S
WISS
-S
TYLE
P
AIRING
S
YSTEM
B
ASICS
The DCI recommends using the Swiss tournament system at all events, and it is required at premier events such as the
Magic: The Gathering®
Pro Tour™. Also known as the Swiss Draw, this tournament style allows all participants to play in
every round, pairing each round’s players based on their current records and standings. To determine who plays against
whom, players with the best match records are matched against each other, and then the next highest records, etc.
For premiere events, Swiss rounds are one hour in length (70 minutes for constructed-deck tournaments), with each pair of
participants playing one match per round. (Review the appropriate game’s DCI Standard Floor Rules for round-length rec
-
ommendations for non-premiere events.)
All matches are best two out of three games only
. If a player won the first two
games, the match ends. Players are not allowed to play the third game once the match is decided.
This system offers many advantages over single-elimination. To begin with, all players get to participate for the duration of
the tournament, and any number of players may play with (at most) one bye per round.
CHART FOR APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF ROUNDS OF SWISS TO SELECT THE
TOP 8 PLAYERS FOR SINGLE ELIMINATION:
Number of Players
Number of Rounds
17–32 players
5 rounds of Swiss
33–64
6 rounds of Swiss
65–128
7 rounds of Swiss
129–226
8 rounds of Swiss
227–409
9 rounds of Swiss
410+
10 rounds of Swiss
S
WISS
S
CORE
R
ECORDING
& P
AIRING
If you do not have a pairing program, you must use note cards for each player. Each card must have the player’s name and
DCI membership number written at its top. Collect these cards once each player has completed this information at the top of
his/her card. (Any tournament-pairing software a organizer’s may use must be able to mirror the following pairing steps
organizer’s otherwise would have to perform by hand.)
1. Pair players randomly for the first round by shuffling the note cards. Keep the paired cards together for the rest of the
r
ound. If you have an odd number of players, the player remaining once pairings are completed receives a bye, equalling
two game wins (6 game points) and one match win (3 match points).
2. After the first round, record match results
[best 2 out of 3 games]
on the players’ note cards and/or in the computer if
using tournament-pairing software. When participants complete a match, they are to report the results, check in their decks,
and leave the playing area.
3. For all subsequent rounds after the first, pair players with the same match points against each other randomly. (If there is
an odd number, match one player from that group with a person from the group with the next-highest match points.)
Do not
use tiebreakers when pairing between rounds.
4. Continue these match-point based pairings until you get to the bottom of the list. If you have one player left at the bottom
of the list, that player receives a bye. (To see what this bye is worth, see 1. above.)
5. As players finish each round, record on their note cards the score of the match they just completed and their total running
score. In addition, write the opponent’s name and DCI number on the same line of the card corresponding to that round.
See
Sample Scorecard below for an example.
6. Games and matches are worth the following points during Swiss rounds:
Game won
3 points
Game drawn
1 point
Game lost
0 points
Unfinished Game
1 point
Unplayed Game
0 points
Match won
3 points
Match drawn
1 point
Match lost
0 points
The scoring method outlined above is intended to help players and judges track results within a tournament, but it is not
relevant in participants’
DCI rankings