals.
Common variants
- Winners only advance
- One qualifier per group. With four groups the knockout is two semi-finals and a final; with three groups it is a 4 draw with a bye for the top seed. Parful runs both.
- Cross-group or snake knockout seeding
- Some committees seed the knockout so A1 meets B2 regardless of overall order. Parful seeds group winners first and runners-up second in group order and places them by the standard bracket rule.
- Groups by handicap band
- Groups formed by handicap range rather than a snake, so each group is a division with its own winner. That is flights, not a group stage; Parful runs flighted competitions separately.
- Five or more groups
- Larger fields split into more pools. Parful runs 2 to 4 groups; a 24-player field uses four groups of six.