How to Create a Draw

ANDY SIKOROVSKY
NOVEMBER 12, 2010

Players sometimes ask me how brackets are decided for a draw. A great question. Here’s how it’s done.

For a 32 team draw, the tournament committee of the APTA sets top 4 seeds based on national ranking points and suggests the next 8 ranked players to be randomly placed in the 5 - 12 slots, then the rest of the draw is filled randomly. Then I do a scan to make sure Pixburgh players don't play Pixburgh players, Columbus doesn't play Columbus, Cleveland doesn't play Cleveland, etc., the best it can be prevented in the first round, then a check to see if teams are not playing who they played last year in the first round. Then I check to see if the chronic complainers will have anything unforeseen to complain about so as to truly make their day. Then someone drops out of the tournament, then we take a few hours/days to find a replacement, then we re-do the entire draw again. It really is an endless loop until I tire out.

Do you want to help with the draw next year?