Player counts for Cream of the Crop
Cream of the Crop is stricter about numbers than any other format. Get this right before the session or you will not be able to generate.
The rule
You need either:
A multiple of 4, and at least 16 — so 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, and up
Exactly 25
Nothing else generates. 12 is too few. 18, 22 and 26 do not divide. 25 is the one deliberate exception.
Valid counts
Players | Groups |
|---|---|
16 | 4 groups of 4 |
20 | 5 groups of 4 |
25 | 5 groups of 5 |
24 | 6 groups of 4 |
28 | 7 groups of 4 |
32 | 8 groups of 4 |
Why 16 is the floor
The format only works if there are enough groups for the regrouping to mean anything. With four groups you get a real top group of first-place finishers, a second group of runners-up, and so on.
Below that the regroup barely changes who plays whom, and the format loses its point.
The 25-player exception
Twenty-five players run as five groups of five instead of groups of four.
A group of five plays a longer round than a group of four, and the cross-group tiebreak behaves differently — with groups of five, players finishing at the same rank keep their original group order rather than being sorted by point differential.
It is supported, but the standard groups-of-four sizes are the smoother experience.
Planning your roster
Because the count is strict, decide early how you will handle turnout:
Cap registration at a valid number.
Keep a reserve so you can top up to the next valid count if someone drops.
Be ready to sit players out — removing players from the active pool in the group editor is how you get from an invalid count to a valid one.
For a league, opt-ins vary week to week, so this is a decision you make every session, not once.
A league that opts in 22 players one week cannot generate that week. You need to bring it to 20 or 24 — either by adding a player or by holding two out.
Courts
Each group needs a court. Sixteen players means four groups and four courts running at once; 32 means eight. Check your court count supports the roster you are planning.