Every event on the competitive circuit, indexed by format and region.
Filter by format (single elim, double elim, GSL groups, Swiss, round robin), by region, or by status (upcoming, live, concluded). Each card carries a format primer and a route to the bracket explainer.
Tournaments on the competitive circuit use five main formats. Each one rewards a different viewing pattern and produces a different storyline. Single elimination is the fastest read: one loss and you are out. Double elimination gives every team a second chance through the lower bracket, but doubles the broadcast block. GSL groups run two groups of four with an opening and a decider match, then cross into a single-elim playoff. Swiss re-pairs teams with the same record each round. Round robin plays every team against every other team in the group.
Bracket literacy is the cheat code. Once you can read the round layout, every tournament on the circuit makes sense without commentary. The bracket explainer walks through each format with a real round from week 38.
The cards below map each format to a representative tournament on the calendar. Each card carries the format badge, region, status and a link to the dedicated match schedule. Use the region filter in the sidebar to narrow down to your local broadcast block.
Bracket literacy is the cheat code. Read the round layout, not the storyline.— gamer11 editorial desk
Annotated visual
Anatomy of a bracket — single-elim playoff
Bracket anatomy — single elimEight teams enter; one remains. The seed on the left controls the path through the round.
1
Quarterfinals
Four matches decide the semifinal field. Top seed plays the lowest seed remaining.
2
Semifinals
The bracket narrows from four teams to two. Cross-bracket pairing keeps the structure symmetric.
3
Grand final
One match decides the tournament winner. Bo5 is the standard for finals on the circuit.
4
Seeding bias
Higher seeds play lower seeds first. Upsets reshape the lower half of the bracket from round 2 onward.
Upcoming brackets
Open registration and live brackets
Every entry below lists the format, region, status and the editorial verification note attached to the bracket.
Format
Tournament
Region
Window
Status
Verification
SE
Northern Open
EU
Week 38–40
Live
Bracket pulled from league's official page.
DE
Pacific Series
APAC
Week 38–42
Live
Bracket pulled from league's official page.
GSL
Atlas Cup
EU
Week 39
Upcoming
Seeding announced; bracket pending.
SWS
Continental Swiss
NA
Week 39–41
Upcoming
Eight-team field confirmed.
RR
Mediterranean Open
MENA
Week 40
Upcoming
Six-team round robin, single weekend.
DE
Southern Cup
SA
Week 36–37
Concluded
Finals archived; recap on the news desk.
Status reflects editorial verification at the time of writing. Bracket positions update as matches conclude.
Format questions
Common questions about tournament formats
Answered in plain language, with a link to the deeper explainer for each topic.
1
Why do some events use Swiss instead of groups?
Swiss keeps more teams in contention for longer and produces more matches between similarly skilled opponents. The format suits open fields. Groups favour seeded brackets with clear favorites.
2
When does a tournament move to Bo5?
Finals typically use Bo5. Some events use Bo5 from the quarterfinals onward. The format primer lists each event's stage mapping.
3
What is a lower bracket reset?
Double-elim finals give the upper bracket team a one-map advantage. If the lower bracket team wins the first final, a second match resets the bracket. Some events skip the reset; most include it.
4
Where can I read about GSL groups?
The format glossary covers GSL with an example group from the Continental Swiss bracket. Two groups of four play an opening match and a decider match, then cross to a single-elim playoff.
Read next
Where to go from the tournament index
Every tournament card links to its own match schedule. The match schedule is where the round layout updates in real time.
Every tournament card points back to an official league page or a verified broadcast partner. Brackets update as matches conclude. Where a league has not yet published an exact figure, we say so and mark the entry as "pending."
Brackets are not a marketing artifact. They are the operational schedule. The broadcast block follows the bracket, not the storyline, because the order of matches decides which cameras sit where, which caster desk is staffed and which production crew is on shift. A tournament that uses Swiss rounds through the group stage will have a different broadcast shape than one that uses GSL groups through the playoff, even when both tournaments feature the same eight teams and the same prize disclosure. Reading the bracket is reading the production plan.
Bracket literacy also explains why some events feel slower than others. A double-elim final carries a one-map advantage for the upper bracket team, which means the broadcast block can run two Bo5 finals instead of one. A round robin event with six teams will run fifteen group-stage matches before any playoff, and the production crew has to plan accordingly. Bracket literacy turns the broadcast block into a predictable rhythm instead of a stream of confusing timestamps.
Format choice also shapes how viewers should approach the broadcast. A Swiss round rewards viewers who follow the round layout closely, because each pairing decides a different seeding story. A single-elim playoff rewards viewers who can read the bracket from the top seed down, because the path is fixed. A round robin rewards viewers who can track the tiebreakers, because the standings shift on map differential as often as on wins. The format is the lens.
Where a format produces an unusual broadcast shape, the tournament card calls it out. The Pacific Series uses double elimination through the playoff and reserves Bo5 for the grand final. The Atlas Cup uses GSL groups through the group stage and single elimination through the playoff. The Continental Swiss uses Swiss rounds through the group stage and single elimination through the playoff. Each format produces a different production shape and a different viewing rhythm. Reading the format primer for the event is the shortest path to understanding the broadcast block.
For viewers who want to read a bracket in real time, the match schedule pairs with the tournament card. The schedule lists every match by start time in UTC and the regional filter chips let the viewer scope the broadcast block to their time zone. The tournament card carries the format primer and the editorial verification note. Together, the schedule and the tournament card are the operational map for the broadcast.
More from the tournament desk
Five broadcast moments worth watching this cycle
Each moment below sits on a verified source — the league's bracket page, the verified broadcast partner's channel or the org's official announcement. The moments are not predictions; they are events the editorial desk has flagged because they will reshape the bracket.
1
The cross-region seeding match at 20:30 UTC
The first broadcast of patch 8.4 meta context airs on this match. Watch for the agent select pool expansion and the first broadcast of the side bias shift. The match decides which team carries the seeding edge into the playoff bracket.
2
The Swiss round 4 pairings
Bo1 pairings decide which teams carry a 3-1 record into the playoff and which drop to 2-2. The pairings re-pair teams with the same record; every match is a clutch moment. The editorial desk will publish the pairings as soon as the league confirms them.
3
The lower bracket final at 00:30 UTC
Bo5 — the underdog path narrows on the reset. The team that has survived elimination rounds meets the team that dropped from the upper bracket. The final is often the broadcast highlight of the cycle.
4
The Atlas Cup group stage
GSL groups — two groups of four with an opening and a decider match, then cross into a single-elim playoff. The group stage starts in week 39. The format primer on the games page explains the round layout in detail.
5
The Mediterranean Open
Round robin — six teams, single weekend, fifteen group-stage matches. The standings shift on map differential as often as on wins. The format primer explains the tiebreakers; the match schedule carries every match on the broadcast block.
