EPTThe proponents of double-elimination observe that single-elimination is unfair to the unluckily seeded – for example, the second-best player could fall to the top player in the first round. It is also very unforgiving, as a player who has perhaps traveled across the ocean to attend the event could be eliminated having only played a single series.
At the same time, advocates of single-elimination point out a substantial flaw in the double-elimination format – due to one player being rewarded for not losing any series, the finals happen to be very anticlimactic.
Round-robin play it not a solution, either. While it is probably the fairest of all possible formats, it is also one of the least exciting to watch.
It turns out, however, that Starcraft II fans can have their cake and eat it. Hereby I present you the solution.
Let's begin with a regular double elimination bracket. Now, what if, instead of using the losers bracket to decide the second finalist, we used it one step earlier – to decide two semifinalists? Let's take a look at such a theoretical bracket for a 16-man tournament.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LzyyO.png)
These brackets look normal, the only oddity is that the winners bracket and losers bracket finalists do not get to play their matches. Instead, the magic ensues:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/kFxvq.png)
Thoughts?
