Pool Balancing

With the new Pool Balancing tool, Tournaments utilizing the full version of Brackets can easily create evenly balanced pools, ensuring a fair and streamlined experience for all teams.

Tournament Directors assign a ranking to each team before placing them into pools. This ranking can use a simple scale (e.g., 1–10, with 1 representing the strongest team) or a numeric rating system (e.g., 89.2, where higher values indicate stronger teams).

When it’s time to build the schedule, the Tournament Director assigns teams to pools based on factors such as team strength, league affiliation, and travel considerations.

The Pool Balancing Tool evaluates the pools created by the Tournament Director using the pre-assigned rankings, analyzing overall pool strength as well as the distribution of top- and bottom-ranked teams. If imbalances are detected, the tool provides recommendations for potential adjustments.

Getting Started:

1. Assign a ranking to each team through the Registered Teams section. Double-click on the team, then enter the ranking in the Pool Balancing section on the left side of the window.  Optionally, add a “Location Tag,” which can be useful for separating teams from the same league.

2. Click the "update" button.  Your list of registered teams will now include the team's rank and location tag.

Alternatively, Team Rankings can be added to the "Pool Balancing" page.  

In Brackets, navigate to Schedules —>Manage Game —> Pool Balancing

1. Enter ranking for each team
2. Click the "Save Team Rankings" button

Ready to Assign teams to their Pools?

1. In Brackets, navigate to Schedules —>Manage Games (choose your group)
2. Click the "Assign Teams to Division" button, top right of page ( a window will open)

3. For "Pool A" move the appropriate teams from the left panel to the right panel.  You will see the (ranking) for each team as well as the location tag (if added).  Notice the "Pool A" average ranking calculated as 88.7
4. Repeat the same for all remaining round-robin pools.

Notice the "Pool B" average ranking calculated as 86.0

5. Click the "Update" button.

Balancing your Pools:

Navigate back to the Pool Balancing tool.  Schedules —>Manage Game —> Pool Balancing

1. Teams are now grouped into their separate pools
2. Tournament Director may choose to have the lower number or higher number rank at the top or bottom of the teams
3. Round Robin Pool Analysis - a calculation of the pool "rank" averages, the best and worst ranking in each pool, number of top and bottom teams in each pool.
4. Our SportsHeadz algorithm analyzes the Tournament Director's ranking and recommends possible team swaps to balance your pools.  Double click on the recommendation and a window will open.

To accept the "recommendation" click the update button and the teams will swap pools.  Alternatively, you can select your own teams to "swap"

Pools are now balanced.