How Compass brackets work
Compass is a 16-team format built from four linked brackets, shown in the app as the EAST, WEST, SOUTH and NORTH tabs. Losing drops a team into a lower bracket rather than ending its event, so every team plays at least 3 matches and the format produces a full 1st-through-16th ranking.
The four brackets
Tab | Decides | Who lands here |
|---|---|---|
EAST (main draw, Bracket 1) | 1st to 4th | All 16 teams start here |
NORTH (Bracket 4) | 5th to 8th | Losers of EAST quarterfinals |
WEST (Bracket 2) | 9th to 12th | Losers of EAST first round |
SOUTH (Bracket 3) | 13th to 16th | Losers of WEST first round |
NORTH decides 5th to 8th because it collects teams that survived one round longer than the teams that fell into WEST. The button to the right of the tabs shows all four brackets in one scrollable view.
Once a team drops into WEST, SOUTH or NORTH, that bracket is single elimination for them.
How teams move
Lose in EAST round 1: drop to WEST
Lose in an EAST quarterfinal: drop to NORTH
Lose in WEST round 1: drop to SOUTH
Lose anywhere else: out of that bracket, playing only a bronze match if it was a semifinal
Every bracket has a bronze match
Each of the four brackets gets its own third-place match, fed automatically by that bracket's two semifinal losers. That is what produces a complete placement list rather than just a champion.
Sixteen slots, always
Compass is built for exactly 16 teams and holds no more than 16. With fewer, the remaining slots fill with byes, which carry through the brackets automatically: a team that would have played a bye advances without a match.
Seeding
Compass (standalone): the Seeding dialog opens sorted by DUPR rating, and you drag to adjust before generating.
Round Robin to Compass: pool play runs first and the bracket seeds from pool standings. See How Round Robin to Bracket works.
Either way, top seeds are kept apart and byes go to the strongest seeds. To build the bracket, see Generating a Compass bracket.